Advice Needed - 1993 Yamaha 2-Stroke 225 TXRR

[deepsea79]

I recently inherited a 1993 Proline 230 powered by a 1993 Yamaha 2-Stroke 225 TXRR. The boat was stored on a lift on a canal in South Florida and hasn't been used much in the last 10 years. The boat started when I got her home but ran very rough as expected. I replaced / worked on the following items:

New fuel
New Water Pump
New thermostats
New primer bulb
New fuel water separator
New inline fuel filter
Drained and cleaned the remote oil tank / filter
Cleaned the carbs including draining the bowls

DAY 1

I put everything back together and she fired right up. I trailered her to a ramp and put her in the water and turned the key. She ran for 10 seconds then died. Tried the key again and she wouldn't fire. I thought that maybe I overdid it on the primer bulb and flooded her out. I gave her 30 minutes and tried the key again but got nothing. I trailered her home and checked all wiring / fuses. Everything looked fine. I put the ears on in the driveway and turned the key. She fired right up and ran for 20 minutes with no issues.

DAY 2

I drove her to the ramp again and put her in and turned the key. She fired right up and ran for 20 minutes at the dock. I ran at no wake for 5 minutes and she cut out. Tried to fire it back up but she wouldn't go. Grabbed a tow back to the dock. Trailered home and tried to start her in the driveway again. Boom, She fires up and runs great.

Any advice as to what the issue might be? First I thought it was electrical but now I'm leaning towards a fuel / flooding issue. Prime start malfunction? Fuel pump assembly? Carb issue? Needless to say I'm really getting frustrated.

Thanks in advance for any help-

[pstephens46]

I recently inherited a 1993 Proline 230 powered by a 1993 Yamaha 2-Stroke 225 TXRR. The boat was stored on a lift on a canal in South Florida and hasn't been used much in the last 10 years. The boat started when I got her home but ran very rough as expected. I replaced / worked on the following items:

New fuel
New Water Pump
New thermostats
New primer bulb
New fuel water separator
New inline fuel filter
Drained and cleaned the remote oil tank / filter
Cleaned the carbs including draining the bowls

DAY 1

I put everything back together and she fired right up. I trailered her to a ramp and put her in the water and turned the key. She ran for 10 seconds then died. Tried the key again and she wouldn't fire. I thought that maybe I overdid it on the primer bulb and flooded her out. I gave her 30 minutes and tried the key again but got nothing. I trailered her home and checked all wiring / fuses. Everything looked fine. I put the ears on in the driveway and turned the key. She fired right up and ran for 20 minutes with no issues.

DAY 2

I drove her to the ramp again and put her in and turned the key. She fired right up and ran for 20 minutes at the dock. I ran at no wake for 5 minutes and she cut out. Tried to fire it back up but she wouldn't go. Grabbed a tow back to the dock. Trailered home and tried to start her in the driveway again. Boom, She fires up and runs great.

Any advice as to what the issue might be? First I thought it was electrical but now I'm leaning towards a fuel / flooding issue. Prime start malfunction? Fuel pump assembly? Carb issue? Needless to say I'm really getting frustrated.

Thanks in advance for any help-

Did you try pumping the primer ball after it failed to start?

[panasonic]

A few things to check when it WON'T run.

Are you getting spark on all or any plugs. Get yourself a spark checker for that.

Try draining a carb bowl and see if it is full or any crap in the fuel.

A process of eliminating one thing at time is the key.

[JerEazy2]

I recently inherited a 1993 Proline 230 powered by a 1993 Yamaha 2-Stroke 225 TXRR. The boat was stored on a lift on a canal in South Florida and hasn't been used much in the last 10 years. The boat started when I got her home but ran very rough as expected. I replaced / worked on the following items:

New fuel
New Water Pump
New thermostats
New primer bulb
New fuel water separator
New inline fuel filter
Drained and cleaned the remote oil tank / filter
Cleaned the carbs including draining the bowls

-

When you say "new fuel" do you mean you had the tank emptied and then filled it? or did you fill it full of new gas?

Similar when you say cleaned the carbs. Did you take them off, soak, and rebuild with a new kit? or did you drain the bowls and spray carb cleaner in there?

