Scorpion 350 DTS 5.7 330hp Throttle Body Issue

Catrydr

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I have a 2009 Sanger V215 that has a 350 Scorpion DTS in it with a Walter VDrive. Cali boat that has ECM

The issue I’am having is the engine has kicked a Catalyst Code Fault. I took the boat to my local Merc dealer and they informed me that the early 350 Scorpion DTS motors had a recall on the throttle body’s warping; and it needed replacing because the previous owner never took boat in for recall. They also said the cat problem is due to the cat on one side of motor not functioning properly and it would need to be replaced too. Then after talking with service manager for a bit, he informed me the cat issue could actually be coming from the throttle body issue. They want 4K to fix all these issues. DAMN!!

My boat runs great and I am a mechanic somewhat as well so I took boat home. I looked up just purchasing a new throttle body and it appears I can buy for around 6-8 hundred dollars. Before I pull the trigger on this I am asking for any incite into the “known” Scorpion 350 throttle body recalls and if this is a real thing and if so will replacing throttle body fix the cat problem. Also I bought the boat from a California owner, I am in Nevada and do not need the ECM for registering boat in Nevada. Is there a good ECU controller or delete box for the emissions on boat? Can I just bypass the Catalyst all togeather on the engine and will it run better?

Thank you so very much for any information or useful resources that I may use.
 

alldodge

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Don't know if you can replace the PCM with a non-cat PCM, maybe muc might

What codes are you getting?

The CAT has not working parts, it just heats up from exhaust and burns hydrocarbons. Things that can cause the CAT to go bad is, to much fuel, oil being burned, water getting to it. There is a O2 sensor before and after the CAT which tells the PCM if it is doing the job. Could be you need a new O2 sensor
 

Catrydr

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Thank you for the response ALLDODGE! Yes I have studied the cat system pretty well. I was thinking the same thing, O2 sensor being bad. When I took the boat to the merc service center I was taking it in hoping they would scan the codes and give me the O2 sensor that was bad, so as I did not have to replace all 4 of them. Unfortunatly they came back and told me about all the other codes the scan picked up. This is where they explained the recall or warranty of the Throttle Body on these particular motors. They seem to think putting new Throttle body on will solve most of the codes. When they started to tell me about the cats being bad and needing replacing is when I got suspicious. There RECCOMENDATION on service order is *Throttle Body Replacement.
But then the service manager told me I was gonna need to replace Cat’s as well. Doesn’t make sense.
Will a bad Throttle Body (warped as he explained the recall) kick all these codes?

The ACTIVE codes the motor had were:
1. SPN 51 (TP Sensor)
2. SPN 3051 (Catalyst 2)
3. SPN 521129 (ETC Fault, TPS Fault)

The PREVIOUS codes stored were:
1. SPN 105 (Intake Air Temp)
2. SPN 158 (Batt Voltage)
3. SPN 2435 (Sea Pump Pressure)
4. SPN 3050 (Catalyst 1)
5. SPN 521125 (TPS2)
6. SPN 521333 (ETC,TPS)

I am assuming the PREVIOUS codes stored were from prior alarms that where remedied? I know the Batteries and Impeller were changed before I bought it.
As I look up the Throttle Body to purchase for this motor I see the TPS sensor is not removable and is sold as one unit.

Is there a resource that I can obtain that will breakdown each of the merc trouble codes? Is that for dealerships only?

Again, I thank you so much for your incite and knowledge.
 

alldodge

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SPN 51 (TP Sensor) - this code says that the voltage from the TPS is low (below 1V). The motor runs fine and normally with this code the engine will not start. This code also sounds an alarm. It is normally caused by the plug being disconnected from the TPS .

SPN 3051 (Catalyst 2) - Catalyst Inactive on Gasoline (Bank2)
This can be caused by an exhaust leak, O2 sensor, or motor not getting up to operating temp so the PCM continues to supply more fuel because it thinks its cold

SPN 521129 (ETC Fault, TPS Fault)
Unable to find this one but feel its a mix from TPS, ETC and Ait temp. If TB does need replaced, it may be that the TPS also need replacing so it replaced the whole unit to fix :noidea:

In previous code and current were seeing the motor is either showing its to cool, or the motor thinks its cool and also doesn't know the in coming air temp. Can also see old code where it was bank 1 CAT which had a problem

Does smartcraft say anything about problems?
 

muc

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Would need a serial number to help with this one.
 

Catrydr

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AllDodgemuc


Gentleman, Thank you guys for the responses months ago. I ended up putting boat in storage after starting this thread so I was unable to get the serial number. I have recently gone to the boat and got all the numbers off the motor. I hope we can revisit the thread.

I guess the main thing that would help would be any knowledge if this SCORPION motor had TB issues, or if their was an actual recall on the TB from Merc.

I hoping just replacing the TB will remedy all other codes or at least get a good start on the other codes. Just want to know if there is recall before I spend the $800.

Here is the serial numbers off the motor:

SERIAL#: 1A091459
FAMILY: 8M9XM05.7ECT
SCORPION 350

Again thank you guys for any information provided.
 

Bt Doctur

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does it look like this
bbk-1710_ox_ml.jpg
 

alldodge

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Was hoping for input from MUC prior to saying anything further. The codes your seeing I don't see how the TB could cause. Two of the codes are TPS faults, so I would test it first
 

muc

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Sorry to be late to the party. Been kind of busy and this is an engine that I don’t have any personal experience with.

I ran the serial number and only one recall comes up. That recall deals with a difference between the warranty paperwork that came in the owners packet and what California law requires. MerCruiser feels that the boat owner did respond to the recall.

There are steep fines for anybody involved in defeating the emissions system on this engine. If I remember right we were told the fines start at $10,000.00 and go up. I can see how it could be done and I’m not sure that catalytic converters should have been required on Marine engines —— but the law is the law.

Now as as far as there being a recall/service bulletin on this throttle body. There is nothing in writing but that doesn’t mean 100% that there isn’t an “internal” campaign going on with them. I’ll try to explain what I mean by internal. Every once in awhile a engine will come in with a problem that makes no sense as far as symptoms compared to what the scan tool is telling me. At that point I call MerCruiser tech support and run through the symptoms and troubleshooting I’ve done. They will then either tell me what they think the problem is and ship a replacement or have me do some troubleshooting that isn’t in the service manual (as an example, I had an outboard with strange symptoms and everything looked good on the scan tool. Tech support had me hook a test light to 12V positive and touch the ECM case and tell them what the light did. Based on that they sent a new ECM and it cured the problem), when I ask them where I could have found this information, I’m told that this was such a rare problem that there probably won’t be a service bulletin issued for it and the only way to get this information is to call them or if it becomes common enough it might be covered in the next yearly update class.

Is your throttle body body one of these internal problems? It’s possible your dealer called tech support and that’s why they’re recommending this course of action (I always told my customers how I reached the conclusions that I did, but some dealers don’t want to admit they don’t know everything) or they’re just guessing. You might want find out if they called tech support or if they work on so many Scorpion DTS cat engines they know all about this problem. You could also try calling the dealer that sold the boat originally because if there is a known problem with the throttle body they should be aware of it.

I dont see the throttle body taking out the catalyst on just one side and not the other, but I guess it’s possible.

I will I’ll try to take a closer look at your codes when I can find some time. Let us know what the selling dealer says.
 

Catrydr

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Thank you so much guys. I’ll call other dealer and possibly Sanger. They may have some incite. I’ll keep you briefed!!
 
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