Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Help me diagnose my engine suddenly dying
I have a 2002 Pantera Classic with a 2002 Mercury 2.5L EFI. Every now and then, the engine will die for no apparent reason. What is weird is that I can immediately start it after this occurs. This is not one of those issues that you can take to a shop to be diagnosed unless the tech has seen this before because the engine never does this when idling and even if it was being water tested, it might not do it again until next year. I am hoping that somebody here has experienced this and can point me in the right direction. It is easier to list the details below to hopefully answer all questions.1. The engine dies abruptly. There is no sputtering or signs that the engine is going to die. It dies in the same manner as if you turned they key off or pulled the kill switch.2. The engine will immediately start again. There is no delayed time is getting it to crank.3. It may do this one time a year, or it may do this 4 times on one trip. The problem has never been consistent.4. There has never been any work done to this engine other than maintenance. 5. I have owned the boat since 2009. It has always done this at least once a year since I bought it. It had low hours when I bought it (41) and still has low hours (around 200). 6. It will not die when idling or fast idling (not on plane). It will die at a higher RPM range on the hole shot or when on plane. It has occurred even after driving on plane for several minutes. I posted about this issue many years back and was not able to get an answer. Hopefully somebody has experienced this and been able to remedy it since then. Thank you for any help!
Try checking your fuel line and primer bulb, ethanol has been degrading the insides of these lines and breaking them down with pieces of the line breaking loose and clogging fuel systems.
You really need to find out just WHAT youre losing , I.E. – IGNITION / OR FUEL . — I believe that engine has fuel filters all over it . — Spin on filter on right side near throttle body — Another one INSIDE of the curved hose from the high pressure pump to the pressure regulator ( Mercury says to just remove that one ) — And yet another one in the pressure regulator itself . — Can cause the issues youre describing when you require the most fuel flow . ( ACCELERATION / MAINTAINING HIGH SPEED ) — Could also be the EFI processor unit failing to ground the high pressure pump . — Sorry , but some on the water testing is in order . — HossLast edited by BIGCATTER on April 26th, 2017, 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Maybe a bad kill switch.
Im thinking kill switch .
I replaced the fuel hoses several years ago. I have thought about the kill switch before, but it seemed unlikely that would be the problem being that the engine will only die at a higher RPM range (is there any explanation for that in correlation with the kill switch?) . I agree that some on the water testing of the filters may help find the problem, but being that the issue is so random, it might be next year before it does it again. It did it to me in March, but before that it was August of 2015.
I had a 150 Mercury, that would do the same thing ended up being fuel line. Boat and motor was a month old.
I suggest you post in the BBC 2.5 Mercury forum if you havent already. http://www.bbcboards.net/forumdisplay.php?f=6
What was wrong with the line to cause this?
Ethanol eats up the inside of SOME fuel lines , which restricts fuel flow and plugs filters . — As stated before , more testing required . — Youre assuming its a fuel issue , but this may not be the case at all . — Ive been repairing car / truck / and some marine engines for 46 years now , and until you KNOW what system is failing , youre spinning youre wheels . — You got to know WHAT youre looking for before you can find it . — Hoss
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