Electrical and Fuel question

[bryan632]

Ok, been a while since I've been on here. I got the boat out for the season and I'm having a few problems. First, I am having electrical problems. My voltmeter on the dash rarely reads more than 10 volts. even with a brand new battery, it is still having troubles starting. I am pretty sure the altenator is putting out pretty good voltage. so far I have wire brushed the terminals on the battery and the main ground point on the engine block. any I deas?? also, does anyone know where the sacrificial anode is located on the 88 SunSport? This will be my second season with the boat and I figure i might as well replace that. It couldn't hurt.

Second, when I shut the boat down, gas drains from the line. I think it is just going back into the tank. I havent seen any fuel in the bilge and the carb isn't flooding. Does this sound more like a carburator problem or does it sound like the fuel pump is bad. to get it to start, I have been cycling the throttle about a million times to get the accelerator pump to get the fuel to start flowing. once it is running, it is fine. I bought an electric inline fuel pump and might replace the diaphragm pump on the engine with that. I don't want to do do that till I know more though.

Thanks in advance for any info any of you might have.

Cheers, Bryan

[szarik5]

Charge the battery up and disconnect the positive terminal only. With all systems off, check for any electrical flow between the positive terminal of the battery and the positive lead. You can use a simple test light or a volt meeter. Check that the battery has good voltage - may still have a faulty battery. If you detect no drain and the battery is good then your voltmeeter is bad. If you detect a drain in the system, start with disconecting the alternator. The alternator can charge properly but when the ignition is off it may drain the battery. Once you eliminate the electrical system then you can look at the neutral swith and then possible ignition timing or engine problems.

As far as the engine driven fuel pump, they work just fine untill they break. No need to switch over. There is a one way valve at the fuel tank that should prevent fuel from draining back. If you are not loosing power at speed then your pump is most likely ok - unless it is allowing air into the system. Pumping the throtle may be a sign of carb problems. How long has it been since you had your carbs rebuilt? Before i built a new fuel injected engine for my supra, I was lucky to get a year after a rebuild before I ended up with poor idling or other carb related issues.

Send me a private message if you think I can help.