New 2006 Merc 115 4 stroke Merc problems and questions... (nice first memories of my boat)

[BillyBarilko]

Update:

Ended up being the fuel line connection on the motor was not air tight.

Seems the dealership thought a plastic tie on the fuel hose was sufficient for securing the line to the motor fuel input, the place I brought it to replaced it with a proper metal clamp and all is well.

 

Apparently the pressure wasn't there to keep fuel flowing, and thus became fuel starved (like I suspected) and died.

 

Also he prop pitch was too high, at 17, it should be 13 according to the Merc dealer I brought it to.

 

So I see 2 problems: 1) They should have had that fuel line secured solid and tested. 2) prop should have been selected properly.

I know I should have verified both by an in water test but it wasn't available.

 

What recourse do I have against this dealership? Do I just learn from my mistakes, or should the dealer who I bought it from own up and compensate me for their mistakes.

 

Frankly I find it hard to accept that I could have verified this even with an in water test. It ran for a awhile before the loose hose became a factor. But it's clearly their fault that they installed the motor incorrectly.

 

The fact that I had to have another authorized dealer fix their mistakes makes me think I shouldn't have to pay for any costs incurred, esp since they suggested that I use a local dealer to save from hauling the boat much further to them.

 

Anyways the boat is good to go and I can finally get on the water, I'll be sure to carry a spare fuel line and some clamps just in case

 

 

===============================

Well not a good first outing.

 

Wanted to break in the new boat and motor.

 

Had everything checked last night, ran the motor with the muffs on Sat for a 5 minutes everything sounded great.

 

Launch Sun morning at Fishermans pier, running idle at the doc sounds fine for a few minutes, untie backout get out about 100 yards and try to bring to plane... can't get it up on plane after a 20 seconds, backoff the throttle, sounds good, try again, still no plane.

 

At idle now, then I hear 3 beeps, go back look for fuel line kinks etc, sounds fine, then put put put, dies.

Hmm not good. Turn it over again, starts up fine, decide to head back (about 500 yards away), hear the 3 beeps again, try to full throttle, but no power its running smooth but no power at all. A minute later getting close back to the launch, motor dies.

 

Well not too impressed at this point. Looking through the manual while adrift away from the launch, I don't see any 3 beep references. 4 beeps = low bat, and I know the bat is fine. Nothing else in the manual about beeps.

 

Tried for 10 minutes again to get it to turn over. At this point I figure I need to call to get a tow in, jail the coast guard (thank god my electronic skills were well honed, my VHF installation was perfect As I pull up the VHF antenna, my cell phone clips the rails on the walk around and sinks into the harbour

 

Did have some luck 2 guys come into view trolling with planer boards and I flag them down for a tow in (Never got your names, sorry for the hassle if you ever read this, and thank you very much again.)

 

 

This is my first boat, but I've been around boats long enough to know the basics. Run switch was up, motor was getting water, exhaust wasn't blocked, yes plug was in... etc etc.

 

I figured like my in laws old 50 Merc frequent problems with fuel: this thing was fuel starved. (can't figure out why 1/2 tank of gas and BRAND NEW motor would have fuel problems...)

 

When I got her home, I try to turn her over, astonishingly runs for 5 minutes, but dies again.

Then couldn't get it to turn over.

There's no fuel bulb, I was told the boat didn't need one. Check th internet, 3 beeps seems to be fuel pressure related... hmm...

 

Disconnected the motor to boat fuel line and hooked up a siphon to the boat's fuel line, after a few pumps, fuel is flowing. I know there's no obstruction from the tank to the hookup so thats good.

 

I take the hood off and disconnect the fuel filter to the low pressure fuel pump line. I turn the ignition to the on position to get the fuel pump to go, I hear it doing something, but the hose as 0 suction. Covering it with my thumb proves to just block the pump noise, there's no suction at all.

 

So my guess is that the fuel pump is hosed. Am I wrong in this diagnostic? What else could it be?

 

My beef is that this is a 2006 Merc 115 EFI with 0 hours on it. (Well 0.2 hours)

I know warranty covers this but shouldn't the dealer have checked this?

The boat ran fine when I picked it up, but what are the odds of a fuel pump failing in 2 weeks while sitting in my driveway?

 

I bet the pump was faulty from day 1 and they either new about it (figured I'd get it serviced closer to home) or they just didn't even check (Probably primed it full of fuel from an external tank and not the boats internal tank. actually this must be true since the boat had no gas when I picked it up)

 

 

Moral of the story, buyers when you pick up your new boat run the motor for 30 minutes from your fuel tank, and run it for a while at the dock before heading out

 

 

Hopefully I can get it resolved in time for some fishing this spring!

Edited May 17, 2007 by Barilko's Spirit

[taper]

One thing I liked about the dealer I bought my boat from is that he water tests every boat before delivery. Not a big deal but helps iron out the little bugs and may have caught your problem before wrecking your day. Hope you get it fixed for next weekend.

[lew]

I'm almost thinking it's overheating and that's what the warning buzzer is telling you.

 

I've never had it happen on my 90 Merc, but I'm sure there's a section in my manual that states that if the engine gets too hot for whatever reason, the revs are automatically kept at the idle level to prevent any further damage.

