First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

[ewag316]

Took my boat out for the first time since I bought it 3 mos ago.

After about 10 minutes of cruising around (2000 - 2500 rpm range) my warning alarm went off. I know that it is AT MINIMUM connected to the overtemp t-stat, so I killed the motor to prevent damage. Interesting thing is that it kind of sputtered for 2-3 seconds after I cut the ignition off rather than dying immediately (could be my imagination, but I was thinking it should have been dead almost instantly). Couple of observations maybe someone can help me digest?

~~A~~

For some reason while I'm sitting there immediately after this happened, trying to not get really torked off at my "wonder first experience luck".... I decided to trim the engine up. Didn't NEED to but tried anyhow. Trim motors sounded like they had gravel in them and when moving, made everything shudder. When I tried to put it back down, big shudders again. Got it down, then it wouldn't move again. Strange!!! Ultimately later on, I got the trim working correctly and it sounds and move like normal. I already have replacement up and down trim solenoids, so I will replace those. Someone did some really, REALLY junky wiring at the motor. I would be willing to be there are a few bad connections and lots of corrosion on various electrical terminals. Will get all that cleaned up before I go out again and redo junk-connections with heat shrink splices, etc.

~~B~~

When I trimmed up I had some water pour out of my engine cowling. I was already very frustrated to I didn't think much about it or I would have investigated further to see if I could find out more about it. NOW everything looks normal. All hoses are new, good connections, nothing disconnected. The lower cowling is all together well, properly seated into the U seal near the lower unit. No idea how water would get it.

~~C~~

After "convincing" myself that the motor really wasn't overheating, I tried to restart it. Had a devil of a time getting her to run. Made sure the fuel bulb was primed and firm. Almost gave me the impression that it was out of fuel, but I put 10 gallon her that morning and had only been on the water for 10 minutes so I know that's not it. Everything, including cleaning the fuel tank out recently, replacing all fuel lines to the carbs, is new / cleaned. ONLY thing I have touched is the fuel pump, but I just ordered a rebuild kit for that yesterday. I remember reading about fuel bowls being hot and vaporizing the fuel, making it hard to start the motor. Maybe that's what I experienced?

After five minutes of trying, she started to sputter.....got her back to shore ASAP. Tinkered around while I was "beached" near my trailer and no issues. No more warning buzzer going off.


Any ideas are appreciated. Don't know if these are related problems, or just coincidence. Definiately know I need to get the wiring, solenoids, and corroded connections fixed, and make sure I don't have a clogged filter at my fuel pump, but beyond that I'm not sure what to try next.

Thanks in advance for any helpful ideas.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Your repair and operational sequences are a bit confusing as to what happened when, but on the OT alarm: First off I know not what engine nor hp you have. My 2002 90 hp 2 stroker has an OT alarm (engages at 195F) and it went off the first time I took my used boat out. I learned that below 2500 rpm the thermostat is in control of cooling the engine assuming of course that your water pump, impeller, and all that are supplying adequate water to the powerhead. The stat is stamped 143(F) which is the opening temp.

Above 2500 rpms a bypass valve is forced open which bypasses (literally) the thermostat and allows a higher flow rate for the higher rpms where more cooling is required. I only had the alarm below 2500 and in short, I had a frozen closed stat. Replacing it solved the problem.

Mark

 

[MikDee]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Did you happen to run aground momentarily? it sounds like your lower unit was stuck, and your trim struggled to get it out of the muck maybe?

 

[racerone]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Have you verified the oil injection system ( if equipped ) if indeed it is in service ?----Mixing oil and gas at 50:1 on this motor.

 

[ewag316]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Thanks y'all for the responses.

What I have is a '83 Mercury 150 hp motor inside a cowling and lower unit for a 200 hp unit. Serial numbers are totally different. Someone must have blown the original motor and replaced the powerhead with something older and cheaper.

Texasmark - Good point on the RPM. I was running a little low and will check out the Tstats to make sure they're working correctly.

MikDee - Not a running around problem.... out in the middle of the lake, not thump or thud sounds either like you might expect from hitting something submerged.

Raceone - Not oil injected. I mix her 50:1 when fueling up.


Anyone have thoughts on fuel vaporizing in the carb bowls because it was so hot inside the engine box? I read about this in the manual yesterday but have never heard about this before.

 

[racerone]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Have you inspected / replaced the water pump impeller??------That is a MUST BE DONE item on a new to you motor.

 

[ewag316]

Re: First Time Out on the Water - Engine Trouble

Have you inspected / replaced the water pump impeller??------That is a MUST BE DONE item on a new to you motor.

Not replaced. Fella I bought it from said he just replaced it..... BUT.... that's the same guy who either didn't know (or didn't tell me) it was 150 HP 1983 motor rather than a 200 HP 1993. Tattle-Tale sure does spit out some good water once the motor gets warmed up. To the point where (at least in my minimal experience) would only be happening if it was a good water pump (new or not). For all the more it costs, it would be good insurance to just replace the thing I guess.