new boat

dhagens · Feb 13, 2013

well I got my new boat, new motor.. my dad and I took it out yesterday and ran it and it ran good. just in the stage of breaking it in. well tonight i went out by myself and when i went about 3/4 throttle the alarms went off. I backed the throttle down a little and the alarm stoped. the dealer told me that i need to put a bigger pitch prop because the rpms are to high. so im going to try that and hope it works.. what are your thoughts

BrianNJ · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

What was RPM when at 3/4 throttle and alarm?
What is the engine, drive,prop and boat set up?
Is there any prop damage? Any chance the hub has spun?

WIMUSKY · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

He would be right if you're exceeding your max rpm @ WOT, in your case you may be exceeding the rpm's at 3/4 throttle. You need to know what rpm your motor is rated at WOT. Prop it so you you don't exceed that rpm at WOT. Your owners manual should give you the rpm range rated for your motor.

dhagens · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

Its a 60 HP mercury on a 18 ft Lowe. Both new so I wouldn't think anything would be wrong with the motor or prop

dhagens · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

It has a14 pitch prop on it now

w2much · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

Am I missing something here? You just bought a new boat and motor and the alarm goes off, dealer says you need a new prop? Sure , I'll sell you a new stainless prop for $300.00. Then I'll fix the engine under warranty. Just does not sound right.Why did he sell you a boat with a mismatched prop? Raise some hell.

tazrig · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

If it's all new then it should have been matched up for you. Bring the boat back to the dealer and tell HIM to fix the problem. In the unlikely event it needs a new or different prop than that's on him and don't take no for an answer!!! like w2much said: "Raise some hell"

:mad-new::mad-new::mad-new: Let us know how you make out and good luck. This is clearly the dealers problem. NOT YOURS!

Mi duckdown · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

What the last two post said.

jestor68 · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

Since there is more than one thing that can cause the "alarm" to go off, the dealer must determine exactly what the problem is and fix it under warranty.

There's no need to "raise hell". They can plug into the ECM and it'll tell them what is causing the alarm(temp,over speed, low oil pres, etc.).

If this is a "package" boat and came with a motor mounted and propped, it is still the selling dealer's responsibility to verify that the set up is right. It's called dealer prep and you were charged for that in the price of the boat.

If the boat has a tachometer, that will tell you if the motor is propped correctly; looking for 5500-6000 rpm at full throttle.

Brand new motors can have a problem, just like a new car. That's what the warranty is for.

jestor68 · Feb 13, 2013

Re: new boat

dhagens said:
Its a 60 HP mercury on a 18 ft Lowe. Both new so I wouldn't think anything would be wrong with the motor or prop

If you are talking about an 18 ft Lowe Stinger, the correct prop would be a 13 or 14 pitch as that boat with a 60 EFI would have a dry weight of 1307 lbs and an operating weight of about 1735 with a couple of warm bodies and 12 gal of gas.

With a 14 pitch prop, I doubt seriously if it's an over speed problem.

dhagens · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

i think i might have miss lead a few with not giving enough info.. sorry. I bought the new frontier 18 ft with a new 60 hp merc. the dealer said he put a 14 pitch prop on it and he said he can normally get it close. well the first day taking it out going half throttle with me and my dad everything ran good, no alarm.. second day i was by myself, which would make the boat lighter.. the alarm went off.. i called the dealer, he said that its either one of three things, 1) low oil 2) over heating 3) running to high rmps. he said that he thinks the prop he provided me was to small pitch and that he thinks i need to move up to the 15 pitch prop that he will swap out for me no charge. i am just hopeing that thats what made the alarms go off, was running to high rmps and i hope that the 15 pitch prop fixes it..

steelespike · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

So what was the rpm and speed when the alarm went off?
I agree with jestor a 14" prop isn't likely the problem.
Especially at 3/4 throttle.
Did you check your manual? As I recall even on older motors alarms were fairly specific and easy to understand.
ie: one beep,long beep,short beep multiple beeps etc.

Silvertip · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

Did you check the oil? Does the boat have a tach? If so, what does it read at the point the alarm goes off? We ask questions because without that data we can only speculate. Being a new boat the dealer should be answering to you.

dhagens · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

Checked oil. No tech gauge. Dealer said prop is to small which makes it spin faster which raises the rpms

jestor68 · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

Does your boat have a console with a steering wheel? Consider putting a tachometer in it. You can't tell rpm's by listening to it.

The dealer should use a shop tach to select the correct prop. You don't just guess at it.

Unless you have the lightest tiller model Frontier (850 lbs w/ motor), the 14 pitch should be OK.

The motor's Guardian System is being activated; hence the alarm. Any time the system is activated, the dealer needs to scan the PCM to determine the cause.

Just like the "Check Engine" light coming on in your car. It could be something as simple as a sensor failure.
The PCM must be scanned to determine the cause.

Georgesalmon · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

You said the dealer was gonna swap the prop at no charge. Sounded like he was going to look into your problem from the other problems he said it might be. I don't understand why your dealer is getting bashed by some of the posters. Jeeze, give the guy a change to make things right, so far he sounds OK. You only need to make sure the oil is right, thats on you to check, just like your car.

dhagens · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

I think the dealer set it up for the boat to have more weight in it than just me. I will have him put a bigger prop on it and see what that does. He told me he can hook up to the motor to see what's wrong with it. I will be taking it to him tonight or tomorrow night. Won't be able to get it on the water for a few days due to cold weather so when I do we will see if that fixes it. I just really believe if it was something in the motor the alarm would have went off the first day out.

WIMUSKY · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

Sounds like the dealer has it under control to me. Have him check out the motor like he suggested. If everything checks out, re-prop it and see if it resolves the issue. Having a tach would be nice........

tazrig · Feb 14, 2013

Re: new boat

Georgesalmon said:
You said the dealer was gonna swap the prop at no charge. Sounded like he was going to look into your problem from the other problems he said it might be. I don't understand why your dealer is getting bashed by some of the posters. Jeeze, give the guy a change to make things right, so far he sounds OK. You only need to make sure the oil is right, thats on you to check, just like your car.

George, in the op's first post it sounded as though the dealer was telling him he needed to BUY a different prop. (passing the buck) I think that's what set some of us off. So long as the dealer is going to swap it out for free and check the ECM thats great. As it should be. It just sounded as though the dealer was trying to take advantage of the guy in the beginning. Glad to know it was a misunderstanding.

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