Volvo 5.0 GXI that has blown ECM 3 times in 4 years, any others have this experience?

[Larson2006]

I have a 2006 Larson 248 LXI that I bought new from the dealer in 2006 in order to avoid the hassles of dealing with repairing a used boat. Little did I know that I'd end up with a Volvo 5.0 GXI (serial #4012173260) that has a penchant for blowing ECMs. (Volvo part #3863330) 1st time was covered under warranty, 2nd time cost me a bundle, 3rd time was 2 weeks ago and while the ECM was covered since it had been just under a year since I bought the 2nd it cost me quite a bit for diagnosis and repair.

Has anyone else ever had this occur or know anyone who has had a similar experience either with a recent Larson and/or Volvo I/O? The place that did the repairs and winterizations, Great Oak Marina in St. James, NY has been around forever so I assume they have done everything correctly, definitely considering action against Larson/Volvo since I feel the 1st occurrence was under warranty, 2nd and 3rd should have been as well since the issue has never been completely resolved.

Lastly, any thoughts as to what might be a cause the mechanics could miss? Anything with the slightest bit of corrosion was replaced, engine gets sprayed with CRC after cooling down when used, full tuneup was done about 30 hours ago (engine has 178 hours on it now)....Thanks!

 

[Canadiandane]

I have had the same problem in my 2301 Striper with the 5.0 GXI-E, ecu part # 3863330. 3 ecu's in 5 years. I have checked the engine wiring harness, new battery, separated starting and house battery systems. Did you ever find out what was causing your ecu's to fail?

 

[Lou C]

Has the charging system been checked? How about grounds and mounting of the ECM unit?

 

[GA_Boater]

I have had the same problem in my 2301 Striper with the 5.0 GXI-E, ecu part # 3863330. 3 ecu's in 5 years. I have checked the engine wiring harness, new battery, separated starting and house battery systems. Did you ever find out what was causing your ecu's to fail?

This topic is old and for the best response start a new topic. Thanks.

 

[Canadiandane]

Hi GA boater, I was hoping that larson2006 had found out why his ECU's where blowing. Hi lou c, charging 14V grounds excellent and ECU is mounted on the stock location, right off the exhaust riser, which I don't think is a good place. I'm going to mount with some rubber in between next time. I found a company in Toronto that can fix them for $320.

 

[GA_Boater]

Larson made one post and never came back! It's been almost 4 years now. That's why we ask that old posts are left asleep.

 

[Larson2006]

RE: I have had the same problem in my 2301 Striper with the 5.0 GXI-E, ecu part # 3863330. 3 ecu's in 5 years. I have checked the engine wiring harness, new battery, separated starting and house battery systems. Did you ever find out what was causing your ecu's to fail?

Hello Canadiandane,
I never did get 100% resolution to the problem, engine blew on July 4th, 2013, ended up trading in the carcass towards a 2014 Four Winns. After the last ECM blew, my mechanic rerouted all of the grounds, ran without issue for over a year but I never did trust it 100%. Brought this to an attorney as I believed we should have been covered under warranty, he didn't feel it was worth pursuing. Moderator wants you to start a new topic, might be a good idea as I can share my experience as well. I've always had a gut feeling Volvo was aware of the ECM issue but didn't address it, know for sure we are not the only 2 affected by it. If enough people respond to a new post, perhaps we can get some satisfaction from Volvo.

 

[Fun Times]

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Thanks for the follow up Larson2006.. Just out of curiosity, how did you know this old topic was brought back up from almost 4 years ago? Did you receive an email notification of some sort? And did/do you have email notification turned on? The forum software has been changed a bunch of times since 2011 and we're finding surprises almost daily. Thanks. Edit: Please disregard the message above as I now see you have your email notifications set to On, daily.

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