2018 Mercury 60hp EFI Fixed!

[JRMac1]

Last year I had posted about an intermittent alarm with my merc. I worked on it. all winter and still couldn't determine the issue. Well, I finally fixed it. No more alarm, boat runs great, all is well. If you search my username you'll find the issue I was having. It had to do with running for a while to my fishing hole, fishing for a period of time, and then the engine not starting.
I looked at electrical, and sensors, water oil and air. I changed all the filters oil and fuel. I replaced the lift pump, I replaced the fuel lines and primer bulb. I finally decided to look at the VST and the high pressure pump. That ended up being the issue and now it works great. I think it was fine as long as it was cool but when it warmed up it wouldn't work, that's all I could think of. Just posting this because I want to make sure if anyone else has the issue they should check the VST/fuel system.

 

[QBhoy]

What were the symptoms, out of interest ? Thanks.

 

[airshot]

Thanks for posting your solution to your issue !!

 

[QBhoy]

Thanks for posting your solution to your issue !!

No probs. Wish it was the solution to my entirety of issues. Haha.

 

[JRMac1]

What were the symptoms, out of interest ? Thanks.

I would launch the boat and go to my fishing spot about 10-15 minutes away and stop and fish for a few hours and then when I tried to start the engine I would get the standard beep, and then another beep for about 5-6 seconds and the engine wouldn't start. It would crank but not start. I would then pump the bulb and try to bleed things off. Sometimes it would start. As time went on it got consistently worse and this year I couldn't get it to start at all after running for about 10 to 15 minutes. Loading the boat on the trailer with the trolling motor sucks!!! Plus I couldn't reproduce it at home in a barrel. I used a fuel pressure gage and it looked fine when the engine ran.

 

[QBhoy]

I would launch the boat and go to my fishing spot about 10-15 minutes away and stop and fish for a few hours and then when I tried to start the engine I would get the standard beep, and then another beep for about 5-6 seconds and the engine wouldn't start. It would crank but not start. I would then pump the bulb and try to bleed things off. Sometimes it would start. As time went on it got consistently worse and this year I couldn't get it to start at all after running for about 10 to 15 minutes. Loading the boat on the trailer with the trolling motor sucks!!! Plus I couldn't reproduce it at home in a barrel. I used a fuel pressure gage and it looked fine when the engine ran.

Ok. Lots of things to check. Believe it or not… plugs would be my first go to. Since owning a 4 stroke merc just last few years::: constantly made aware that they can go through them quickly…despite easily ruling or dismissing out. Bad earths are also common on them. Enough to crank, but not fire. The fsm or vst unit can commonly intermittently or totally fail, losing pressure and/or drawing air. The tps, neutral safety switch and shift position sensor are on the list too. Is your engine smart craft capable?

 

[JRMac1]

Ok. Lots of things to check. Believe it or not… plugs would be my first go to. Since owning a 4 stroke merc just last few years::: constantly made aware that they can go through them quickly…despite easily ruling or dismissing out. Bad earths are also common on them. Enough to crank, but not fire. The fsm or vst unit can commonly intermittently or totally fail, losing pressure and/or drawing air. The tps, neutral safety switch and shift position sensor are on the list too. Is your engine smart craft capable?

Yep you're right. I checked all that and it ended up being the pressure pump in the VST. It is smart craft capable. But old fashioned troubleshooting worked in this case. It took a while but I fixed it. From the get go it was obvious to me it was a fuel issue but due to the cost of the fuel pump I wanted to rule out the many other issues. "It's usually the last thing you check."!!!

 

[QBhoy]

Yep you're right. I checked all that and it ended up being the pressure pump in the VST. It is smart craft capable. But old fashioned troubleshooting worked in this case. It took a while but I fixed it. From the get go it was obvious to me it was a fuel issue but due to the cost of the fuel pump I wanted to rule out the many other issues. "It's usually the last thing you check."!!!

Excellent find. Well done. Best of luck