www.iFourWinns.com

Took my new (to me) 248 out today for the first time and already had a problem. It ran great for over an hour and then suddenly started stalling out when at idle. I was also getting two beeps from the ignition warning system every couple minutes. The only way to restart and stay running was to give it some throttle out of gear. But then I couldn't get it into gear because it would stall out when put back in neutral. I had to rev it up and quickly put it in gear. Was lucky that this happened when passing the boat launch so I was able to limp it back to the dock and didn't have to get a tow.

Anyone else have this happen?

I'm thinking maybe gas is either old or has water in it. I replaced the inline fuel filter just before I went out, but didn't replace the water separating filter yet. I plan to do that tomorrow.

As for the beeps, the only thing I could find in the manual was, a continuous beep for no oil pressure or engine overheating, and an intermittent beep for low outdrive gear oil. The engine temp was holding at 175, it showed oil pressure on the guage and I checked the outdrive oil level when I got to the dock and everything was good.

Anything I can to about the fuel in the boat? I think there is about 40 gallons in there. Is there an additive I can add or should I just replace the filter, top it off with fresh gas and try to use it up?

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Sounds to me like water in the fuel. How did it run before you bought it? How long did it sit with half a tank of fuel?

Was she stored outside? Could water have gotten in? I'd do one of two things. Either add a ton of HEET to the tank and fresh fuel, or have the tanks pumped, cleaned, and then fresh fuel added. But first, empty out your water seperating fuel filter and confirm thats what it is...

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

I have no idea how long this fuel has been in the boat. It was just out of winter storage when I bought it so I assume that it has been in there since at least last summer. I was told that the previous owner only put about 20 hours on it in the last five years. It ran great during sea trial and all morning today. Just started doing this after running off and on for about an hour. I'll check out the water separating filter and see what I find.

I'm still scratching my head over the beeps though.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Try un plugging the connection to the outdrive fluid container. The float in those is known to stick and cause the alarm. If the alarm stops, that is the culprit. You can try to clean the float with solvent, or replace the entire unit. Can't just buy parts an pieces for those.
Common problem on Mercruiser engines with Bravo III outdrives, but an easy fix.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

i had these same issues on mine last year. turned out to be two separate issues. the double beeps was the water pressure sensor and the motor stalling at idle was IAC. both parts are simple to change out. You could also have your mechanic hook it up to a computer to check it out and verify. just a thought, hope this helps. good luck

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2005 214 Funship 5.0 Mercruiser
2003 Yukon Denali XL

Well this morning I pulled the water separating filter off and dumped the contents into a glass jar. Didn't see any separation in it all day so I'm guessing water in the fuel isn't the problem. I went ahead and installed a new filter that I had planned to do anyway.

Then I pulled the IAC valve off and noticed that I couldn't move the plunger inside. I wasn't sure if this was normal so I took it to a local boat shop. They where really helpful and let me look at a new IAC they had in stock. Turns out the plunger should move very easily if you push on it with your finger.

I purchased the new IAC and went ahead and installed it. It fired right up and ran great. Put the boat back in the water and had a nice two hour "test" cruise just to make sure.

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3