2011 SN200 Cutting out at higher speeds

[6ball]

Hey guys, today when we were skiing our 2011 Ski nautique 200 with the 409 engine started dying in the middle of our pass, kept doing it after with the zero off turned off on the way home. Anyone had any experience with this or any ideas as to what it could be?

[6ball]

I was thinking fuel filter because it runs fine at lower speeds but dies towards the top end

[gregy]

Put a fuel pressure gauge on it while running and see if the pressure is dropping when it starts dying. Could be a lot of things. I've rarely seen filters get so clogged that they were the issue *unless you got some bad fuel maybe). There should be fitting on the fuel lines near the intake/fuel rails. I can't remember what the pressure is supposed to be on those (maybe 60?) but the engine will cut out if the pressure falls much below the specified pressure. I had to change my fuel regulator on my Malibu last year for similar issue, but it could electrical as well. My buddy's MC had a worn gear on the distributor that was the cause. How many hours? Engine light come on? If not that's a good indicator that it could be a fuel issue.

[6ball]

Engine light didnt come on and theres ~1100hrs on the engine, thanks for the insight!

[LeonL]

I'm betting on fuel filter. Cheap to try even if it doesn't fix it. A couple of years back I was pulling practice at Regionals and the 200 was running great, skier after skier, until I pulled a 36 mph skier. It would fall off in his pulls. Pulled other 34 skiers, fine. Next 36, bad again. Fuel filter fixed it.

[The_MS]

Where is the in line located at?

[The_MS]

I need like 6 guys to lift that box out.

[ESPNSkier]

I have a much older boat with similar hours (1993 MC ProStar) but had a very similar issue that turned out to be a simple fix. These boats typically have an anti-siphon valve located inside the fuel hose connection nipple at the top of the fuel tank (I assume the newer boats still have this). I pulled this nipple off and took it apart to find that it was partially clogged with debris. Blew it out, put it back together and runs like a charm!

[brettmainer]

In line fuel filter. Should be replaced every 300-400hrs.

[Jody_Seal]

Yea I like that every 300-400 hrs!! Funny s..t right there!! In line should be changed every 50 hours when the oil is changed or once a year. They are cheap around $12 at NAPA.

[brettmainer]

Once a year = 300-400hrs on our club boat. The only time we have ever had fuel filter issues is when it has been 400+ hours since a change. It may be that 50hrs is recommended, but I can honestly say I've never changed mine that frequently.

[6ball]

Turns out the fellow we bought the boat from recently replaced the fuel filter so we installed a new fuel pump and going to test it in the morning. Fingers crossed

[skibug]

@6balls Our club member had the same issue on their 2011 SN 200. There is some type of screen on the bottom of the low pressure fuel pump intake, almost like what you would find in your sink faucet. It was actually past the inline filter, so replacing the filter did not solve the issue. That screen was about 90% blocked. They had to remove the low pressure pump to get at the screen. @Jody_Seal does that sound right? I have pics and a diagram of the pump. I will try to attach shortly.

[skibug]

 

 

@6balls Those are the after and before shots of the screen. The screen is between #31 and #34 on the diagram.

[6ball]

@skibug yikes, well if the problem isnt solved from the fuel pump i'm going after the inline filter and I will definitely see if i can get at that screen. Thanks!

[LeonL]

@6balls wouldn't it be easier to go for the filter first instead of messing with the pump?

[skibug]

@6balls that screen is on the intake side of the pump, past the inline filter. If you plan to replace the pump, I would remove the old one first and see if that screen is clogged. Then you can return the new pump, if you already purchased it. Cleaning out the screen is free.

[eleeski]

You might be able to easily clean the fuel pump screen. Remove the inlet fuel line and the return line (both sides of the Y fitting). Stick the straw from a can of carb cleaner up the straight part of the Y and you should be able to squirt enough to clean the screen without too much disassembly.

 

The UCLA team boat had all the above problems. What finally cured it was a new regulator. But the new fuel pump and fuel line with an easily accessed fuel filter was also useful - got it to run well enough to trouble shoot it. Oh yeah, the new injectors, plugs and wires helped too. Boat runs great now. Kirk learned a lot fixing that.

 

Eric

[LeonL]

@6balls wouldn't it be easier to go for the filter first instead of messing with the pump?

[eleeski]

@LeonL The fuel pump is very accessible, as are the fuel lines. Also it is likely that the fuel filter gets changed on reasonable intervals. The tiny screen has probably never been cleaned and it is too easy to plug up. The pump is practically a better place to start.

 

Or shotgun the repair and buy the regulator. But you still should clean the fuel pump screen.

 

Eric

[6ball]

After the new pump was installed, the boat was still acting up a bit but not nearly as bad so we put some fresh gas in the tank with fear that we got some bad stuff. It runs fine now so hopefully that was the problem, probably going to hold off on taking the inline filter out until the end of the season if it doesnt start running poorly again. Thanks for all the input! And now we have a spare fuel pump when the time comes