1992 Evinrude te150glenc - Fuel starved. Outboard runs on fuel in carb bowls and then dies.

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

I've had multiple sporadic issues with the VRO pump over the years with fuel leaks. Rebuilt the VRO twice, totally replaced the VRO with a new one. Repairs don't seem to last. I got tired of dealing with it and replaced the VRO with new regular fuel pumps. New primer bulb will pump up hard. I start the engine and it runs until the fuel in the carb bowls is consumed and the motor dies. If I keep up the fuel pressure by pumping the bulb while it is running, it will continue to run. As soon as I stop, the motor will eventually die. I've run the outboard from a separate fuel tank and fresh fuel mixed with oil at 50:1. Fuel filter is clean. Fuel lines are not restricted. I've rebuilt the carbs and ensured all orifices (idle, mid, and high speed) are clean. All carb floats are set according to specs. Throttle plate sync'd, idle timing, spark advance set, and spark/throttle pickup are all set according to specs. All fuel lines are clamped appropriately with ratchet clamps or zip ties per service manual. If there's a air leak in the fuel system, not sure how to locate it. Pulse limiter valve is clean. Primer checks out (ohms within specs and both primer outlets are clear. New diaphragm for vapor pump. Vapor separator float set to specs. I do need to replace the vacuum switch. Definitely a fuel issue, but not sure where to go from here. What have I missed?

Update: Forgot to mention that I checked all fuel lines for cracks. Did a pressure test on each fuel line and all checked out (no drop in pressure). The only thing that I didn't check is the fuel bracket, but not sure how to test that.

 

[Andrebass]

Tracker valve?

It regulates the air/fuel pressure in the fuel rails.
$100.00 part and 10 minutes. replace the spring as well.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Not familiar with that part for my Evinrude. Looks like it's only for Mercury. Where is it located?

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

After mulling over the fuel problem, although both fuel pumps are new, it's got to be that one or both pumps have air leaks. I decided I am going to replace all fuel pump hoses with temporary clear hoses to look for air bubbles and am also going to connect a pressure gauge at the fuel pump outlet. I'm hoping that I'll be able to isolate the offending air leak(s) and seal it.

 

[Andrebass]

Ok you got me there, not sure if Evinrudes have that same set up.
Sorry for getting your hopes up.

 

[ChrisH]

After mulling over the fuel problem, although both fuel pumps are new, it's got to be that one or both pumps have air leaks. I decided I am going to replace all fuel pump hoses with temporary clear hoses to look for air bubbles and am also going to connect a pressure gauge at the fuel pump outlet. I'm hoping that I'll be able to isolate the offending air leak(s) and seal it.

Mix up some soapy water in a spray bottle (water plus a few drops of liquid soap) spray all connections liberally. If there's a leak you will see bubbles coming from leaking area when pressurized.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Thanks ChrisH! I've done that many times working on natural gas pipe. Didn't think to use it on the outboard. I'll give that a try.
So yesterday, I swapped out all of the fuel lines for clear vinyl. Didn't work out so well. Because of the difference in materials, some of the sharp bends were too much for the vinyl and it would pinch at the sharp bends, effectively restricting fuel flow. So I threw out that approach. My next test was to disconnect the fuel pumps from the fuel bracket and plug the fuel lines, except for the outlet. I did a pressure test on the outlet side of the fuel pumps and the fuel pumps held the pressure. Which means that the fuel flow within the pumps is correctly allowing fuel to flow only one way. So now I will plug all of the fuel lines except the inlet and see if it holds pressure. If that checks out OK, then I will check all the connections to the fuel bracket. Either one or more of the connections is leaking air or the fuel bracket itself is defective. My gut is telling me it's the hose connections to the bracket that are leaking air.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Instead of ratchet hose clamps, this time I used cinch rings to ensure a tight fit. I am confident that all connections are air tight. I tried spraying everything with soapy water, then realized that air wouldn't be escaping, but instead is being pulled in (suction). I haven't put the vacuum gauge or pressure gauge on the fuel system yet. I'm still planning on doing that. So, after putting cinch rings on all connections, the result is the same, it dies at idle unless I pump the bulb. Knowing that the fuel system relies on the cyclic action of the motor to generate the suction needed to operate the fuel pumps, I reasoned that by increasing the RPMs at idle, that might help. So I upped the RPMs at idle and sure enough, the engine continued to run. I know this isn't a long term solution, but it feels like I'm making progress. Out of the water, RPMs at idle are approximately 2500. According to specs, with the motor in gear on the water, idle RPMs are supposed to be around 700 RPMs. My plan is to take it out on the water next week to run at WOT and at idle to determine RPMs under load and overall performance. My thought is that with the motor in gear, the engine will likely die since RPMs will drop due to being under load. We'll see...