 

Hopefully it's nothing to serious

[fishindevil]

Well that sucks big time,i think you might be right ,it sounds like when you try to open the throttle it dies,but will run at idle,it sure sounds like a fuel pressure problem. ..and ya it should have been checked for sure,i hope you can get it serviced real soon in time for the walleye opener in a week.good luck,and the dealer had better make you a priority,because of this being a brand new engine and not even any hours on her yet....cheers

[hawg_hauler]

If it's the model I am thinking of, it is a new design this year. They have a electric lift pump that replaces the need for a primer bulb. It does sound like the unit is starving for fuel , however what concerns me is the fact that the engine won't crank at times. Have you checked your battery connections and the main connections to the engine. It sounds more likely to be a bad ground connection or low battery voltage that is giving you grief.

[danc]

Many of the problem suggestions won't trigger an alarm such as a bad battery connection or fuel pressure problem. It's the things that will damage your motor that will trigger an alarm and reduce your rpm's such as over heating. I have no other suggestions, so take that for what its worth.

[irishfield]

I'm still trying to get past a guy that just bought a brand spankin new boat and motor running it in the laneway with muffs on it. Why did you pay the dealer for PDI ? And no fuel in the tank, who did you buy this boat from? Sounds like an air lock in the fuel line...or a restricted inlet on the tank...kinked line from tank to engine.

[BillyBarilko]

According to the 2006 Merc EFI 4 stroke manual, the trouble shooting sections read about not cranking, but the motor cranks fine, so I don't think it's battery, besides once it's running shouldn't there be enough power to keep it running?

 

The engine not starting section talks about Fuel not reaching the engine, which I'm pretty sure the problem lies, given that I've seen the fuel pump doesn't seem to be doing anything.

 

I guess my next plan of action is returning it to the the dealership. They better give me some nice perks given it's 2 hours away.

 

 

Thanks for all your replies.

[BillyBarilko]

Boat was new 2006.

Got the motor from a different dealer, who had a new 2006 overstock Merc 115, I didn't pay PDI. If you want the dealers named just say so

 

Yes a saved a bunch doing this, but lessons learned, and I'm dealing with it now, regardless I'm just stating what my situation is, not looking for sympathies. This is not like me buying a mid 80's boat and motor and finding problems, this is a new 2006 boat and motor, so I'd expect the ability to run the motor without any issues for at least a little while (First time would be nice)

 

I checked the fuel lines, gas flows fine from the internal tank. The motor doesn't pull it up, it should. This is where I think the problem is.

 

I can see the line to the tank, no kinks, very clear. I also siphoned the gas very easily from the internal tank via the main outlet at the stern. I can't see it not being a motor problem.

 

Sholuldn't the low pressure fuel pump pull some suction at the hose before the fuel filter? It doesn't do anything but make noise.

[POLLIWOGG]

"I can see the line to the tank, no kinks, very clear. I also siphoned the gas very easily from the internal tank via the main outlet at the stern. I can't see it not being a motor problem."

 

Did you siphon or pump it? Sometimes you find a tank with an anti siphon valve and an outboard that doesn't create enough vacuum to open the valve.

 

Googling says thats an oil alarm,

[BillyBarilko]

Oil check was OK, dip stick anyway, is there another check?

 

I siphoned it the main tank with an oil pump, gas flowed with no issues.

 

It's gotta be the fuel pump, the line to the main pump had no suction, 0, nothing.

I can't seeing it being more complicated.

 

Turn key on on, fuel pump engages, pumps gas into engine.

 

If the pump doesn't do any suction, it's gotta be a problem. I'm no mechanic, but some suction seems reasonable.

[SlowPoke]

I know squat about marine engines but here is my thought process...

-This engine has an electric fuel pump?

-The pump primes on startup but nothing afterwards?

-There is no fuel return line to the tank? (bypass flow)

It sounds from your description that there may be a sensor in the FI unit that controls the pump on demand. On startup it would likely default to pump fuel to pressurize the system for say three seconds and then rely on the sensor for futher instructions. If such a sensor is faulty it would likely idle drawing off low pressure until the line runs out of fuel.

My guess is that the pump is fine but whatever controls the pump is not working... maybe a fuel pressure sensor unit dohickey?

-Brian

[Guest lundboy]

Any chance there could be water in the fuel or line? Symptom sounds similar to one I had with water in the line.

[misfish]

PM sent.Hope it helps.

 

.

[Headhunter]

Not an expert by any means, just seem to recall my buddies 225 Opti has some throttle position sensor problems that acted very much like what you described. It would start, run for a bit, but would not rev up to high RPM's. He would get an alarm go off as well. His Merc would also continue to run, only up to around 1000rpms. Was told that it's a safety feature that Merc puts on the motor, save the motor and potentially saves the boater!

Anyway, that would be something I would have checked!

HH

[BillyBarilko]

Its going into my local mercury dealer to have them look at it. It's all under warranty so not really concerned.

I know it's new but things happen, I'd expect it to have 0 issues, but I'm dealing with it.

 

Called the dealership that sold it to me, they said it could be a bunch of things, they didn't think it was fuel pump related. They said there's not much pressure coming from that pump. I didn't expect a diagnostic over the phone, but I'm surprised the 3 beep code wasn't known to them, it should be in their maintenance manuals.

 

But I still can't see how that is accurate. The 2006 115 Merc 4 stroke EFI says it doesn't need to be primed, the motor pulls up fuel itself with it's low pressure pump. It should have some pressure to lift fuel up from the tank? you'd think you could at least feel it.

 

but even if this magical force wasn't perceivable according to them, when I took the fuel line off it was dry as a bone, no fuel. That tell me the pump ain't working.

 

thanks for the replies, I'll post an update once it gets diagnosed