www.iFourWinns.com

Hi all,

It is winter here and we are thinking about getting the boat ready for next summer / Christmas and need to get an intermittent fault diagnosed and fixed.The boat in question is a 2004 Horizon 180 (pre the model change) with the 4.3l MPI Mercruiser stern drive unit.

Towards the end of last season, we started to experience the following symptems:-
1) After engine warmed up and motoring away, building up revs, we would get 2 bleeps of the ignition buzzer at approximately 2 minute intervals,
2) Sometimes after a couple of times, if we did not slow down, the engine would cut out,
3) After the engine had cut out, we would wait (whether that would be fiddling with the cut out switch or just waiting) and then it wouuld re-start,
4) This might happen for half an hour and then go awya for no apparent reason.

The oil levels were / are correct.
Water temperature guage would be coming up to normal or at normal (middle of gauge)

Not sure if it is related, the boat from new and getting steadily more frequent, for no reason the rev counter will drop to 0 revs and the engine run clock will stop. (Coincidentally, this can be triggered by going over wake at speed / bumpy water). We have also had the fuel guage and temperature gauge drop of the bottom of the guages as well. Not all at the same time and the rev counter is the more common problem.

This sounds like a dodgy earthing, but the battery straps are fine and the earth bolt on the engine is tight. Connections behind the dashboard all seem tight as well.

Any body else experience similar problems? Could it be the impellor not getting enough water in and needing replacing? I have seen some discussion around this on a different thread. The boat is serviced every year, although, the service agent did not change the impellor last year which they have always done previously.

Any help really appreciated.

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Warwick
Pukekohe, New Zealand

That sure sounds like a intermittant wiring problem and not a water supply problem to me. The gauges going to 0 for example indicate a loose of power, wheather that be from loosing the positive side or ground side of circuit. The buzzer I would think is the oil pressure warning being triggered by electrical power coming and going. Seems you must have a loose connection somewhere. You say your ground on the engine is good, have you traced down the positive side for loose wires, battery, starter, alternator, ignition and so on.

Mark

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2007 224 Funship

Gotta be bad/loose connection or ground...somewhere.

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

Thanks for the replys.

With regard the engine buzzer, there have been days when first time out in a day after the engine has warmed up and we start to speed up i.e. about to start water skiing, the buzzer buzzes 2 or 3 times every 30 seconds or so. The time interval seems to be too regular to be caused by an intermitent electrical connection. We did wonder whether it could be a problem with the kill switch as 'fiddling' with the landyard clip seemed to make the problem go away.

Grateful for anymore comments / advice.

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Warwick
Pukekohe, New Zealand

Update from here at Lake Karapiro....

Problem has got worse. As soon as the boat is taken off the trailer and idling, the double beep goes. Waiting a good long time for it to warm up does not seem to make any difference.

Driving the boat at >2000 rpm, and the buzzer goes and the engine cuts out very quickly. Leaving the ignition on, the double beep goes every 40 seconds or so.

When putting the boat under load, there just is not the power there and the engine feels lumpy.

We thought we had cracked it yesterday, when after an hour of fiddling under the dash, we flicked the kill switch off/on and the boat then ran like a dream. No such luck today.

Temp gauge, rev counter and engine hours are also misbehaving. May or may not be related.

We have had enough of this as it has completely buggered our holiday.

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Warwick
Pukekohe, New Zealand

Hello, Did you ever get a chance to try out my other suggestion of wiggling the main wiring harness going between the boat's helm and the engine? Here is a link to where we had talked about it before. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4919

Do you know your engine serial Number?

Hi, Thanks for the interest. This is really very becoming very annoying!!

I checked under the dashboard and all the cable joiners have had cable ties fitted. I think the workshop has done that in an attempt to fix the problem.

The wiring loom also seems secure at the engine.

Another ski club member brought his diagnostic software out last weekend. Unfortunately, he does not have the correct program for the Mercruiser v6 models, only v8's. He was suggesting that it might be a faulty temp sender unit as the day he checked the boat, we took the boat off the trailer and it immediately gave the double warning buzzer. 2 hours later, when he connected up and we went for a test, everything was ok. Then 7 hours later in the evening when putting the boat back on the trailer after being moored all day and not being started, it gave the same problem.

It is almost as if something is either not warming up quickly enough or opening and that when you leave it a reasonable interval, it comes right until the engine cools right down, usually over night when the air temp drops and allows the engine to cool right down.

The workshop manager is coming down this evening (Monday) to witness the problem, hopefully! Interestingly, he says that they have had another 4 Winns do the same thing this Xmas.

BTW, engine serial number is OM649678

Thanks

Warwick

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Warwick
Pukekohe, New Zealand

Hi to all those who gave some help with this problem.

The workshop came through, although it took them 3 days (at no charge to us). They even drop 3 hours each way after work to pick the boat up. Very grateful to Family Boats, Auckland for their help.

After thinkiing it was a fuel pump problem - engine cutting out under acceleration, changing it, then the computer, then the wiring loom from the engine to the dashboard, then the relays and still having the problem. Computer recording various faults - fuel pump relay, water and oil temp, putting engine into guardian mode etc. Main Mercrusier engineer here in New Zealand scratching his head.

Getting around to changing all the sensors, one of the mechanics thinks he found a wire connector on the power relay that felt a little loose, crimped it tight and, touch wood, problem has gone away!

So, to all those who said, "gotta be a loose connection", you were right.

Thanks and happy boating.

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Warwick
Pukekohe, New Zealand