Engine Cut-Out

[marknanh]

Just got back from Lake Tahoe for the first time since moving to Western Nevada (4/05). This is the first launch since Summer 2004 in Upstate NY. However, I did run the engine last week in the driveway using a water from a garden hose.

At the lake, my 1988 MasterCraft TriStar engine was very difficult to start and cutout on me 6 or 7 times in 5-or-so hours that we were on the lake without warning. It happened at trolling and high speeds.

The engine cutout was instantaneous and unpredictable, as if someone simply turned the key off. I was only able to restart the engine after 5 min and multiple attempts. Points, rotor, & contacts looked OK. Coil is somewhat corroded, but no worse than last year. Water temp maintained constant 150 F during steady operation.

Would like to blame this on "bad" gasoline (H2O?) as the boat cutouts were less frequent as the day wore on.

I'm planning on going back next weekend. What things can I do to diagnose this issue before then? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Regards,
Mark

[NatesGr8]

Run in the driveway for a good amount of time. Check for loose grounds. Maybe a loose connection in the kill switch. If you think its bad gas add some of that water eliminator stuff and top her off. I'm sure more people will have more ideas.

[milkmania]

altitude change?

*edit

dunno, but I would think higher altitude carbs need adjusted....

someone will come by shortly to confirm this:cool:

I know one of the selling points of the new EFI 4-wheelers is that you don't have to make carb adjustments for higher altitudes:confused:

[mcprostar197]

altitude change?

Thats what I was thinking while reading the post.

[shepherd]

Would altitude change cause sudden unexpected cutouts??? My only experience was driving a car through the CO mountains. It just started getting real sluggish like it was dying for air, losing power... It didn't just cut out without warning. Sounds more like water in gas tank if your boat was sitting with the same gas for over a year... Just my non-expert opinion...

[6ballsisall]

Hows your fuel filter and fuel pump look? Water in fuel could definetely do what you are describing. Altitude change like this could amplify problems you are already having.

[marknanh]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I did drain my fuel filter yesterday and little-to-no water appeared. One thing that I didn't mention was that one of the cutouts occurred after the TriStar hit a big wake. Begining to wonder if this might be an ignition switch fault problem, because I can hear the engine fire when the key is to "start". The minute that I release the key to "on" it cuts out.