Intermittent starting....Help!
 

Recently bought a 91 Mariah 2000z from a dealer. One owner, and well taken care of. Went to test drive it, backed it in, fired right up and ran great. Started and stopped it a few times during the test drive, and it started great. Made the 3 hrs drive home with it from the dealer, and started shining on it immediately. The next day, put muffs on it in the driveway, and it would crank, but never start. Eventually....after trying off and on for a few hours, it started.
Took it to the lake 3 different times over the past week....started and ran just fine all day. Then again yesterday.....backed it in at the ramp....and nothing. Would crank....but not fire. I had just ran it for a few hours the evening before, and everything was great. I'm stumped. Any ideas???

Re: Intermittent starting....Help!
 

When it acts up again check for 12V from key switch in the ON position. Could be that simple.


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Re: Intermittent starting....Help!
 

Sounds like it is starved for fuel. That’s where I would start looking.

Re: Intermittent starting....Help!
 

I once had a fuel starved issue. I eventually changed fuel separator filter & it ran fine! Always replace oil filter & fuel filter with an oil change at end of the season when winterizing.

Make sure your not overheating which will automatically shut off engine. I constantly check engine temp gage & oil pressure gage at start -up and while running because you don't want to need to replace your engine.

Here's some other tips during my trouble shooting:

1) Clean flame arrestor. Should do this as PM @ least annually. Check periodically during the season.

2) Sprayed starter fluid in the carb (make sure to put flame arrestor on top before trying to start). It started right up & died after burning off starter fluid. So that established fuel issue.

3) Hooked up a portable borrowed gas tank & it started & engine ran. Now know fuel line & tank is an issue. Gas tanks accumulate gunk at the bottom of the tank over time & can clog the fuel line. It is a cheap fix & insurance to replace the fuel water separator if not new.

I always use OEM Mercury Quicksilver filters with 25 micron filtering elements remove damaging or performance robbing fuel born contaminants. Water in the fuel system can cause poor engine performance and can even cause engine damage. In addition to fuel additives, water separating fuel filters offer a great line of defense in keeping your fuel system free of water and other impurities.

4) If stale gas due to accumulated water condensation you may try replacing the water fuel filter separator once again. If the gas & gunk in the gas tank is the last possible source, you would need to pump out the fuel & clean/flush the tank to rid any gunk. I always fill with fresh gas from a high volume marina because their gas tanks have a high volume fresh gas turnover to ensure their tank hasn't accumulated too much water condensation over time.

I hope this helps & you don't need to pump out the gas. I didn't use my boat last season and worried I don't have a gas issue as well. I did put in fuel stabilizer & Seafoam which should last 2 years.

Good luck & post your findings and fix.