Hello everyone, I just thought I'd share my experiences with my engine.
The engine is a 2006 115hp Mercury Optimax on a 2005 198 DLX Carolina skiff
I purchased the engine brand new from Bass Pro Shops in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. The motor ran very good for a little while, maybe 20 or 30 hours and then it died, and would not start. So I took it in for warranty, and it turned out that the fuel pump went bad. Luckily, I was less than 100yds from the marina where I kept it, and I just disabled the neutral start switch and turned the starter over for bursts of 10 seconds at a time until I got back to the dock. It was repaired under warranty, and mercury honored their warranty without issues.
Then I went fishing maybe 1-2 times a month for the next year or so. And the other day, I dumped the boat in my friend's canal (took it out of the marina) with him in the boat, and it wouldn't start. So we canceled fishing for the day, and took the boat back in for warranty work again. It was less than a month until my warranty runs out now, so I took it in that day. The second time it turned out to be the air compressor. I am very mechanically inclined, and had no clue this had an air compressor, but it went bad, and luckily I still had the warranty because just that part by itself was over a thousand dollars.
So after I got the boat back, I trailered my boat three and a half hours north to Steinhatchee, Fl to go scalloping. I put it in the water, started it up, everything was fine. Idled out the channel, everything was fine. Got on a plane, everything was fine, almost.... Then the motor cut off completely, and turned back on immediately, I thought it was just a hickup, but it kept doing it. I still don't know what's going on this time, but it's just that, it turns off under load but turns right back on, like it doesn't even come off a plane.
Well, I thought it sounded like a fuel issue since it's only cutting out under load, so I replaced the Vapor Separator (fuel filter) (which is a horrible designed filter btw) and drained the "vapor separator" compartment, and I got maybe a drop or two of water (since I have a water separating filter installed inline) and I took the boat back out but it still has the same issue. I am taking the boat back in tomorrow, hopefully I still have a warranty on this engine. I am beginning to wish I bought a honda.
If anyone has any guesses on what this problem is, I'm all ears, but I'll make sure to report back here and let everyone know what it turns out to be. Thanks for reading my vent.
-Kevin
The engine is a 2006 115hp Mercury Optimax on a 2005 198 DLX Carolina skiff
I purchased the engine brand new from Bass Pro Shops in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. The motor ran very good for a little while, maybe 20 or 30 hours and then it died, and would not start. So I took it in for warranty, and it turned out that the fuel pump went bad. Luckily, I was less than 100yds from the marina where I kept it, and I just disabled the neutral start switch and turned the starter over for bursts of 10 seconds at a time until I got back to the dock. It was repaired under warranty, and mercury honored their warranty without issues.
Then I went fishing maybe 1-2 times a month for the next year or so. And the other day, I dumped the boat in my friend's canal (took it out of the marina) with him in the boat, and it wouldn't start. So we canceled fishing for the day, and took the boat back in for warranty work again. It was less than a month until my warranty runs out now, so I took it in that day. The second time it turned out to be the air compressor. I am very mechanically inclined, and had no clue this had an air compressor, but it went bad, and luckily I still had the warranty because just that part by itself was over a thousand dollars.
So after I got the boat back, I trailered my boat three and a half hours north to Steinhatchee, Fl to go scalloping. I put it in the water, started it up, everything was fine. Idled out the channel, everything was fine. Got on a plane, everything was fine, almost.... Then the motor cut off completely, and turned back on immediately, I thought it was just a hickup, but it kept doing it. I still don't know what's going on this time, but it's just that, it turns off under load but turns right back on, like it doesn't even come off a plane.
Well, I thought it sounded like a fuel issue since it's only cutting out under load, so I replaced the Vapor Separator (fuel filter) (which is a horrible designed filter btw) and drained the "vapor separator" compartment, and I got maybe a drop or two of water (since I have a water separating filter installed inline) and I took the boat back out but it still has the same issue. I am taking the boat back in tomorrow, hopefully I still have a warranty on this engine. I am beginning to wish I bought a honda.
If anyone has any guesses on what this problem is, I'm all ears, but I'll make sure to report back here and let everyone know what it turns out to be. Thanks for reading my vent.
-Kevin