2001 Challenger 2000 240 EFI won't start

[challenger01]

I went this weekend to get the boat running and I had no success.

I last operated it in early October and it ran great. I had no issues with starting or running at speeds at 50+ mph.

At the end of the season I changed the gear and stator oil. I dumped the fuel in the water separator filter, sprayed fogging oil in each cylinder and pulled the batteries. I ran 93 octane all summer and was running pre-mix 50:1 all summer. I also used marine stabil all summer long with each fillup. I had the tank completely full at the end of the season as I have for all of the years of ownership.

The boat starter seems to crank but it won't start. In the last 2 days I did the following:

I replaced all 6 plugs with new ones since running premix 50:1 probably increases the oil on the plugs.

I replaced the battery with a new 800 CCA 1000 MCA marine starting battery.

I replaced the in-line fuel filter.

I replaced the water separator filter.

I can hear the electric pump when in the on position prior to starting. I checked the fuses and they appear to be fine.

After repeated attempts at starting I pulled a few plugs and they looked like I just pulled them from the box. No apparent fuel on plugs.

I pulled the water separator filter after a few attempts and it had a very small amount of fuel in the filter. The filter was full however before the switch out and I know it was dumped last October.

I have a port side temperature sensor that I have not installed yet but I am not sure if this will have any impact on the no start.

I was looking at the shop manual and I realize that I have never changed the fuel filter in the vapor separator. I don't know if this is a possible problem point.

Any advice on this is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian

 

[Dr Honda]

Well.....


You've checked a bunch of superfluous stuff. But have you checked for spark? Have you checked for fuel at the vapor tank? Have you check for fuel pressure on the high pressure side?


I guess I would start by simply seeing if you get fuel up the feed hose, at the electric pump. Something could be plugged up.

 

[challenger01]

I know it seems like I just changed many things without direction, but I had a 6 year old battery, so I figured a new one was in the future anyways. I also had the filters and plugs at home, so I did each of the change outs after failed attempts.

I got stormed out after a short period of time, so I will get back to troubleshooting tomorrow.

I guess I need to check for flow to from the tank to the electric pump and move on from there. I will also need to test for a spark.

What is the procedure for testing for a spark on this engine?

Thanks for your input and I will report back as I move on.

 

[mrmetro]

Become a member and download the manual. All the testing procedures including testing for spark is in the manual.

Talk a look at my recent post. It may be that our issues are totally different, but I ran into something similar. After doing a full 'tune up' which included changing the fuel filter my boat wouldn't start. I believe my problem was the new fuel filter was not the correct one. I replaced the new one with the old one and everything seems to be working as it should.

 

[Dr Honda]

Spark is easy. Just put a plug in the wire, and ground it to the engine. THen watch for a spark while someone cranks. OR, you can get a fancy clip on spark tester. (That makes it easy to do by yourself)

And yes... if your battery was old... it's good to replace it.

 

[challenger01]

Thanks for the help,

I looked at the manual and let me know if this is a good approach to problem solving.

1. Check for a spark at each plug wire. I will record results, but is there an order that should be followed?

If I have no spark then I will need some additional help at this point....

2. If spark seems ok I was going to check the electric pump to confirm that there is fuel being pulled from the tank. I was going to use an external tank with fresh fuel mix and try to determine if there is an obstruction coming from the main tank.

3. I will check the fuel pressure. I do not have a gauge like the one shown in the book. Can I purchase something that will work at an autoparts store? It looks like the ideal pressure is 34-36 psi.

4. Based on the pressure results I can follow the flowchart for low pressure trouble shooting (pg 3D-24) which may lead to high pressure flowchart.

During some of the tests such as vapor delivery test it mentions that the emergency stop switch should be set to off. I don't believe my boat has that so does that refer to the lanyard being removed?

Also, I don't know where the tests will take me, but I will need to clean the final filter since it has not been done. Any advice on this procedure will be appreciated. Are there any replacement gaskets/parts that I need to have on hand to get the vst back together if I attempt to clean the filter.

I can do the routine maintenance, but now that I am trying to troubleshoot this problem I am getting out of my comfort zone, but I will try to get as much information and hopefully find the issue.

Thanks for everything,
Brian

 

[challenger01]

One additional thought. ..
At the end of the season I dumped the fuel from the water separator filter. When I put a new one on yesterday it was almost empty of fuel even after multiple start attempts and it decompressed like a 2 liter bottle opening when I pulled it off. Do I need to refill the new separator with new fuel and mix? Should I get the air release on opening?

Thanks

 

[challenger01]

The problem is resolved.

OK, I guess I got lucky with this one....

First I checked the spark on each wire and it was strong, so I figured it was a fuel issue. As I was getting ready to do fuel pressure measurement I noticed that the fuel pickup baffle was not sealed in the tank.

I fill the tank at the end of the season with premixed premium and blue stabil. The gas pressure must have expanded and pushed the fuel baffle out of the tank. The radiator clamps must not have been tight enough. That explained the air in the system and the lack of fuel getting to the plugs.

After a few attempts the boat fired up and ran smoothly on the hose. I didn't push the rpms past 1500, but it seemed to run fine. I shut it off and restarted several times with no issues. Hopefully this resolves this issue.

I know that I have new plugs, new battery, new fuel filters for the start of the season, so hopefully we can have a good season here in PA.

I appreciate the help from the guys on the forum. It forced me to dig into the manual and plan my troubleshooting. As a result I understand the system better. I am glad I didn't have to go too far however!

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Dr Honda]

Guess you got it going before I got back to you on it. But I'm glad you figured it out.


Where in Pitt do you boat at?

 

[challenger01]

Doc.
I know you help so many people that I don't expect you to remember me, but I am the guy from Elizabeth Township and we talked a bit last season.

I typically store my boat at the Youth Dam. My wife is not a big fan of the rivers for kids tubing and skiing and the Youth is a perfect place to boat. We also went to the Pittsburgh pool several times last season. It was late in the season but we went in on 18th street launch on South side.

Hopefully we can meet up some day..

Thanks for all you do, especially for us Mercury owners.
Brian

 

[Coastiejoe]

Glad you got it running. The simple things can be very frustrating.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dr Honda]

Yes....


I now remember. Only a couple guys down at Yough.