running rich

[launch2000]

My 2000 launch has an obnoxious odor coming from the exhaust. Engine has around 450 hours and has been well maintained. It is not smoking and dosen't skip. Suggestions??

[99 LAUNCH]

MY 99 LAUNCH HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. MY MOTOR HAS A HOLLEY. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO TUNE A HOLLEY CARB. IF IT IS A HOLLEY IT IS A SIMPLE PROBLEM BUT TAKES TIME TO FIX. A HOLLEY WILL RUN RICH AT IDLE IF TUNED PROPERLY. LET ME KNOW WHAT KIND OF CARB AND HOPEFULLY I CAN HELP.

[launch2000]

Mine is EFI- don't know if you can adjust the mixture on these or not?? I ran in yesterday and did notice a bit of white smoke coming up from the platform. I'm in South Georgia and way away from the nearest inboard dealership so I do all I can, when I can as far as maintainence. Any help is appreciated.

[99 LAUNCH]

EFI IS NOT MY STRONGEST AREA. MOST EFI MOTORS HAVE IAC VALVE OR IDLE AIR CONTROL VALVE. THAT MAY BE A POSSIBLE PROBLEM. WHITE SMOKE IS OIL BURNING. WHEN THE MOTOR IS RUNING RICH IT WILL BE A BLACK SMOKE. PULL YOU'RE SPARK PLUGS ONE AT ATIME. LOOK AT THE COLOR INSIDE THE PLUG THE COLOR SHOULD BE A LIGHT BROWNISH COLOR. IF THE PLUGS ARE BLACK IT IS RUNING RICH. IF THE MOTOR IS BURNING OIL IT WILL SOMETIMES LEAVE IT ON THE END OF THE PLUGS. LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE MOTOR IS A TUNE PORT INJECTION OR THRODLE BODY INJECTOIN?

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Burning oil is BLUE SMOKE. The little bit of white "smoke" you see is most likely steam from the exhaust. Does the odor smell like gas, or something else? The worst smell i ever had from mine smelled like burning rubber when the exhaust overheated due to a shredded raw water pump impeller.

LAUNCH 99, not trying to flame, but it is considered poor netiquette to post in ALL CAPS. SOME PEOPLE FIND IT HARD TO READ. See what i mean.


Cheers,
DKJ

[launch2000]

It definitely smells like it's running rich on gas, not oil. It's not burning any oil at all according to the dipstick - impellor should be in good shape as my temp holds steady at 160 and I just replaced it end of last season. I like my boat to be as close to perfect as possible and I've got to cure this - wonder if there is an oxygen sensor?? Anyway, thanks for all the help.

[99 LAUNCH]

Sorry to those who have a hard time reading my post. I have never had steam come out from my boat. I have not seen a boat of this year with 02 sensors. This is why i would look for iac sensor.

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Launch2000,

I am thinking it could be incomplete combustion. Have you changed the plugs and wires lately?

DKJ


99 Launch,

I wasnt trying to be an ass. I was just lettiing you know.

DKJ

[KenG]

Launch2000,

Just an FYI for you: Marine EFIs do not use an oxygen sensor and there is no adjustment for the fuel mixture that can be done without special equipment.

I agree that the white smoke you noticed was likely just water vapor, especially if it was a humid day or a cool day.

I few questions to help diagnose your problem:

1) Which engine do you have?

2) Is your engine multiport or throttle body fuel injection?

3) Have you noticed a sheen of gasoline on the water coming from your exhaust?

4) Can you tell if one cylinder bank is running rich compared to the other?

5) Any black smoke visible at any time?

6) Why did you replace your thermostat?

7) Except for the rich smell, is your engine running normally?

--KG--

Launch
If you have the spin-on fuel filter canister on the bottom of your fuel pump at the front of the motor, than you probably have the fuel pump which was recalled. Please don't let me understate this - DO NOT operate your boat any more, and get it to a Indmar service center as soon as possible. Indmar tried to cool the fuel at the fuel pump for one year by having sea water pass by the fuel system. This caused an issue from corrosion. Unspent fuel was being discharged into the exhaust system through the cooling system. This could cause an explosion.

[BCBrooklynMI]

Launch
If you have the spin-on fuel filter canister on the bottom of your fuel pump at the front of the motor, than you probably have the fuel pump which was recalled. Please don't let me understate this - DO NOT operate your boat any more, and get it to a Indmar service center as soon as possible. Indmar tried to cool the fuel at the fuel pump for one year by having sea water pass by the fuel system. This caused an issue from corrosion. Unspent fuel was being discharged into the exhaust system through the cooling system. This could cause an explosion.

