www.iFourWinns.com

Thanks for all the help finally got her fired up and she is running like a kitten!
I charged battery one all night and I turned the key only with the battery switch in position 1 and I heard three beeps and the fuel pump kicked on and she fired right up. Can the boat crank but not start because of low voltage. Battery 2 is fried and won't hold voltage. I'm not sure if I figured out the problem because all I did was charge the battery. Replacement new battery for bank 2 coming tomorrow. Hope I came to the end of this saga without spending a dime.

That is absolutely possible. You might want to keep a digital voltmeter and a hydrometer (battery specific gravity tester) around. Both are good tools to tell you what shape the battery is in. EFI engines are fussy about low voltage. The digital voltmeter will tell you the total voltage which on a fully charged battery should be 12.7 or higher. The hydrometer (useful if the battery has removable caps) will tell you if you have a weak cell. If those are the original batteries replace them now. 5 years on a lead acid is good but many start to fail then or shortly thereafter.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Bank 2 which is not charging is the original battery, bank 1 is a battery a friend gave that was his spare. Had no idea these engines were so fussy about voltage it's my first boat, figured if it turns over everything should be good. Going to replace both batteries and hopefully this doesn't come up again. I had a hydrometer but I ran it over with my car in the garage so that will have to be replace also. I am actually glad this problem arose in the driveway because it would've been a tow back from the sandbar last weekend. This forum rocks! Thanks for all the pointers everyone! My boat doesn't have a lanyard that is the next issue I will tackle since I didn't notice upon delivery.

The ECM needs a certain voltage to work and if the battery is too weak when cranking the engine it will drop the voltage too low for that to happen. This is why Volvo Penta specifies a certain cca size battery and says not to use a deep cycle as a starting battery. Deep cycles are good for house batteries but they don't work as well as a starting battery.
You guys all would find it easier if you got a factory shop manual and read through it. Once you understand how these systems work THEN you can fix them. Otherwise you're just guessing.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Well... I have the whole set of VP factory shop manuals (drive, engine, EFI, parts catalog, etc.) and honestly, unless you have all the VP-specific tools, they aren't that much help. They don't go into any theory, they don't discuss alternative solutions, etc. In other words they take the European approach to most things - "We know more than you do so just do what we say." I'm glad I have them and do refer to them occasionally, but about half the time I end up looking at Seloc (and vice-versa, as they're no panacea either).

+1 on replacing boat batteries every 5 years. They lead a hard life.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

The OMC manual I have is much better, it does go into how things work and how to troubleshoot in detail. So to Merc manuals I have seen.
You should be able to trace in the engine wiring diagram how the fuel pump gets current from the ECM.
In this case lucky just a low battery.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I'm not quite sure what a MEFI ecu needs exactly, but most ECU's cut off ignition around the 10.5-10.7 mark. Yes you could still turn an engine over as on a boat it's a direct connection from the starter to the key, unlike a modern car.

I would look into a new battery.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Now that it's a "lesson learned" for all, two things I would suggest getting...
1) Batt tester- http://www.harborfreight.com/amp-6-volt ... 69888.html I test mine on installation, and removal for the season.

2) Batt Status- (from Walt's Mod's)....

I also bought a 3 cell battery monitor such as fishermen use on their trolling banks. I wired #1 and #2 respectively, and will use the #3 lead either for the Alternator, or the stereo batt mentioned above. This cost about $40 at Cabelas, and wasn't difficult to install. It came with about 10' leads... plenty! The only thing is, to check the battery condition, you need to push a button on it's panel, so install it somewhere accessible. Since my #1 is a bear to get at, and the #2 is only marginally better, I opted for the engine compartment, next to the batt switch. I tried drilling, and using screws to attach to the 'glass, but didn't have any luck, so just used some heavy duty household clear silicone instead.

[/quote]


I hope that helps!

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Am I missing something here; a fairly recent boat with no safety lanyard/ kill cord ? I thought they were a USCG requirement, they certainly are a CE requirement for inboards. CE is usually less stringent than USCG ( but different enough, to need separate certification; makes money for someone I guess !).

Does it really not have a kill cord system installed ?

Is the boat not equipped with a switch for the lanyard ?

Is the switch there and the actuator, but no cord to attach it to the helmsman?.

Is the switch there, but it's been permanently bypassed ? ( easy to do, I have a bypass on mine in case the switch plays up in dangerous sea conditions ; some pretty severe tidal overfalls and reefs here,). The bypass I've installed requires positive action, inserting a jumper cable into two sockets so it can't be accidentally activated.

That looks really nice! I went to the interstate store today and purchased one deep cycle and one cranking battery, going to pick them up tomorrow since I didn't have the cores and they wanted to charge 12 dollars extra a battery. For less than 200 dollars I should be able to avoid this problem for a couple of years. Thanks for all the help again and it was something simple after all.


I hope that helps![/quote]

Well there is a hole where the lanyard is supposed to be coming out from. Going to take a look at it next time I trailer the boat home . The dealer that sold it to me told me all the safety devices were on it and I had a marine survey on it also and they didn't say anything about it, go figure try to make sure things are perfect I pay a surveyor and he doesn't catch a major safety issue. I'm pretty sure it won't be that hard to take care of this lanyard issue. Will keep ya posted

Best thing you can do is keep the batteries charged up when the boats not going to be used for a while.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I try but that solar charger might not be doing the job, although I do believe those batteries were eight years old.