95 Indmar TBI 350 5.7 no spark no fuel - sharing

[93Prostar190]

Hi everyone,

We have a 95 Prostar 190 with the 275 HP Indmar 350 engine. We love the boat and this Spring we just went to start the ol' girl and she did not start.

We pulled the flame arrestor and noticed 0 fuel coming off the injectors at crank, and also spraying starting starting fluid in the throttle body did not lead to any ignition. The fuel pump did prime each time.

Wrongly when not seeing any fuel, I assumed fuel pump. We replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter and did not change the situation.

We also did disconnect the lanyard and the fuel pump did not prime , so the lanyard switch was appearing to work as intended.

After some thought, I recalled that the MEFI-1 system gets a signal when the distributor turns (from the start turning it at start time) and that without that signal it may not tell the injectors to spray or spark to happen.

So I ended up replacing the distributor with one from Advance Auto for a 350 and the problem was solved.

I wanted to share since this is not a common issue.

We also checked fuses and connected my Diacom to the ECU and it responded so I knew the ECU and power to the ECU were good.

PM me if you want more details, but I hope this helps someone in the future.

Lastly, we replaced the fuel pump with one from Summit Racing so I ended up using the existing return line and just blocked the one input from the old pump fitting at the Y.

Pump is working great and boat is running 42-43 and pulling like it should.

Peace.

[robadele]

Awesome to hear you solved your problem. Your post will surely help someone who has a similar issue in the future!

[chrislandy]

I had this a few years ago, it was the coil inside the distributor that the ECU uses to sense the engine turning over (had to do a field strip and rebuild & luckily had ordered that part by accident a few years previous), it was not the ICM.

[93Prostar190]

I had this a few years ago, it was the coil inside the distributor that the ECU uses to sense the engine turning over (had to do a field strip and rebuild & luckily had ordered that part by accident a few years previous), it was not the ICM.

Agreed … went with the whole distributor which included the module but totally agree …

[Dreamin' MC]

I believe I may have exactly the same issue on my 1995 Maristar 200VRS EFI (same engine). Last Fall, we ran the boat for a good part of the day...no issues...no sputtering...purred like a kitten. When I went to start it up later that evening, it cranked but wouldn't start. I pulled the air cleaner off and noticed that the two fuel injectors sitting just above the carburetor weren't spitting fuel. I haven't replaced the fuel pump or fuel filter yet, but it's what I was planning to do. If you think I should try replacing the distributor first, then I will try it. Probably a good time to change the fuel filter as well, though.

[Double D]

I believe I may have exactly the same issue on my 1995 Maristar 200VRS EFI (same engine). Last Fall, we ran the boat for a good part of the day...no issues...no sputtering...purred like a kitten. When I went to start it up later that evening, it cranked but wouldn't start. I pulled the air cleaner off and noticed that the two fuel injectors sitting just above the carburetor weren't spitting fuel. I haven't replaced the fuel pump or fuel filter yet, but it's what I was planning to do. If you think I should try replacing the distributor first, then I will try it. Probably a good time to change the fuel filter as well, though.

I was there assisting the OP and if you can hear the fuel pump prime, don't touch it. Start with the distributor. If you have a way to read the MEFI, check for RPM's at cranking. If you don't see any, its not getting a signal from the distributor.

[93Prostar190]

I believe I may have exactly the same issue on my 1995 Maristar 200VRS EFI (same engine). Last Fall, we ran the boat for a good part of the day...no issues...no sputtering...purred like a kitten. When I went to start it up later that evening, it cranked but wouldn't start. I pulled the air cleaner off and noticed that the two fuel injectors sitting just above the carburetor weren't spitting fuel. I haven't replaced the fuel pump or fuel filter yet, but it's what I was planning to do. If you think I should try replacing the distributor first, then I will try it. Probably a good time to change the fuel filter as well, though.

So - to be sure, I would do the following -
1. Disconnect the safety lanyard - and then key on - you won't hear a prime ... that is good that means the lanyard safety switch did it's job. Put it back, and if it primes then you know that switch is working.

2. There are 3 fuses by the ECU your manual will tell you their location. They are covered 15 amp auto fuses ... make sure all 3 are ok. One is ECU, on is Fuel Pump and the other is ... (I forgot)

3. Spray some starting fluid into the throttle body (open it with the throttle control) and crank ... this will verify you don't have spark.

If you don't have spark and don't have fuel then the distributor (the coil in the distributor) is likely bad and you can rebuild or replace like I did. The ECU is likely not getting signal from the distributor.

If the fuse to the ECU is blown it would show the same, so take a moment to check those fuses.

I was able to connect to the ECU with my Diacom which proved it had power, but not everyone has that ... also there were no stored codes in the ECU for whatever that is worth.

[93Prostar190]

I was there assisting the OP and if you can hear the fuel pump prime, don't touch it. Start with the distributor. If you have a way to read the MEFI, check for RPM's at cranking. If you don't see any, its not getting a signal from the distributor.

Thanks DoubleD, your help was appreciated ...

I will add my $0.02 to your comment, I would not start with the distributor, I think DoubleD is saying if in context of the pump priming, etc that likely means the pump is still good.

If the pump primes and there is no gas coming from the injectors, it means the ECU is not telling the injectors to fire, that is the point to troubleshoot, which could lead to the diostributor quickly as DoubleD has said.

He makes a good point ... the RPM needle (and Diacom) were not showing any RPM's ... that is really pointing to the distributor at that point since it is not reporting that it is spinning.

Good luck! mine worked well last year, it was first start this year (did not use the boat from November to March)

[Dreamin' MC]

I was there assisting the OP and if you can hear the fuel pump prime, don't touch it. Start with the distributor. If you have a way to read the MEFI, check for RPM's at cranking. If you don't see any, its not getting a signal from the distributor.

Thanks for the info, Double D. Much appreciated!!

[Dreamin' MC]

So - to be sure, I would do the following -
1. Disconnect the safety lanyard - and then key on - you won't hear a prime ... that is good that means the lanyard safety switch did it's job. Put it back, and if it primes then you know that switch is working.

2. There are 3 fuses by the ECU your manual will tell you their location. They are covered 15 amp auto fuses ... make sure all 3 are ok. One is ECU, on is Fuel Pump and the other is ... (I forgot)

3. Spray some starting fluid into the throttle body (open it with the throttle control) and crank ... this will verify you don't have spark.

If you don't have spark and don't have fuel then the distributor (the coil in the distributor) is likely bad and you can rebuild or replace like I did. The ECU is likely not getting signal from the distributor.

If the fuse to the ECU is blown it would show the same, so take a moment to check those fuses.

I was able to connect to the ECU with my Diacom which proved it had power, but not everyone has that ... also there were no stored codes in the ECU for whatever that is worth.

Thanks for the quick response, 93Prostar190!! Much appreciated! I may msg you for the exact distributor you purchased if the other checks turn out not to be the issue.