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Haven't taken the boat out to a lake yet.

I was doing some more research and thought that maybe I had a bad reed valve(s). I examined the reed valves on all cylinders. All look good. There were a couple of check valves on both banks that were clogged. Cleaned those. Put it all back together and started the outboard. Started right off and ran for quite awhile, idled for approx. two minutes, then RPMs dropped quite a bit (approx. 500 RPMs), then died. Checked the primer bulb and it was semi-firm. It used to be very soft. So I see that as a positive change indicating fuel is now being pulled in. Racking my brain trying to think of anything else.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Since the fuel pumps operate based on crankcase compression pulses, I did some research and one of the causes for lack of strong compression pulses is carbon buildup. So I tried using a cleaner sprayed into the carb intakes while it was running for 10 minutes. Shut off the engine for 10 minutes to let the cleaner soak, the started up the engine and ran it again for 10 minutes without spraying any more cleaner. There was plenty of smoke generated while the engine was running. Also, quite a bit of carbon was expelled based on the what was on the ground. The engine runs a bit smoother, but still has not corrected my idle issue. Continuing to ponder the whole issue and what else I can try. I am very frustrated that I cannot find the cause of the problem. I am used to solving issues like this, but this one has me stymied. Aside from trying anything else on my own, I must admit that I will quite likely take the outboard to a repair shop. I think that I have tried every solution that could explain the behavior of the outboard, including my OMC service manual, CDI recommended diagnostics, and anything I could find on the internet. Hopefully, when I take it to a repair shop, they will find what I have missed. I'm hopeful, but not overly optimistic that they will find a solution and instead will run into the same obstacle that I have.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Took the boat out to a lake and it performed poorly. No power and died after 2 - 3 minutes. I've taken the boat to a repair shop. Will be interesting to hear what they've found. However, they have a 3 week backlog, so I'll probably hear back sometime the week of September 4th. I think they suspect that the new aftermarket fuel pumps are to blame. It's not unheard of that new parts are defective, but I'm doubtful. In any case, I'll be surprised as to the solution. Dreading the cost of the repair. Since I'm on a fixed income, it's really going to hurt.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Received a phone call that the outboard has been fixed and is ready to be picked up. Nice that it was completed a bit earlier than expected. The fuel pump outflow port on one of the pumps had not been drilled out at the factory, so only one fuel pump was functioning correctly and pumping fuel. They drilled out the hole to allow fuel to flow to the second pump. I never would have expected nor found that issue. The second issue was that the vapor pump wasn't working correctly. Also, the hose from the pump to the limiter valve was replaced (appeared to be slightly pinched at the bend, since the hose has an almost 90 degree bend) Total cost: $989. Was hoping for less, but expecting it to be more. The cost will really hurt, but nothing to be done about it. It needed to be fixed. I feel disappointed that I wasn't able to find and correct the issues. I'm not used to being unable to fix something that is fixable and this is my first. Hard to take. Have to suck it up and move on. From what I understand, the cost was mostly labor to track down the causes and correct the issues. I'm planning on picking it up on Tuesday and taking it out on the water Saturday, September 9th. Hopefully, it will perform as expected. Fingers crossed.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Final update: Outboard ran just like new. Very relieved and I can now relax and enjoy my fishing outings. After the whole experience, my suggestion is to target the fuel pumps first; If the outboard acts like it's starved for fuel, then it probably is and the pumps are the likely cause.

 

[Andrebass]

I feel bad that this was a factory fault from the beginning, and could have been fixed or replaced for free under warranty back then. How did this type of performance make it out of the factory in the first place? They have to run the motor prior to leaving factory.
I am glad that this has been resolved and no more worries.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

My engine is a 1992. I replaced the VRO pump with non-VRO pumps due to recurring issues with the VRO pump.

 

[Tony banks]

VRO pumps were a common problem with Evinrude XP's, back in the day