1995 mercury 200 XRI

[pwrwagn]

Hoping someone can give me some advice... I have a 1995 champion bass boat with (I think) the original mercury XRI 200 motor. Boat is in great condition and has been well taken care of. Boat ran fine this spring then....

One day the alarm goes off and I realized that the oil reservoir was low. Limped back to the dock, got it home and filled the tank. Called a mechanic and was told not to worry as there is a reservoir on the engine and even when the main oil tank runs low there is plenty of oil in the tank on the motor. Assumed everything was fine. Took boat back out to the lake a couple days later and it ran terrible. It starts fine, idles fines, revs up fine.. put in gear and it cuts in and out or just won't go above 15 mph or so.

Called mechanic and he had me bring it in. He said he put it on the computer and it came back with no problems. He looked at it closer and said the "spark advance control" module was coming apart and that it could cause the problem. $750 later I picked up the boat thinking problem solved. Took to lake and nothing changed.

Took back to mechanic. He took it out to the lake and now says that the problem is bigger. Says not all cylinders are firing. Says he thinks its the reed valve failure but won't know for sure till he takes it apart. Says the job is a full day..

So... looking for advice. I don't have the money to buy a new motor but also don't want to continue putting money into this one if its a lost cause. I have a two videos of the motor running poorly if that would be of help to someone who knows these motors. Can anyone make a suggestion of what to do?

Thanks!

Edit: video with boat at full throttle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHsi1FKJxY&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

 

[Dukedog]

Hoping someone can give me some advice... I have a 1995 champion bass boat with (I think) the original mercury XRI 200 motor. Boat is in great condition and has been well taken care of. Boat ran fine this spring then....

One day the alarm goes off and I realized that the oil reservoir was low. Limped back to the dock, got it home and filled the tank. Called a mechanic and was told not to worry as there is a reservoir on the engine and even when the main oil tank runs low there is plenty of oil in the tank on the motor. Assumed everything was fine. Took boat back out to the lake a couple days later and it ran terrible. It starts fine, idles fines, revs up fine.. put in gear and it cuts in and out or just won't go above 15 mph or so.

Called mechanic and he had me bring it in. He said he put it on the computer and it came back with no problems. He looked at it closer and said the "spark advance control" module was coming apart and that it could cause the problem. $750 later I picked up the boat thinking problem solved. Took to lake and nothing changed.

Took back to mechanic. He took it out to the lake and now says that the problem is bigger. Says not all cylinders are firing. Says he thinks its the reed valve failure but won't know for sure till he takes it apart. Says the job is a full day..

So... looking for advice. I don't have the money to buy a new motor but also don't want to continue putting money into this one if its a lost cause. I have a two videos of the motor running poorly if that would be of help to someone who knows these motors. Can anyone make a suggestion of what to do?

Thanks!

first.. what type of alarm? oscillating beep, beep, beep or a solid, steady beeeeeeeeeeeeep?
second.. tank in tha boat does nothing but supply oil to tha tank on tha motor.. all oil mixing/supply comes from motor tank.. its tha one that has ta have oil in it....
third.. idle speed control module can cause problems but it is actually not a necessary module.. can be eliminated.....
forth.. reeds have absolutely nothing ta do with "firing"...

seen me an email address and i'll send you an oem manual in pdf for it.. at least that will give you a chance at understanding what he's tellin ya...….

 

[pwrwagn]

1) It was a constant running solid beep.

2) When I took the cover off the motor after getting back home the oil reservoir on the boat was nearly full. But I understand what you are saying - the alarm goes off from the tank on the motor being low - not the large tank feeding the smaller tank. Perhaps I damaged something for the short period of time it ran.

3) Hmm.. I wish this mechanic would have mentioned that to me!

4) I actually have a mercury shop manual for the motor unless you are describing something different.

Oh and thank you for taking the time to respond!

 

[Dukedog]

1) It was a constant running solid beep.

2) When I took the cover off the motor after getting back home the oil reservoir on the boat was nearly full. But I understand what you are saying - the alarm goes off from the tank on the motor being low - not the large tank feeding the smaller tank. Perhaps I damaged something for the short period of time it ran.

3) Hmm.. I wish this mechanic would have mentioned that to me!

4) I actually have a mercury shop manual for the motor unless you are describing something different.

Oh and thank you for taking the time to respond!

ya looking in tha wrong place.. thats an over heat alarm.. your mechanic should have known that... if you ran it that way it could cause a lotta damage...

 

[pwrwagn]

Over heat alarm? It hasn't made that sound since and it did coincide with the oil tank running low. Would running low on oil cause it to over heat? even if just ran for a few minutes? Water flow through the engine was normal.

FWIW the mechanic ran tests and found it to have decent compression at 110, spark in all cylinders and fuel compression at around 38lb.

 

[Dukedog]

Over heat alarm? It hasn't made that sound since and it did coincide with the oil tank running low. Would running low on oil cause it to over heat? even if just ran for a few minutes? Water flow through the engine was normal.

if low oil caused tha over heat to alarm we probably wouldn't be here.. so kinda doubt it!

FWIW the mechanic ran tests and found it to have decent compression at 110, spark in all cylinders and fuel compression at around 38lb.

"Says not all cylinders are firing"....??? ​

any oscillating beep, beep, beep is oil related...nothing solid unless tha oiler module is bad then usually tha self check beeps go away when key is turned on and/or get a solid beep with key on and motor NOT runnin'...… ​

a solid, steady beeeeeeeeeeeeep after motor is runnin' is over heat and needs ta be addressed no mater what tha "stream" looks like...….​

 

[pwrwagn]

Hmm..ok again thanks for your input.

Ive questioned my mechanic as to what all he did based on some thoughts from a different online merc mechanic and he has gotten butt hurt.. been a mercury mechanic for 25 years etc. etc. and suggests I pick my boat up and take to someone else.

Anyway..

The online mechanic I was talking to suggested that I look at the high speed stator since it seems to idle fine and only have issues under throttle in forward gear. Any thoughts about a stator causing this?

Obviously ill mention the warning beeb to the new mechanic I take it to as the current one said its not a concern.

 

[Faztbullet]

Find a different mechanic. I doubt it the computer hookup told him anything as if I remember that ECU don't store info/codes.

 

[Dukedog]

this.....

 

[kwarren1]

I am having somewhat of the same problem with my 95 Champion. It started idling rough a few trips ago but would run fine wide open. Then I got stranded on the lake and had to be towed in. I changed the spark plugs and put a new fuel filter on last night. Now it won't start and doesn't seem to be getting any spark. And when I was trying to start it I got an alarm, fast beeping... Can anyone help? Its a 1995 Mercury 200 Blackmax