Anyone else had this problem? Merc 05' 250xs

[dkramer]

As most of you know I recently put an Mercury 2005 250xs on my 1988 21' Checkmate Starflite. I am having some issues and am not sure where to go with it. When I am running close or at WOT the motor will start to lose power. At the time it does it I having good water psi and temp is good and no alarms coming in on the smartcraft. I called the local Merc dealer and he suggested I tried putting a portable tank on and trying it again, suspecting possibly the pickup in the fuel tank. Mind you that every harness, cable, fuel line, batteries, etc are all new in the boat. Only thing original is the hull and the tank. So I disconnected the tank and put a portable tank on, I also put a new fuel/water separator filter in as well. So I get out and get on it and it was running great. Good RPM's, water psi, temp, etc. even managed to smoke a hydrostream in the mist of my test runs :) Anyhow I ran through about 3 gallons or so and stopped at the fuel dock and refueled the portable tank. I head back out and everything was fine and then it started cutting my power again. Not as bad as it does when on the main tank but bad enough. I plan on taking the boat in and having the dealer out a DDT on it and see if anything is coming in when this condition occurs. Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions? I am running out of ideas. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

[1BadAction]

stopped at the fuel dock and refueled

theres one problem. I wouldnt trust marina fuel in my lawnmower. :eek: did you check the water separator when it started running bad again?

[dkramer]

Haven't yet. I'll check it tonight. I usually don't run the marina fuel in the boat. I usually fill on land. I am going through in my head if I have had problems in relation to when i have gased up on the water. Alot of people use the local marinas and don't have an issue though but I guess my outboard could be a bit more sensitive? I did dump out the fuel water separator. I put in when I put the boat all back together. No water but some small particles. Does anyone know where / if on the 250xs that there is a secondary fuel filter. Would it be the cartridge that goes into the vapor separator?

Thanks,
Dave

[beer30]

Where did you fill up on the water? Chuck

[dkramer]

Chuck,
I haven't seen any water in the fuel separator just some sediment. I can't put 2 and 2 together as far as the boat running bad after fueling up anywhere in particular. Yesterday I fueled up at Great Bay and I put 93 in. Chuck was your motor throwing off any alarms when it was running crappy? I think I have a sensor on it's way out. I need to get it over to the dealer and have him scan the thing and see what is going on. The boat has run good before on my tank it is a somewhat intermittent problem becoming more frequent.

Dave

[captcarb]

What size fuel line on the portable tank? And, is the portable tank pickup big enough for that big motor?

You could have a fuel pressure issue.

jim

[beer30]

Chuck,
I haven't seen any water in the fuel separator just some sediment. I can't put 2 and 2 together as far as the boat running bad after fueling up anywhere in particular. Yesterday I fueled up at Great Bay and I put 93 in. Chuck was your motor throwing off any alarms when it was running crappy? I think I have a sensor on it's way out. I need to get it over to the dealer and have him scan the thing and see what is going on. The boat has run good before on my tank it is a somewhat intermittent problem becoming more frequent.

Dave

No alarms. Took up to George last night. TPS was out range. Will put one on Friday. Chuck

[dkramer]

The fuel line on the portable tank is 5/16". The fuel line on the boat tank is 3/8". The motor was screaming on the portable tank for about 3 or so gallons then it started acting up. The motor also ran ok on the main tank when I first put the boat in the water this year and for a few weeks then is started doing this. Does anyone know if there is a screen on the bottom of the pickup in the aluminum tanks in the checkmates? Think it may be time for a new tank? I have heard stories of the tanks getting a build up on the walls and the ethanol eating away at it and creating have. Gotta love the ethanol.

Dave

[beer30]

How hard is it getting to the fuel pickup in the tank? Maybe pull it out and take a look in there. Do you think the engine is going into guardian mode? Chuck

[dkramer]

Not too hard to get to it. I will pull it out and check if there is a screen and what the condition is. I am not sure if it is guardian mode or not. If I slow down for a second the nail it the power is right back.

Dave

[hsbob]

two suggestion;
1 you really ned 3/8 hose.

