2002 Opti 175 Hard starts

Need some help guys....

I have a 2002 Opti 175 that has been running flawlessly since she was christened. Spring starts are an extra two seconds on the ignition then from there she cranks right away. Except for this year.

Right now, when I start her up, she revs up then dies. I then turn her over again and usually she is fine. There is no issue idling or at the high end. It is only when she starts. So far I know that after 20 minutes she has a hard start. I haven't tried lower times but if I start her up shortly after killing the ignition, she starts up fine.

This leads me to suspect I am losing fuel pressure as she sits without running.

I have replaced the fuel line from the tank, including the primer bulb, to the motor. I did not replace the short piece of fuel line from the lower cowling to the bottom of the square fuel pump. I suspected the brass (40psi) check valve on the return line from the port fuel rail so I tried clamping above the valve after shutting her down. Waited 2o minutes and fired her up. Same thing. I tried below the valve. Same thing.

I burped the shrader (sp?) valve to check for a fuel smell. It didn't have a fuel smell in the air but a bit of water came out with a fuel smell. I have not checked the fuel regulator or tracker valves yet. That will be next.

I am looking for any "me too" stories and how you may have fixed it or any other troubleshooting tips to help me narrow the search down. I fish in the St Lawrence where the current is pretty swift and I do not want to be "surprised" one time and find that the motor won't start as I am nearing some rapids.

Thank you in advance for your input.

Mike

 

I have narrowed this down to the fuel regulator diaphragm. As has been written here and on other forums, this is not available from Mercury (or anywhere) unless you buy a new fuel rail or get a replacement from Pelican Services for $400. I think I know how to replace the diaphragm but need a sacrificial fuel regulator diaphragm. Does anyone have one they are willing to give up for science?

Mike

 

For what it is worth to those looking at this thread with a similar problem, I found a tear in my tracer valve. It explains everything.



The fuel rails cannot hold pressure. Fuel is leaking into the air rails. The engine fires up rich and dies. Smell of fuel in air bled from air rails. Starts normally shortly after shutting down.

New tracker valve is on order.

Need to replace fuel regulator diaphragm that was damaged during inspection. I found a way to remove the rubber on the fuel regulator diaphragm and am waiting for an extra tracker valve to reassemble. That will be a separate post.

 

I replaced the tracker valve and no more hard starts. I got it from iboats.net.

On another note, I did learn how to successfully rebuild the fuel regulator diaphragm to factory specs. I will post details on a separate thread.

Mike