I'm at the ragged edge of my mechanical expertise so I think I'm going to pull the injector rail and see if fuel is getting that far and clean the injectors. I'm a little hesitant to take the VST apart and examine the hp pump inside. As far as checking for pressure from hp pump i'm not equipped to do that and don't feel good about probing around with electrical stuff. I've watched a couple videos of it but think I might be better served by a Honda mechanic. I'll be taking it to Toms Outboards in Olympia if the injectors cleaning doesn't work, but it's about a month before they can work on it.
Honda BF 150A wont start
- Thread starter Schuster
- Start date
T.R. Bauer
New member
I don't blame you for wanting a mechanic, but you have a month to play with it. I'm just curious, have you ever changed your high pressure fuel filter? I wouldn't be shocked at all if it got all plugged up from goofy chemical reactions during the long storage. It's easy enough to change BTW and if you have never done it - it's probably time. I bet it's gross!
T.R. Bauer":2htxl2xv said:
On my BF90D there are a low pressure and a high pressure fuel filter on the engine itself. These are easy to change. When changing the high pressure filter, you will find out if the fuel system is pressurized.
Simple test would be to remove the high pressure filter element and bypass the low pressure one (a bit of fuel tube required) and see if the engine will run.
T.R. Bauer
New member
ssobol":25ml6rvt said:
Yes you will! I hope it is as simple as this
cmetzenberg
New member
Schuster":16mge2s7 said:
That's all great, but if your fuel pump is bad you still aren't getting fuel. Get some starter fluid.
Had a similar story of BF150 refusing to start next morning after a rough passage. Reluctant local Honda mech with computer could find nothing wrong and had no further time for about 1 month.
Boat was in Canada. Suspected the ECU. Honda Canada not very interested in warranty on Honda US engine.
Short story is I flew home to US, collected trailer caught ferry back to boat and hauled it home to my local friendly boat dealer (EQ Marine) where their very pragmatic engine man noted that I had two engines and, using impeccable logic says, "Lets just swap the ECU's from port to stbd and see what happens". Lo and behold, the fault moved, problem solved in 20 mins.
Don't know if it will help but it looks like you have time to try it.
Good luck.
M
Boat was in Canada. Suspected the ECU. Honda Canada not very interested in warranty on Honda US engine.
Short story is I flew home to US, collected trailer caught ferry back to boat and hauled it home to my local friendly boat dealer (EQ Marine) where their very pragmatic engine man noted that I had two engines and, using impeccable logic says, "Lets just swap the ECU's from port to stbd and see what happens". Lo and behold, the fault moved, problem solved in 20 mins.
Don't know if it will help but it looks like you have time to try it.
Good luck.
M
So talked with the guys at King Salmon Marine in Tacoma about my problems and they gave me advice on a test to check if the hp fuel pump is working. After replacing the hp fuel filter, I removed the bolt in the center of the head that encapsulates the filter. turned the key and nothing happened. I should have got 40 psi of gas shooting out of there. Problem identified. Spent the day removing the VST and remove the HP fuel pump and tested it again on the bench, nothing. It appears to be corroded completely and frozen. Ordering a new pump tomorrow. I looked on line and there are several replacements for under $100.00 when a Honda replacement pump is like $300+. I makes me a little nervous to buy a after market pump with such a large price difference. anybody got a thought on this. Thanks.
bobjarrard
New member
Great series of posts and along the way you became a master mechanic! Keep up the posts till all is well and then how about a video of your boat running!!!! Thanks again, Bob Jarrard :xseek
I think I'll take that advice Steve and get the OEM replacement. I really don't want to do this again. I think Ill clean the injectors today after seeing the condition of the pump.
This engine only has 350 on it so it has seen a lot of idle time. Hasn't been started for almost 2 years. Always had marina gas in it with additives but apparently still had moisture in it. Part of the problem there is he never filled it full always only 1/2 full. That has the tendency to cause vaporization/sweating.
So we move forward from here.
This engine only has 350 on it so it has seen a lot of idle time. Hasn't been started for almost 2 years. Always had marina gas in it with additives but apparently still had moisture in it. Part of the problem there is he never filled it full always only 1/2 full. That has the tendency to cause vaporization/sweating.
So we move forward from here.
bobjarrard
New member
I have a friend who has worn out the auto parts store "lifetime warranty" over and over on his Dodge diesel truck. It is like the story of oats - the cheap ones already went through the mule, the good ones come in the nice brown bag.
