99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

[BluefishBoy]

I have a Pro Line 23 foot center console with a '99 200 Evinrude Ficht. Before i get a hundred posts about how crappy pro line's are and how crappy fichts are, it's been great to me, fishes well, runs good, and never given me a problem until this week.

While out on L I S bluefishing, trolling at 2 knots for about an hour or so, my check engine light came on. I immediately shut the engine down and anchored to see what was the matter. Pulled the cover, pulled the air cleaner (no unburnt oil or fuel), checked all wiring. everything looked fine. So i turned the key and she fired right up. Trolled for a few more minutes and decided to make a run. While on plane (doing about 35 at 4600 rpm) the light came back on.
I stopped again thinking maybe I had a plugged intake or water line, but nope all appeared to run fine, temp was good.
Back on plane........about 2 knots and wham...light again and that god-awful siren worse tha a baby crying......
This time I came off plane but did not shut it down. It was still running fine. No spitting, no jumping, no sputter. absolutely nothing noticable in either the sound or the feel of the engine, just a light. I made the rest of my 12 knot jog back to the marina with the light on and the motor running great without any powerloss or cooling issues.

Can ANYONE tell me what the deal is? And please dont say it's a ficht...I already know...
Thanks

 

[boobie]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Take it into an Evinrude dlr and have him hook up his lap top to it. There're quit a few codes which wll set off the check eng lite.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Check the water seperating filter on engine....if water is in filter it will cause a light.

 

[BluefishBoy]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Thanks guys. I guess I was hoping to avoid the dealer as its a couple hours each way and my boat always winds up sitting there for weeks. I'll check the water seperating filter first.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Just like with the check engine lite in your car, it could mean any number of things. Since the motor did not slow down like it does for an overheat, the error is a not a serious one at the moment.

The most common causes are water in the fuel filter, throttle position sensor out of spec, or possibly the charging or system voltage too high or too low.

You need a laptop and the diagnostic software to find out for sure.

 

[BluefishBoy]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Actually now that you mention it....I put brand new batteries in the boat this spring and noticed that it was only reading about 13.4 volts at 4600-4800 rpm when it should be over 14 volts. Not a major difference, but could be another symptom.
When the alarm went off the first few times (long continuous alarm signal) after I shut the engine down, It cranked for a few seconds and wouldnt fire. So I pumped the primer ball (even though I shouldn't have to fith a FI engine) and then it fired right up. I am also replacing the primer bulb too, even though I do not feel it is the problem right now.

 

[BluefishBoy]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light?? Update...

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light?? Update...

So replaced and gapped the plugs, Put a new Water Seperating Filter in there, Added some sea foam to my gas, And I have not had the light again in about 2 hours of use.
When I replaced the filter there was maybe 4-6 tablespoons of water in it that was a murky rusty color....not good I'm sure.

But I am still only reading about 12.7-13.2 volts charge while running at 4600-5000 rpm. Put brand new batteries in this spring that have been operating absolutely perfectly up until I had the check engine light go off.

Are these two things part and Parcel, or unrelated coincidence?
I have seatow...really would like NOT to have to use it

 

[boobie]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

First off, did you replace the water seperator filter on the mtr or in the boat ? The one on the mtr can sense water in the fuel. If it was the one on the mtr you could have water probs in your boat fuel tank. Second, did you "index" the spark plugs when you replaced them ?

 

[BluefishBoy]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Yeah, spark plugs are all set.
I replaced the filter on the motor. The boat had sat without a full tank for almost half a year during the winter, it's possible that the marina that winterized it did not do a good job, although I have never had a problem with them before.

 

[BluefishBoy]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

Actually that brings up another question, Maybe I'll post it as a seperate thread. I have now owned three fichts on my bass boats and my saltwater toys.
Exactly how important is it to index the plugs to the intake? My old ficht 175 (also a 99) had unindexed plugs for years and ran fine. It was not until 4 years later I replaced the plugs and my mechanic told me I was lucky that I didnt have problems. Then I watched him use about 40 spark plugs to find 6 that faced the right direction in the engine.

Exactly what kind of difference does it make? Best case scenario in a race car is only about 5% difference in hp.

 

[gradytom]

Re: 99 ficht 200 saltwater check engine light??

check your own codes by taking the throttle position sensor off the motor and holding it in the WOT position with a rubber band.
You cannot get the motor to go into diagnostic mode without taking the TPS off the motor.
Turn the key to activate the startup system checks but don't start the motor, the codes will begin to blink on the check engine light.
I recently had a false code 37, water in fuel.
After alot of troubleshooting I sent the ECU to DFI technologies. False codes on Fichts are common , the technology is 11 or 12 years old. They were familiar with the problem, fixed the false code issue, reloaded the software, checked all the circuitry and its been running like a great with no alarms or check lights, and with next day air I had it back in 3 days!