Kicker not getting gas

[Scott]

This weekend I started having a problem with my kicker motor killing because it's not getting gas. I can get the ball tight, but after a couple of minutes I lose the pressure. There's a T in the main gas line so both my main motor and my kicker are being fed off of the same main line. I'm having no problem with my main motor so I'm guessing that I should replace the ball and/or the gas line going to the kicker.
Does this sound correct, and any other things I may need to replace? The kicker is a 2000 9.9 Evinrude 4 stroke.

Thanks!

[upnorth]

That would be the cheapest place to start. There are little spring loaded balls that check the gas flow on either side of the bulb to keep the gas flowing and not backflowing, my guess is one is sticking.

[chunkytrout]

Just a thought but is there a flow valve at that T? Wouldn't be a bad idea to install one. The above reply makes sense as well.

chunky

[Guest]

Do you have a plain T in the gas line? I would guess that would be the problem. Improper flow.

I have a 3 way T valve I installed off the main gas line. The valve controls the flow of fuel to each motor, and to use the kicker I have to switch the valve over. If I didn't have the 3-way valve I would starve the fuel from either the kicker or the main motor.

[Scott]

Thanks for the ideas! It had been working fine up until last weekend, so just to be safe I'll replace the 3 way T valve and the ball.

Thanks again for the help!

[marine_man]

Scott,

What CD posted is the right thing to do... what happens is that when you run the big motor the fuel pump pulls all the fuel from the line going to the kicker and then starts pulling from the tank... leaving you with air in the kicker's fuel line... the best thing to do would be to put a valve in it (replace your t with one that has a valve), or really go all out and put in a dedicated fuel pickup in your tank... which is a fair amount of work..

good luck!

marine_man

[This message has been edited by marine_man (edited 07-08-2003).]