250 E-TEC (November 2010 build) S/N 5305389 starts cold, stalls 1-5 minutes, will not restart. Purchased on a 2011 Ranger Z-520 in April of 2011. Normal basic maintenance, plugs, fuel filter/separator, water pump each 3 years. The engine has been amazing, starting instantly and running like a Swiss watch...until recently. I made one mistake, taking it to the local Ranger dealer for a water pump, one time and haven't gone back.
Fishing a tournament about two months ago, I sat in one glorious spot for about 4 hours, then started the motor and ran across the lake. As I was idling into the next cove, the engine stalled. I fished for a while without thinking about the stall, since I got to where I wanted to fish. When I tried to restart the motor, it would start but stall in a second or two. I took the cowl off and checked to see if anything was loose or out of place. Eventually it started and ran fine the rest of the day.
The very next tournament, exactly the same thing happened at about the same time and location. Unfortunately, I spent the next three hours fishing my way back to the ramp on the trolling motor (thanks Everstart batteries!)
I don't have any specialized Evinrude tools and apparently little or no talent troubleshooting this motor. I've worked on rebuilding Italian sports cars for over 40 years so, I know which way to turn a wrench, most of the time.
I do have a factory service manual for this motor and did some quick research. My hunch was that the issue was fuel pressure related, since it started when cold but stalled. I hooked a fuel pressure gauge up to the test fitting above the fuel pump and measured only 6 or 7 psi. I could say that I was influenced by this post, but I didn't see it (or SeaHorse's comments) until after the replacement pump didn't solve the issue. https://www.etecownersgroup.com/post...ed-fix-6466734
My pressure test fittings will not allow me to test pressure on the Quantum (A $150 USA made pump with Oetiker clamps & zip ties, although it looks strangely similar to the $50 pumps from China sold on eBay). The Shrader valve is recessed too deep into the stem for the test fitting to open the valve but I may be able to swap the fitting from the original pump, if the boss is the same size.
I am trying to decide whether to remove the Vapor Separator housing retainer clip, just so I can better access the lower test port, since I believe that is where the two diaphragm pumps are tested. I am not certain the engine will run long enough for this test. Is it likely the pressure regulator in the vapor separator or is something else the issue? I no longer have a vacuum gauge but can get one if necessary to run the lift pump vacuum test. In the other post someone commented that he'd never seen a Lift Pump fail. I could use some guidance.
Mark
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Originally Posted by Bighare2