2. does you main tank have a safety check valve. remove the valve for testing. it maybe causing too much restriction to flow.

[dkramer]

i have 3/8 hose on my main tank please read above.

no check valve that i am aware of.

Dave

[trashy]

Just out of curiosity, what rpms are you running at WOT? Is it possible that you might be bumping the limiter? I'm just taking a wild guess here, but from what you describe, it sounds like it happens at or almost WOT, but midrange and idle are good.

[dkramer]

only 5800-5900rpm. Limiter is 6300RPM.

[DRHOBACK]

Mine had this problem, solution turned out to restriction in fuel line through rigging hose due to so many hoses and cables in it.
I pulled it out and rethreaded back in and have not had problem since.

Danny

[dkramer]

my rigging hose is definitely packed. I will pull it out and feed it back through. Did yours run goods sometimes but not others? Make sense that it would act up when it is near WOT since it is sucking in the gas.

Dave

[supergenius74]

Hey, not to change subjects or hyjack your thread but I have the same boat and it runs fine at WOT all day until i get to about 1/4 tank of fuel, then it starts cutting out, won't idle very good. This winter I unhooked the fuel line from the engine and turned on the fuel pump and noticed that when I get to 1/4 tank or about 6 gal of gas left it starts foaming, lots of air in the fuel. What would cause this? the pickup in the aluminum tank? I would think I could normall go down to almost empty before this happens not with 1/4 tank of gas still. -shane

[dkramer]

I believe that mine acts up a lower tank levels as well. I am pulling out my pickup and looking at it as well to see if their is something in the screen.

[Yamahamer]

Nobody has mentioned the fuel primer ball, if you have one I would change with high quality one. I had a similar problem with a HPDI 300, changed ball and good to go.

[dkramer]

yeah mine is brand spanking new mercury primer ball. think it is a combination of the pickup and a possible kinked fuel line on mine.

Dave

[CREWSMARINE05]

When you ran the boat on the portable tank were you hooking it up directly to the fuel pump where the fuel hose goes in at the motor??????????? If you didn't then you're not totaly eliminating the boat's fuel system. Like they said it could be a restriction in the rigging tube. And you deffinately need to run it with 3/8 hose on the portable tank. Just a thought..........David

[dkramer]

No I didn't. I am going to pull the line out of the rigging tube and see how that looks and also check the pickup in the tank. If i can't find the problem and decide to run the portable tank again I'll use 3/8" line right to the motor directly.

Dave

[SSIMPALA71]

Yes there is a fuel filter in the integrated vst-its the red-top piece of plastic towards the front/top. Also there has been some problems with the 250 xs's at or close to the rpm which you speak of. There is a re-calibrated pcm out now for that engine if it experiences this. I know it was for the 06' and '07 -- not sure about the '05--would be worth a phone call. Also I have seen a few "turned" sleeves that affect scavenging. Hope you gitter fixed!!

[wildfire1]

In Murcury's trouble shooting chart for performance loss one of the possible conditions could be, "Engine block pressure sensor or coolant temp sensor failure" also it says, "warning horn failure" does it beep on start up?

[sallesjr_technician]

You will find a very small fuel filter installed in the fuel regulator pressure only for the model 250 XB EFI with serial number from OG980600 thru OT800999. However, if your engine is 250 PRO XS (3.0L DFI) with serial number from 1B426561 & up, you will heve to use the fuel/air meter pressure gauge and verify their pressure.

[beer30]

Did you talk to Fuller's? What did he say about the problem? Chuck

[j_martin]

Hey, not to change subjects or hyjack your thread but I have the same boat and it runs fine at WOT all day until i get to about 1/4 tank of fuel, then it starts cutting out, won't idle very good. This winter I unhooked the fuel line from the engine and turned on the fuel pump and noticed that when I get to 1/4 tank or about 6 gal of gas left it starts foaming, lots of air in the fuel. What would cause this? the pickup in the aluminum tank? I would think I could normall go down to almost empty before this happens not with 1/4 tank of gas still. -shane


That's a hole in the fuel pickup tube at 1/4 tank.

