2015 F115LB running and idling badly

[sphill]

So I bought a 2015 Xpress H18 Pro and it came with the F115LB. It ran great all last fishing year. Well it sat up for quite some time covered and under a cover for approximately a year. During this time period I would periodically go outsiode, hook a hose to it, and run it for about 20mins. I have always put Stabil fuel stabilizer in the fuel when adding gas.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, I took it back out and it started at the dock right up. However giving it throttle, I could quickly tell something was wrong. There was almost no acceleration and it was still sounding like it was almost missing (best way I know to describe it). I didn't stay out long, trailered it back to the house. I opened one of the openings on top of my on board fuel tank and quickly saw what looked like bourbon. I knew immediately BAD GAS.

I proceeded to siphon all fuel out and took it to the station and put about $20 more fuel in it. I then carried it back to the lake. It was still idling rough, had lack of acceleration, and lack of top end. I made about 6 passes in the boat lane and it was like all bad fuel was finally out the system. So we went about the evening and fished the rest of the day at ease. I was not able to trim it out and really open it up since the lake was rough.

Fast forward to today. I took my wife and son on the boat confident all the other stuff was in the past. However after launching the boat I could quickly tell something was wrong. The rough idle, no acceleration, and lack of topend was back. The funny thing is the lake was like glass so I full throttled it, trimmed it up, and was hitting 5000rpms. However it would only go about 35mph (which is not right as I could get about 48-50 last year). The sound of the motor did not sound like full power either. While riding the motor would get spurts of full power , if that makes sense.

Once we got home I pulled the cover off, now knowing the gas was good. I checked for spark using an inline spark plug tester and got spark on all cylinders. This motor is under warranty until 2018 and the extended is good until 2020. Is there something simple and cheap I can do to fix it or is this something that it needs to go in for?

I feel like the bad fuel is still haunting me still and it has messed something up like the fuel rail, fuel filter, fuel pump, or injectors.

[marinetechnician]

Check fuel/water separator ? drain VST ?

[sphill]

Check fuel/water separator ? drain VST ?

How would I check that? I know I have one. What is VST?

[marinetechnician]

Unscrew the filter and pour it out and see what comes out. If it's really dirty don't run it anymore. Take it to the dealer and have them check it. I'm not great at explaining things on a computer so I'm passing on explaining the vst. There are guys on here though that can talk you thru it easily.

[sphill]

So the VST is the fuel filter assembly right before the fuel pump huh? Do they all unscrew? Mine felt like an assembly. Is this something I should just dump the fuel out of and put back on like the water fuel separator filter? Here is a video of what my motor looks like.

[Nova Kaw 650]

That old fuel will plug everything; filters, injectors, etc.
Clean everything that can be cleaned. Change the filter.

[sphill]

Injectors? Should I mess with any of that since this motor is under warranty?

[Nova Kaw 650]

Hopefully the filter stopped any solids from getting to the injectors.

[sphill]

I'm hoping this as well. If the water fuel separator and VST filter change doesn't fix it, then I'll carry it to a service center.

When I change the filters, do I need to do anything to prime the fuel system again?

[Nova Kaw 650]

Squeeze the bulb.

[sphill]

So I changed the VST filter and Fuel/Water separator filter today and the motor is still idling rougher than it was when new. Here is a video of it. Is the fuel ball suppose to stay hard and full? Every time the motor shuts off the ball is soft again.

[Nova Kaw 650]

It should remain at least semi hard. Try squeezing the bulb when/while it's acting up.

[phild]

Did the boat come with the F115? If so, you may have a separate water/fuel separator in the battery box or somewhere and the filter needs to be changed.

[sphill]

Did the boat come with the F115? If so, you may have a separate water/fuel separator in the battery box or somewhere and the filter needs to be changed.

It did have a separate filter and I changed that one as well. Still running like sh!t.

[sphill]

Well I called the service center and it's going to be about 3 weeks and $450 to get it squared away.

[phild]

I just re-watched your video. Your gas-filter container is only about 1/3 - 1/4 full. It is starving for gas.

[sphill]

Is the fuel ball suppose to stay hard and full? Every time the motor shuts off the ball is soft again.

That's why I asked this.

[The gurg]

Make sure the fuel lines in the boat are tight, to include the fuel/water separator in the bilge that you replaced. The ball should remain hard as others said. When I ran my motor for the first time I couldn't keep the motor on, turns out that my fuel/water separator in the bilge wasn't screwed all the way on.

[phild]

When you double check the fuel/water separator filter, make sure you prime it as full as you can with gas as well. fill that line as best as possible from the tank to the onboard filter/bowl when pumping the bulb.