Since it last ran, take off your new Fuel/Water Separator and pour the contents into a glass jar. Let it sit overnight. See if you've got water in the fuel. I hate to say this, but it's a common mistake. Putting good gas on-top of bad gas doesn't give you good gas again, just gives you more bad gas. And, a boat that sat for a long time likely has a good amount of water built up in the tank. (especially if the tank wasn't full when it sat).

Early indications would be LP fuel pumps or clogged carbs, but could be as simple as bad gas. Do you have a portable tank you could hook up and try? see how it runs on that compared to the fuel tank?

Welcome to the Forums! Great help on here from some seriously knowledgeable individuals.

[99yam40]

carbed motor, so I would check for spark before chasing a fuel issue

[JerEazy2]

^ what he said.

[deepsea79]

Thanks to all for the quick replies and warm welcome to this forum. A little more history on the motor....

The carbs were broken down and cleaned by a mechanic about a year ago. They functioned properly and the motor ran great after being put back together. Before my breakdown my “cleaning consisted of spraying carb cleaner in the Jets and emptying / spraying the float bowls. I didn’t see anything nasty come out of the bowls when I drained them. The carbs appear very clean and I’m good order.

I did not drain the tank before filling up with fresh fuel because the old water separator and motor mounted inline filter didn’t show signs of contamination. The motor ran reasonably well before I performed the maintenance items listed above. I checked the new water separator today and found zero contamination.

I installled 2 new low pressure fuel pumps today, hooked up some earmuffs, and she started up and ran great. A little smoke at startup but she stopped smoking and idled great immediately.

My my next step will be a spark tester to see if I have a electrical problem if she does again on my next “in water” test run. I will post again after I get her in the water.

Thank you again for all of the positive input.

[JerEazy2]

Nicely done.

Those LP fuel pumps can be the cause of quite a few issues. And, they aren’t expensive and are easy to replace. They’’ve become part of my preventative maintenance along with thermostats with any “new” Yamaha.

let us know how the spark test goes

[rodbolt17]

a translation
I did not waste the old fuel cause I am cheap. I added new fuel to trash fuel.
I now have double the amount of trash fuel. sucks being me.

if the fuel is bad,and it does go bad, it is simply bad.
however I see this every year.
drives me nuts but it happens.
when it comes to the fuel system EVERYTHING must be done at the same time or the carbs simply get jammed up, again.
or you pop a piston.
yea I paid 150 bucks to pump my seapro last spring. you aint the only one to suffer fuel nasties.

[boscoe99]

When a half gallon of milk in the reefer goes sour I just run out and buy a half gallon of fresh milk and add it to the soured milk. Suddenly the sour milk is all fresh again.

How does that happen?

[pstephens46]

a translation
I did not waste the old fuel cause I am cheap. I added new fuel to trash fuel.
I now have double the amount of trash fuel. sucks being me.

if the fuel is bad,and it does go bad, it is simply bad.
however I see this every year.
drives me nuts but it happens.
when it comes to the fuel system EVERYTHING must be done at the same time or the carbs simply get jammed up, again.
or you pop a piston.
yea I paid 150 bucks to pump my seapro last spring. you aint the only one to suffer fuel nasties.

Thought you were selling that boat.

[deepsea79]

Rodbolt17 & Boscoe99

It turns out that the fuel in the boat is just fine. I took apart my carbs and found that whoever installed the floats never took the time to adjust them properly. After a quick carb rebuild, the motor is running like a champ. Just because someone doesn't want to shell out $250 bucks to drain a tank without knowing that the fuel is the problem does not make them "cheap". Just wanted to say thanks to everyone else in the forum for the help troubleshooting.

[JerEazy2]

glad to hear it worked out! enjoy the boat

[99yam40]

The carbs were broken down and cleaned by a mechanic about a year ago. They functioned properly and the motor ran great after being put back together.

If the floats were not correct then it would not have run well after the tech did it a year ago.

there must have been some other problem that you fixed

I just noticed I have 4 red marks now

[boscoe99]

If the floats were not correct then it would not have run well after the tech did it a year ago.

there must have been some other problem that you fixed

I just noticed I have 4 red marks now

You are a jewel in the rough, that's for sure.

28 days in the month of March. 10,169 posts. That's 363 a day. Your keyboard must be smoking.