[sallesjr_technician]

That's a hole in the fuel pickup tube at 1/4 tank.

I agree there´s a hole in the fuel pickup tube. I suggest to chaenge it for a new one made of the same material.

[RustyJ671]

dkramer---

Have you found resolution to this issue? I'm having a similar problem on my 07 250 Pro XS since I bought it and got it broke in. It now has 20 hours on it and I'm still having the same problem. My dealer tells me that it just hasn't "loosened up" yet and it won't until 20-30 hours. I think this is a crock of snit.

[diskvalve]

Mine was doing the same thing ; it turned out to be a bad sparkplug. Funny thing was it started and idled fine and did not cut out every time ; I suspected fuel delivery problems as well and changed everything in the fuel system with no real change; although just when I thought I had it fixed it would cut out again. When it did cut out it would not rev past 5400. While prop testing a big wheel trying to get out of the hole it suddenly totally lost firing on the bad plug and would not come on to plane at all. This prompted me to install fresh NGK IZFR6J plugs and the problem magically disappeared and has not even hinted of returning with over 20 liters of injector oil used since. Up until that plug totally failed it did not behave like a fouling plug but felt like fuel delivery.--- mike

[dkramer]

My problem was 2 fold. 1st issue was water in the fuel system coming in from the vent at the top of the splashwell. 2nd problem was during troubleshooting the 1st dealer I took my boat to messed with the float in the VST and screwed it all up. The 2nd dealer identified the problem, adjusted the float in the VST and it has been fine ever since.

Dave

[hydro-cat]

Is it possible that your tach is reading wrong. Maybe reading low on the high end. These engine when they run up to 6300 or so will go into a rich condition and drop back to around 6200. It will set no codes or alarms. It just does it. Merc has a service bulletin out about this. Just something to think about.

Tim

[RustyJ671]

Took the boat in to the dealer this morning. I really wish I could have stayed while the tech had it hooked up to the laptop. I ended up describing what it's been doing and gave him a copy of this thread. He called me later today and told me that he didn't find anything out of the ordinary with the ECU and that he had actually read the postings you guys have made. He didn't find any fuel related problems and since I had already changed the plugs, he ruled that out. He called the Mercury tech line and began to describe the issue. He said that Merc tech guy basically finished describing the symptoms, indicating that this may be more of a recurring problem than I thought. Ultimately, Mercury is sending another ECU to him and we'll see what happens next week.

[optimax135]

Do you have the kind of relationship with your dealer where he can hook up his smartcomm box with the push button switch to snap a picture in the smartcomm at the problem RPM you are having? You have to go into water test on the CDS to do this but he should be fimiliar with this type of trouble shooting. I would love to know fuel pressure at the RPM your having problems with. I doubt there's a problem with the Propulsion control module. But, then again you never know. I think there were some issue's with the high pressure pump in the VST in that model but I'm not sure. You may want to investigate that a little further. This problem triggers something in my mind that brings up some past failures with that pump. Hope this helps..............

[holata]

I know this may sound really basic... but I went through very similar issues a couple years ago and it turned out to be a faulty primer ball. just food for thought

[arrowwaves]

I think that I read in the Mercury supplied installation guide for the 250XS that a separate fuel filter should not be used because it can cause fuel pressure problems.

[RustyJ671]

Got the ECM changed yesterday. So far, so good! I managed to run it up to 84 @ 5900 with a 29" TXP OT4. I'm probably going to drop some pitch and run it again this weekend to see what's going to happen. Another positive is that I'm back a 0 hours. The downside is that I'm back in break-in according to the ECM. Hopefully my issue is resolved.

[espen]

Hi ! Have been out testing after turning the sleeve on the 250xs and installing new piston. The idle is perfect but seems like it has 500rpms less than the other engine.
a few times it has stalled at 2000rpm when trying to get out of the hole and sometimes the power is there at full trottle but sometimes not. I am thinking like changing the sparkplugs first like one mentioned previously.

[espen]

Hi ! On my engine I tryed to change the air injector but it was one of the fuel injectors that was bad.