Evinrude 225 Ficht '1999. reliability after upgrades?

[direwolf]

I am considering buying a used boat at a good price with an Evinrude 1999 225 Ficht engine that has had all the upgrades and currently runs good.<br />Is this engine reliable since it has had the upgrades(recall items)done? I've read about the 98 and 99 ficht problems, but nobody really talks about the engine after the upgrades. Thanks in advance for any information about this engine.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Evinrude 225 Ficht '1999. reliability after upgrades?

You are confusing the different motors. The 225 FICHT did not have the problems or bad reputation that the '98 and '99 150-175 series had.<br /><br />The '99 had an injector retainer change that you can tell by looking at the bolts holding the injector to the cylinderhead. If they have a 1/2" head on them, those are the good ones and the motor is upgraded. If they have 3/8" heads, then call Bombardier for a free upgrade kit.<br /><br />Don't forget that this is still a 5 year old motor so make sure a knowledgable tech checks it out thoroughly for you.

 

[BRIAN03]

Re: Evinrude 225 Ficht '1999. reliability after upgrades?

This engine eats ecu. There is a company that will up date the ecu and they run pretty trouble free after that. 1999 225 fitch engines. The company is so busy in season its a two to three week wait for a rebuilt ecu. The most common ecu failure is the 1999 225. After the update they run good. We send out one a week in season. There is a company that you can buy aftermarket insurance policy that covers ecu and voltage regulators.

 

[BRIAN03]

Re: Evinrude 225 Ficht '1999. reliability after upgrades?

Checked our records for the year. Of 40 fitch 225 engines(no run or power problems) we have seen thru the shop 26 ecu failures. 24 of them had code 81 thru 86 failure codes most total ignition failure. The other 2 were injector codes to power to injectors. Once the ecu is rebuilt or up dated we have not seen the same failure.