Bob Jarrard
Bob Jarrard
bobjarrard
New member
I have a friend who has worn out the auto parts store "lifetime warranty" over and over on his Dodge diesel truck. It is like the story of oats - the cheap ones already went through the mule, the good ones come in the nice brown bag.
Bob Jarrard
Bob Jarrard
ssobol":vgre48bf said:
Talking with a friend of mine today about the prices of motorcycle parts. His comment, "Remember, you don't have to put platinum handles on the casket, the wooden ones work just as well!" implying that you have a choice of where you want to spend your money, Quality is good, but is it that much better.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
journey on
New member
Well, aftermarket parts are certainly cheaper, but one might ask why. A $150 starter motor is $150 for a reason; could be weight (less copper), just quality or something.
Now, since one cannot be sure why that part is cheaper, start thinking about what is means to the engine, in other word, for instance, can you start that engine when you're anchored in a secluded place without that starter? If the answer is no, you've got a critical part and don't skimp. Consider a rebuilt, I've had good luck with them.
I bought a motor snubber from Rockwell?, the best aftermarket (most expensive) they had, but not a Toyota part. Built misaligned, forced a fit. So, be careful. If it's critical and it's worked from the factory, why wouldn't you buy a factory replacement? Boat.net gives a slight discount on outboard parts.
Boris
Now, since one cannot be sure why that part is cheaper, start thinking about what is means to the engine, in other word, for instance, can you start that engine when you're anchored in a secluded place without that starter? If the answer is no, you've got a critical part and don't skimp. Consider a rebuilt, I've had good luck with them.
I bought a motor snubber from Rockwell?, the best aftermarket (most expensive) they had, but not a Toyota part. Built misaligned, forced a fit. So, be careful. If it's critical and it's worked from the factory, why wouldn't you buy a factory replacement? Boat.net gives a slight discount on outboard parts.
Boris
journey on":1azje5er said:
But you have to look deeper than just the part. Perhaps the price is higher just because the cache of the brand allows them to charge a higher price (and net higher profit). Perhaps they have to account for other factors besides just the cost of the part (those celebrities in the commercials won't work for free).
Perhaps the off brand part and the brand name part are the same quality (maybe even the same OEM), is the all the money you pay for a brand name part actually returned to you in a part that is actually higher quality?
Unfortunately, without comparative testing for your particular use case, it is very hard to know.
journey on
New member
ssbol, you've asked some very good questions. And the answer, as you've stated is one doesn't know. Unless one has had some experience with the cheap stuff. And, certainly the OEM equipment is priced high.
So, you have to make a judgement call. First, is the starter (for example) a brand that of which you've heard? Say Hitachi? Next is the component critical to your successful journey? If you're going the anchor in a remote anchorage where the towboat may or may not find you, the answer is yes. So, if you've never heard of the brand, I wouldn't buy it and I'd get the OEM.
As another example, there are a lot of generators made in China and people want to know if they're good enough to take on board. And the answer is (or should be) is how the heck should we know. My generator is a Honda which I've had for 15 years. So I know how Hondas last. And I've bought stuff from Harbor Freight, so I can evaluate how their stuff lasts in general. And I still chose Honda, because if the generator craps out in the aforementioned anchorage, it'll cost me a lot to recover from that and ruin the vacation.
You've asked logical questions, but given no specific way they can be answered but a good running outboard is critical to our successful vacation, so I buy the best parts I can. And it's paid off.
So, you have to make a judgement call. First, is the starter (for example) a brand that of which you've heard? Say Hitachi? Next is the component critical to your successful journey? If you're going the anchor in a remote anchorage where the towboat may or may not find you, the answer is yes. So, if you've never heard of the brand, I wouldn't buy it and I'd get the OEM.
As another example, there are a lot of generators made in China and people want to know if they're good enough to take on board. And the answer is (or should be) is how the heck should we know. My generator is a Honda which I've had for 15 years. So I know how Hondas last. And I've bought stuff from Harbor Freight, so I can evaluate how their stuff lasts in general. And I still chose Honda, because if the generator craps out in the aforementioned anchorage, it'll cost me a lot to recover from that and ruin the vacation.
You've asked logical questions, but given no specific way they can be answered but a good running outboard is critical to our successful vacation, so I buy the best parts I can. And it's paid off.