C180 Hard Start after sitting for an hour

[DooC180]

Here is what is happening;

Boat starts fine first start of the day and runs flawlessly.

If I shut it off it will restart immediately or shortly after (1,5,10min) without any problems.

If I leave it off for an hour or so, such as docking for food or anchoring to swim for a bit it will crank for a long time before it will fire- usually 3-4 attempts, 30sec or so of total cranking before it fires.

Always starts right again up after sitting overnight.

Brand new plugs this year, fresh gas. If it was something heat related (overheating fuel pump for example) I would understand but the fact that it will fire after 5min of sitting yet fights me after an hour has me completely stumped on where to start looking. I haven't yet had it in an area that I can pull the plugs when it fails to fire and see if they are wet etc.

 

[Lumps]

So I have not had this problem. But I see people say this so. Do you run the blower when it won't start?

 

[go_panthers]

I think that, while your boat is sitting there, the heat from the engine is heating up the engine compartment and everything in it. I experience the same thing. Warm/hot air makes it harder to start.

The blower helps a little bit.

 

[DooC180]

I can't say yes or no with any consistency but I'll give it a shot and see if that helps

 

[Wseadoo180]

I looked into this as I experienced the same issue. Usually all the fumes building up prevent the firing of the engine. Use that blower for a minute and you should be fine!

 

[C9R0J0]

Here is what is happening;

Boat starts fine first start of the day and runs flawlessly.

If I shut it off it will restart immediately or shortly after (1,5,10min) without any problems.

If I leave it off for an hour or so, such as docking for food or anchoring to swim for a bit it will crank for a long time before it will fire- usually 3-4 attempts, 30sec or so of total cranking before it fires.

Always starts right again up after sitting overnight.

Brand new plugs this year, fresh gas. If it was something heat related (overheating fuel pump for example) I would understand but the fact that it will fire after 5min of sitting yet fights me after an hour has me completely stumped on where to start looking. I haven't yet had it in an area that I can pull the plugs when it fails to fire and see if they are wet etc.

My 06 180 does the same thing. Definitely has something to do with heat and fumes in the engine compartment as it's worse when the outside air temp is warmer. I can't say if the blower helps this or not because mine doesn't work. I just open the hatches to ventilate any fumes.

 

[scottbruns]

I experienced this last weekend.

We were pulling knee-boarders and when each person was done we stopped the engines to let them back on board. The port engine would restart fine, the starboard engine would crank and not fire. 10 seconds of running the blower and the starboard engine would fire right up.

It was definitely hot here in Phoenix, much more so than the week before when we had no issues.

 

[DooC180]

Tried the blower trick, no luck- ran it about 2min and it still cranked and cranked before finally starting.... I can do short stops without an issue, 5-10min and it will fire right back up. If I let it sit for an hour or 2 then it takes forever to start

 

[C9R0J0]

Tried the blower trick, no luck- ran it about 2min and it still cranked and cranked before finally starting.... I can do short stops without an issue, 5-10min and it will fire right back up. If I let it sit for an hour or 2 then it takes forever to start

Same for me. I fixed my blower, it was just a bad contact in the switch. I can run the blower for 5min and it still takse a lot of cranking to start it in the above mentioned scenario.

 

[DooC180]

For those of you who said running the blower fixed your problem, I am curious if you had the key on the boat or just the blower switch on?

Just thinking out loud, but I'm wondering if having the key on the ignition is helping to Prime the fuel system during the time you're running the blower.

I had not been putting the key on the ignition because I can't stand listening to the beep. But now I'm wondering if that might make a difference we'll have to try it next time I have the boat out

 

[Nate490]

Curious if anyone ever figured this out? I’m having this problem as I write this & we are waiting for a tow boat to arrive! Ran flawlessly all day for about 2 hours of running, stopped for lunch for an hour and now it just turns over and over without starting. I’m running the blower now so I’ve got my fingers crossed. I had the hatches open for a while and it didn’t seem very hot in there, it’s only about 85° out here in Tampa today. Just curious if anyone has found a solution for this? My boat has run flawlessly until now. (Just for reference, new plugs and oil just a few months ago, maybe about 20hrs on them).

 

[Nate490]

Btw, ran the blower for about 4 min and opened the hatch but still just turning over with no start. If I wait about 5-10 minutes between tries it fires up for about ½ a second and seems like it wants to start but it just goes back to turning over.

 

[Nate490]

I thought it was curious that I was turning it over a TON but had no fuel smell. After we got the boat towed back home & it was in the driveway i tried to start it again and still got nothing. I took the intake hose off and sprayed a little starting fluid in there and it fired right up. So now to diagnose the fuel delivery problem! I’m pretty sure it’s the fuel pump, I’m not hearing any noise out of it. I looked up a fuel pump just to start the process and I couldn’t believe the OEM one was over $700!! Anyone have luck or recommendations on an aftermarket pump?

 

[DooC180]

I thought it was curious that I was turning it over a TON but had no fuel smell. After we got the boat towed back home & it was in the driveway i tried to start it again and still got nothing. I took the intake hose off and sprayed a little starting fluid in there and it fired right up. So now to diagnose the fuel delivery problem! I’m pretty sure it’s the fuel pump, I’m not hearing any noise out of it. I looked up a fuel pump just to start the process and I couldn’t believe the OEM one was over $700!! Anyone have luck or recommendations on an aftermarket pump?

Can't help sorry... my idea was to try and run the blower with the key on the post and see if "priming" the fuel system while I ran the blower helped. Unfortunately the last trip of the year the boat ran great all day fired right up while swapping wake boarders etc... when I stopped at the island for an hour, I tried "my trick" and it wouldn't even turn over- put jump pack on, same thing... then I noticed smoke coming from the starter! Towed in, starter rebuilt, boat turns over in the driveway but I'm in NY so it's winterized and away til next year... I'll keep watching this thread hopefully you southern guys can play with it some more.

 

[enut]

Hi, Nate490
Check your fuel filter. It is mounted under the fuel pump. You have to pull the fuel pump out of the fuel tank. In the bottom there should be a small filter. I would check that before getting a new fuel pump.

 

[Nate490]

Ok great, Will do!

 

[DooC180]

Ok great, Will do!

Nate,
As I understand it there is 2 filters in these pumps, one external and one internal. If you search you can find disassembly instructions... I ordered what I believe are the correct airtex part numbers for each, just ran out of time to do it this season. FS220 and FS242 is what my research came up with, both can be found on Amazon for short money. Hopefully your weather gives you enough time to try it put and report back.

 

[DooC180]

Nate,
As I understand it there is 2 filters in these pumps, one external and one internal. If you search you can find disassembly instructions... I ordered what I believe are the correct airtex part numbers for each, just ran out of time to do it this season. FS220 and FS242 is what my research came up with, both can be found on Amazon for short money. Hopefully your weather gives you enough time to try it put and report back.

For the record the airtex PN(s) mentioned above are now installed and were the correct replacements for my 2007 c180