Does the term "Dead in the Water" mean anything?

[fender66]

Hey gang.....

Sorry to say this term mean a hell of a lot to me now. Maybe you can point me in the right direction. Any and all advice is much appreciated and thanks in advance.

I'll try to make a long story short. Late last December, I bought my first boat. It's a 1648 with a 40HP jet. I know it's not meant to really load down, but today, I took my family (wife and 2 daughters w/dog) out for a simple boat ride. The rivers here in St. Louis are still a little high, so the fishing is really bad. Good day to show off the boat to the family with a simple (no fishing) ride. Anyway....I was running great and the girls were having fun (even the wife said it was nice). Ha...I'm on top of the world. Maybe they are starting to understand the joy I've been looking forward to. After we ran about 2 miles (maybe a little more) up river, we turned around to head back. Got about half way back and the engine, without any warning, died. I tried to restart it, but had no success. Ended up having to flag down someone to tow me back to the dock (God bless good people).

I did have it tuned up by a certified Yamaha dealer about 6 weeks ago to make sure it was in good shape before I ventured out. Outside of plugs and a pin or two in the jet drive...it was running great.

Anyway...here's what I tried with the results.

Batteries are good. Even had a brand new unused one just in case.
Oil reservoir was full
Connections to the batteries are good.
Engine did crank right after it died, but after repeated tries, it stopped cranking all together as if the batteries were dead. (They were not as I had my volt meter with me and checked)
A couple times, when I would turn the key, (at first) it would crank a time or two, and then the starter seemed to spin.
It did bark at me earlier in the day when I started it. Just once, and didn't happen again. (sounded like a loud, single high pitched dog bark)

Guys....I'm so down right now. To be on such a HIGH after it's maiden voyage last weekend to fish for the day to 2nd time out, "Dead in the Water".

What ya think??? Any advice?

 

[wolfmjc]

sorry about the day you had, the first thing i would do is since the motor doesnt seem to want to turn over is check the compression on the cylinders, one possibility is could the oil feed have clogged? which would cause the motor to be run without oil? next as always check ALL electrical connections and clean them, get the ones on the motor itself......then check for fuel and then fire.....lets not forget how finicky a fuel bulb and line to the tank can be......hope this helps...

 

[fender66]

Well...Looks like I've got my day planned for tomorrow. I'll check the compression and see if there's anything weird. I did just go try to turn it over and it will turn over again, (don't want to start it until I can get it in my barrel), but it did turn. Does seem to be making more of an effort to turn though. I am afraid that it got hot, although I have no indication of it yet, and my warning buzzer never went off either. All my electrical looks good as it should. Just finished rewiring the entire boat two weeks ago. (but I did check it nonetheless)
Thanks again.

 

[KMixson]

You may have a broken key between the flywheel and the crankshaft. The timing may be off due to that broken key. It will cause the symptoms you mentioned in your post. If the plug tries to fire before the piston reaches far enough to the top of the cylinder it will stop cranking due to too much compression in that cylinder. Check your key.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

hate to hear about your troubles, i know the exact feeling! #-o

 

[bassboy1]

I'm not 100% sure that I am getting the whole picture, but from what I read, it almost sounds as if you have 2 separate problems, that just happened to occur simultaneously. Depending on how the engine cut out, it could be a fuel issue, or an ignition issue. But, it also sounds like your starter may be on the verge of conking, based on these statements:

Engine did crank right after it died, but after repeated tries, it stopped cranking all together as if the batteries were dead. (They were not as I had my volt meter with me and checked)

A couple times, when I would turn the key, (at first) it would crank a time or two, and then the starter seemed to spin.

It did bark at me earlier in the day when I started it. Just once, and didn't happen again. (sounded like a loud, single high pitched dog bark)

Does seem to be making more of an effort to turn though.

I could be reading this wrong, as depending on what part of the country you are in, an engine "cranking" can mean everything from it simply turning over, to it actually firing, and starting, but assuming I'm understanding it as you are mentioning it, sounds like your starter is dying.

The cutting out is a definite different issue. The cutting out and not restarting, after having run well leads me to think one of two things.

How did it sound when it died? Did it immediately cut out, or was it as if you backed off the throttle and set her down? If it immediately cut out (as if you hit the kill switch), I'm thinking electrical problem, but if it felt more as if you were letting off the throttle to stop, you're more than likely looking at a fuel problem.

 

[fender66]

Thanks bassboy1.
I think you are reading it correctly. When it died...it was immediate. Did not rmp down. Went from full open to dead as if hitting the kill switch. The "starter being bad" also creates some doubt in my mind. I agree it sounds possible, but it didn't "spin" on me at all today. I spent time on it today trying to figure out what happened. I also rebuilt the water pump just as a precaution. The shop I had it to said it looked okay, but we couldn't tell how old it was, so I ordered a rebuild kit and just rebuilt it.
Today, whenever I would try to start it, the engine would crank (turn over), but it never started. I might get 5, 6, 8...good cranks and then it would stop as if the batteries were dead. Again, the batteries are good and at full power.
I am getting spark at all 3 cylinders and I've check all my electrical connections. I guess my biggest problem is if this is electrical, I'm mostly in the dark. Mechanical I'm able to work out....electrical, not. Same with my cars though. Can I have my started checked at the local auto parts store same as on a car starter? That would be easy enough to do.

Kmixon suggested a broken key between my flyweel and crankshaft. I guess I'll try to figure out what that is tomorrow night.

Thanks again to all those that have offered advice. Much appreciated.

 

[fender66]

Okay guys....a couple of my buds came by tonight so we could work out the problem, and boy did we. Took 2 hours and it think the results are interesting enough to share so in the event someone else might have this problem.

A quick overview: Symptoms were while running wide open, my engine died suddenly and was not able to restart. Did not idle down, but rather died as if hitting the kill switch. When cranking to restart, it would tire out easily as if the battery was bad, however the battery was at full charge (verified w/ meter).

Problem: The bearing in my jet shaft that lines up the impeller to the jet housing failed and shifted the drive shaft enough for the jet impeller to be dragging on the foot. Enough so that it stopped the engine cold in it's tracks. I know....I was thinking it was electrical too...but we couldn't find anything electrical that indicated it was so. After I pulled the foot off the jet, it started and ran beautifully.

Tomorrow, I'm taking the jet drive in for a servicing so that it is fixed, packed and aligned correctly. This will be better than what I was thinking at first.

Thanks to those that did offer advice and well wishes. I'm very anxious to get back on the water for my 3rd time in this boat.

 

[bassboy1]

Yep, that is interesting. Explains why the starter just happened to "conk" at the exact same time. Glad you figured it out. I've never messed with a jet, so something down there was the absolute last thing that would come to mind for me.

 

[wasilvers]

Good find!

 

[KMixson]

I am glad you were able to get it figured out.