Hi everyone,
This is my first post as a new member, so please try to be gentle. I am not an engine expert but consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. Here is my situation (please tough through the long read!), any guidance would be GREATLY appreciated!
Bought a used 2003 Chapparel 183SS with 69 hours on the motor about 2 months ago. Mercruiser 4.3L V6 I/O (Alpha Gen 2 outboard) carbed engine with Thunderbolt Ignition (serial# 0M373780). Test drives with previous owner went well, other than the first time out being a slightly labored start (had to pump the throttle a few times to get a smooth idle). Did not have that issue 2nd time out for a test run. Bought the boat a what I felt was a good price.
Took the family out on the boat twice on back to back weekends. 1st trip everything went well with the boat. This is my first boat, but I think everything was normal. Ran the boat around, mainly cruising, for about 4 hours without issue. Literally half a mile from the ramp, cruising at very low speed to let the kids drive, motor dies with audible alarm. On inspection it looked like the drive oil monitor/reservoir was leaking and was just below the fill line. Disconnected the line to it to silence the alarm. Starting back up took a few minutes, but it did start and we made our way to the ramp at low speed.
Over the next week I replaced the reservoir, changing the drive oil in the process. Made sure everything was as it should be and tightened back down in place. Also installed an amp and 2 sets of speakers to replace the stock stereo.
Following weekend we took the boat back out. Started up fine at the ramp, loaded up and idled out (tidal ramp and surrounding area is a bit shallow). Everything seemed fine until I went to give the boat throttle, which made it choke out and die. Started right back up, but would not take ANY throttle without dying. I made the mistake of letting the boat idle out further from the ramp while trying to troubleshoot. The only thing that seemed odd was that the fuel pump was not audible on every start attempt as it should be. Ended up docked at a very nice strangers dock when I realized I had stranded my family too far from the ramp on a boat with a non-working engine.
Had a mechanic come out and we proceeded to:
- wired fuel pump direct to battery to ensure it would power on and deliver fuel to the carburetor (it did)
- pulled main spark wire and verified spark
- verified oil level was good and oil looked normal
- tried resetting the system by disconnecting the battery
- mechanic pulled carb, cleaned it, and replaced it on the engine. It had a decent amount of what he said was ethanol build up. We thought this was the fix...it wasn't and nothing changed.
- replaced the fuel pump yesterday (6/18/2012) with a new pump...no change. Got it to idle for about a minute, on throttle increase it died as before and returned to not starting.
I am told my next step would probably be to replace the ECM/ICM module (part# 861251T1). Before spending $400+ on this part I was hoping there are some other things I can test/try to get more assurance this is what's needed. I planned to add a second battery anyway, so I was going to try that this Saturday and see if the battery is the issue. If that gets me nowhere then I will have it seatowed back to the ramp so I can get it out of the water and somewhere to be fixed. I have lost some confidence in my mechanic, but that may be because I am just very disappointed in the entire situation.
Sorry for the long write up. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! If you have any advice to offer, that's even better!!
Ben
This is my first post as a new member, so please try to be gentle. I am not an engine expert but consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. Here is my situation (please tough through the long read!), any guidance would be GREATLY appreciated!
Bought a used 2003 Chapparel 183SS with 69 hours on the motor about 2 months ago. Mercruiser 4.3L V6 I/O (Alpha Gen 2 outboard) carbed engine with Thunderbolt Ignition (serial# 0M373780). Test drives with previous owner went well, other than the first time out being a slightly labored start (had to pump the throttle a few times to get a smooth idle). Did not have that issue 2nd time out for a test run. Bought the boat a what I felt was a good price.
Took the family out on the boat twice on back to back weekends. 1st trip everything went well with the boat. This is my first boat, but I think everything was normal. Ran the boat around, mainly cruising, for about 4 hours without issue. Literally half a mile from the ramp, cruising at very low speed to let the kids drive, motor dies with audible alarm. On inspection it looked like the drive oil monitor/reservoir was leaking and was just below the fill line. Disconnected the line to it to silence the alarm. Starting back up took a few minutes, but it did start and we made our way to the ramp at low speed.
Over the next week I replaced the reservoir, changing the drive oil in the process. Made sure everything was as it should be and tightened back down in place. Also installed an amp and 2 sets of speakers to replace the stock stereo.
Following weekend we took the boat back out. Started up fine at the ramp, loaded up and idled out (tidal ramp and surrounding area is a bit shallow). Everything seemed fine until I went to give the boat throttle, which made it choke out and die. Started right back up, but would not take ANY throttle without dying. I made the mistake of letting the boat idle out further from the ramp while trying to troubleshoot. The only thing that seemed odd was that the fuel pump was not audible on every start attempt as it should be. Ended up docked at a very nice strangers dock when I realized I had stranded my family too far from the ramp on a boat with a non-working engine.
Had a mechanic come out and we proceeded to:
- wired fuel pump direct to battery to ensure it would power on and deliver fuel to the carburetor (it did)
- pulled main spark wire and verified spark
- verified oil level was good and oil looked normal
- tried resetting the system by disconnecting the battery
- mechanic pulled carb, cleaned it, and replaced it on the engine. It had a decent amount of what he said was ethanol build up. We thought this was the fix...it wasn't and nothing changed.
- replaced the fuel pump yesterday (6/18/2012) with a new pump...no change. Got it to idle for about a minute, on throttle increase it died as before and returned to not starting.
I am told my next step would probably be to replace the ECM/ICM module (part# 861251T1). Before spending $400+ on this part I was hoping there are some other things I can test/try to get more assurance this is what's needed. I planned to add a second battery anyway, so I was going to try that this Saturday and see if the battery is the issue. If that gets me nowhere then I will have it seatowed back to the ramp so I can get it out of the water and somewhere to be fixed. I have lost some confidence in my mechanic, but that may be because I am just very disappointed in the entire situation.
Sorry for the long write up. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! If you have any advice to offer, that's even better!!
Ben