[IndyMatt]

Wow... that last post was a real kick in the nuts... Just curious if you do follow up with an indmar service center... what the outcome was. I agree with most of the posts above in regards to not being a burning oil issue due to the color of the smoke... In regards to combustion, spark plugs and wires... If the motor is not missing or running rough at idle then my understanding is that the plugs and wires are fine. In regards to mixture adjustments with EFI regardless of MPI or TBI is that this is controlled in the ECM and is not somthing the typical do it yourselfer can adjust. If your curious about cylinder performance, obviously check the condition of your plugs (ie soot, oil or the correct golden color). You can also check combustion compression pressure with a guage that screws into the spark plug receptical, available at most autopart stores. In light of the last post you may also want to check your fuel pressure to see if there is a significant drop at any point indicating a leak. Fuel pressure will vary from crank to WOT but if opperating correctly will remain within 4.9 to 8.5psi (33.8 to 58.6kPa) If your pressure is greater than 8.5psi then you may have a siezed relief valve which would spill excess fuel into your throttle body (TBI) or directly into your cylinders (MPI) causing a fuel rich condition during combustion. If thats the case than extended use could cause failure of your cylinder gaskets or in an extreme case, warping of the piston resulting in a drop of compression pressure. I'm not sure about the recall mentioned in the above post, you should certainly research that. If your comfortable with the above, it may be a diagnostic or cheaper repair than hauling it to your dealer. But, as always be very careful when dealing with fuel related repairs. Pressure and compression tests can be done without disassembly of fuel lines. Indmar 02; 03 & 04 have thread on pressure test access on the fuel line just north of the fuel filter and just south of the throttle body. Good luck... just curious how it turns out!!

[IndyMatt]

Sorry Guys... Check my numbers above... the pressure numbers I gave you were for the electric boost pump only. Correct fuel pressure to the injectors for the TBI is 27-31 psi while MPI is 35-47psi. Sorry for any confusion~

[thegorilla]

Hi all,
Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I couldn't find any other references. I just bought a 1999 Santera and the last time out (3rd time ever), the exhaust smelled like gasoline, and after a few hours, raw fuel was coming out of the exhaust and sheening on the water. It has an Indmar multi-point EFI engine and runs great under all conditions.

Could this be the same issue with the water pump? If so, what is the fix? I'm pretty mechanically inclined (rebuilt cars, swapped engines, etc.), but this is my first boat.

Thanks!

[DAFF]

Start by pulling your plugs and looking at the colour of them. If they are all fuel soaked then you have a fuel related issue. One or two could be a bad injector, plug or a dead hole....

Also look at the fuel filter. A pluged one could reduce fuel flow and decrease fuel pressure making the injectors dribble rather than aspirate the fuel into the combustion chamber.

[thegorilla]

Thanks DAFF,
plugs were or spark was my first thought, but it runs great, and even with only one mis gapped plug, my previous auto v-8s have run rough. I'll pull the plugs though.

Pat at Indmar said there is a fuel pump kit to fix this issue, as the original may be a water cooled one. I will check tonight, and if it is, a new fuel pump should solve it.
Being cheap, I am questioning why the infant electric fuel pump is $300 but a carter or trick flow 190lph is only $100. From my experience, a 50psi EFIpump should be fine.

[DAFF]

Plugs will tell you the full story. Even at WOT a rich running engine will run great!!! More fuel equalls more hp on the higher rpm side of things.

My gut feeling is the engine is loading up at idle with too much fuel. Check all the grounds too !! A faulty ground can cause havic on a computer driven engine.

[thegorilla]

I got eager to boat over the weekend and the engine was idling and running fine, so I didn't check the plugs. The problem definitely was the water-cooled fuel pump.

I bypassed the existing pump and filter/water separator and installed a Trick Flow EFI fuel pump and standalone water separator and the engine runs great with no fuel smell or gasoline in the water.

Unfortunately my alternator quit charging because I didn't check a water hose and it was cut by the belt. Time for an upgrade!

some pics:

Before:
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0261.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0262.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0277.jpghttp://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0334.jpg


After:
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0317.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0320.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0322.jpg

[thegorilla]

Don't worry, the plywood will be replaced by plastic board at my earliest opportunity. :)

After:
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0317.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0320.jpg
http://files.ornwilson.com/forums/supraboats/IMAG0322.jpg