good news bad news

[chris young]

So I finally got my 84 Rider in the water with much huffing and puffing, the railway didn't work out as I planned, but that's another story. Took it out for a quick 10-15 minute blast just to feel it out and set the new dripless packing. All went well, steers very smooth, speedos say it will do over 40 (not too sure about that one, probably need calibration) and I started to get a bit of the feel for reversing in a straight line.

That was yesterday, today I take it out again, and 15 minutes in it just dies. The way it died it was like I ran out of gas, hesitation, no power, almost stalls, pull the throttle back, let it idle put it in gear and then that's it. I briefly tried to start it again, but the way it died I knew it would be pointles.

The killer is I had no time to even put gas in the boat (once I had paddled it back) let alone start checking fuel lines etc, so I don't know what the issue is yet.

I had emptied the tank completely when I pulled it out to put backing plates in for the ski platform, so no water in there, I then put 5 gallons of fresh high test in and it started and purred like a kitten. So the needle is on E, but I know I just put 5 gallons in. Is it possible that there is a lot of unusable fuel in this boat and the gauge is calibrated to reflect that? I won't be able to do anything to it until next weekend, so I'd like to go prepared.

It could also be the old "spider in the vent" but I didnt' think of that one until the boat was put away. Plus I probably ran it longer on the first day so if that was it, it should have happened yesterday.

These things are easy to work on and troubleshoot so I'm sure I'll figure it out pretty quick, but any insight would be helpful.

Still it was nice to get her out and ripping along, it just jumps out and goes.

[CornRickey]

Do the basic stuff. Check for spark, points, dc the fuel line from the carb and verify its pumping. Does the accel. Pump shoot fuel into the throat? Fuses, coils conections. Will it fire on ether? What do the plugs, rotor and cap look like? That kind of stuff. That woukd drive me nuts hav

[Jetlink]

I would first try throwing some gas in it. 5 gallons isn't a whole heck of a lot when it comes to these engines. I'll run through about 6 gallons of gas an hour average.

[chris young]

Thanks guys, I plan on going straight for the gas first, and then all of the above if that fails. 6 gal per hour???!!! wow! I knew they were thirsty, but I was thinking more like 3. Assuming I ran it for 1/2 hour total, which may be the case that means there's only 2 gal in the tank, perhaps I really did just run out of gas (best solution by far). That certainly is what it felt like. It's hard when you're the only guy in the boat to be sure, but when I did advance the throttle i did see a bit of vapour come out of the carb, so it seemed like I was putting some gas in, but hard to say. I'm hoping I can get down to the boat this weekend 'cause I hate leaving it like that.

Looks like I need to buy another gas can! I only have 2 now. Nearest high test is a 20 minute drive away.

[Salty87]

being on plane may have moved the little gas in the tank away from the pickup.

[chris young]

That's what I'm beginning to think too Salty, it died as I was finishing a fairly aggressive turn to port, which would have move what little fuel there was over to starboard. I'm beginning to think that had I just cranked it for 15 or 20 seconds it would have fired up again. Oh well, I guess it's all part of the learning curve.

[Jetlink]

Get yourself a gas caddy. I recently got one and haven't had to use it yet but it's a 12 gallon capacity, rolls on big wheels and has a nozzle and hose to fill the boat from without any lifting required except into and out of the truck.

[DAFF]

5 gallons on a empty tank is more like 2 when you consider the shape of the fuel cell. I always leave shore full so there is always more than enough for a good day out and then some. Nothing worse than running out of fuel on the lake or having to figure out whats wrong this time for no reason.

[Jetlink]

We have a saying at work, the only time you have too much gas or fuel is when you're on fire.

[chris young]

I finally got back to the boat this weekend and tried to start it without adding fuel just to see what was up, it would fire on ether but not run, so I filled her up and she ran all weekend without a problem at all. I still can't believe that I burned 5 gallons in 1/2 hour, but that solve the issue , so there must be a couple of gallons of unusable fuel in it. Easy fix anyways.

[jzelt]

I calculate that I burn about 10 gal per hr at 3000 Rpm. (Good to know in case your fuel gauge craps out, you can still calc how much gas you have left based on number of hrs ran). I do the same in my vehicles resetting the trip each time.

[Cusefan78]

Chris I just got a centroid digital sending unit. It was around $75 delivered. It's suppose to be accurate and it doesn't bounce around like the old ones do. Just remember to measure the tank depth before you order. Also she will ask which one you need you want a 2 post sender not the three. I have had it in for three weekends and It is very accurate. Also I'm on a lake with no high test so I bring it up gas every weekend from Syracuse. I went out and bought an electric pump that screws onto 5 gallon tanks. Best thing I bought. Saves the back.

[wotan2525]

I've got a WEMA sender and it's similar -- no moving parts, doesn't bounce and it's much more accurate than the float-type sender. I paid $45 for mine direct from WEMA.

[chris young]

I would love to stick one in, but as usual, I didn't measure the tank when it was out and the boat is 3 1/2 hours away so I don't know what length I need, my gas tank looks like this,
http://imgur.com/gwmyFOs

Suggestions?

[Cusefan78]

Chris I'm guessing that every model in the same age bracket has the same tank. I can't see supra tossing in random tanks. I would call supra and see if they can tell you or check around here to see if anyone knows. I ordered a 8.5" sender they cut and calibrate them before shipping. Or you can get a longer 3 wire one and cut to fit your own and calibrate it yourself. Looked pretty easy from the directions.

[wotan2525]

That looks shallower than my tank and I used the 8" sender...... I think you'll either have to measure or have someone with a rider measure for you.

[chris young]

I'd just buy a sender and cut and calibrate it myself but apparently centroid won't ship to Canada. I looked at the WEMA site but only found float type senders, I'll look again when I have time. Which one did you get?

[wotan2525]

I bought the WEMA SSS/SSL -- it looks like it has a float on it, but it actually works via induction.

[chris young]

Thanks. I guess I'll have to wait until I can measure the tank before I can order the sender. I'll just make sure there's lots of gas in the boat for the time being.:p

[Cusefan78]

Chris you can mail it to me I'm up there pretty much every weekend and also ill be up all next week. I live in Syracuse

[chris young]

Thanks, I appreciate the offer, I just may take you up on that. The next time I'll be up is the last week of July and I'll be up for a couple of weeks, so perhaps I could drop by on one of my trips to Westport. How long did it take to get your sender after you ordered?

[Cusefan78]

Took about 7 days. They said 10. Ill be up pretty much every weekend in July so that won't be a problem. I'm only about ten minutes from Westport.

[jthack]

hello,
my 1995 labrisa's fuel gauge has never worked, at least since it was new to me last spring...gas and lake is real close, so just stop and fill her up every other trip...no problem. i finally got around to fixing it and found that my sender is bad. mine has a ISSPRO 8" TUBE SENDER...appears to be model RA9508-ISS. i'm not sure if its original or not. anyone seen one of these?

http://isspro.mybigcommerce.com/ra9508-iss/