View Full Version : 350 mcx engine trouble suggestions please
Engine just quit running today while surfing. Did not sputter or anything. Fuel pump is vibrating and making noise like always seems ok. We took a spark pug off and there is no spark against non painted metal. Anyone have any suggestion? I will pull to the dealership Monday or Tuesday.
Just worried because we need it before next saturday and worried dealer might be backed up.
sorry forgot to post that I checked that.
djhuff
08-04-2008, 08:09 AM
Check the fuel pressure at the rail. The pump can make noise and be broken, that is how my first one went.
Any help on how to check FP. Where on the rail do you hook in and do I need a specfic type of guage or or will any compression guage work as long a the fittings are correct. I have a compression tester I will look and see what adaptors it has.
You don't use a compression gauge. The fuel pressure gauge you would need has to be able to read over 60 lbs. It should also have a bleeder valve to remove air from the pump's line, which would cause it to read inaccurately. That valve makes taking a fuel sample easy and I recommend doing that whenever the pressure is checked.
I would think about doing a test for flow rate, too. IIRC, the pump is supposed to move 1 pint in 20 seconds.
Ok, Jim will do. We held a spark plug wire up to a bolt while turnig the engine over and there was no visible spark. That made me think electrical. Also my buddy on the swim platform said it looked like is was spitting fuel out the exhaust when turning it over.
snork
08-04-2008, 04:34 PM
ECM maybe. How much gas was in your tank prior to the engine quitting. Hope you were not in the middle of Lake Ouachita.
Yes Acutally in Skiers Cove while surfing. I ran into the back of the boat. Thought my wife had just shut it down for no reason. Had to be towed in by my buddy. Fuel was a little under half. Wondered about the ECM. Looks like code reader is going to half to find it. Kade is supposed to ride in the INT next weekedn at degrey and hoped to have the boat back by then.
Of course our dealer does not work on Monday because people never break down on Sat. or Sun. then want to take their boat in to get it fixed.
Gozar
08-04-2008, 04:58 PM
You checked the lanyard switch how? Just that it was depressed or that it is actually closing the circuit?
I had one go out on me. Same exact symptoms.
well while the key is on you can depress the switch and hear it ingage and disengage. That is not a fool proof method but you can hear it switch.
Gozar
08-04-2008, 05:56 PM
well while the key is on you can depress the switch and hear it ingage and disengage. That is not a fool proof method but you can hear it switch.
Take the switch out of the side trim and place a meter on it. Check for infinite ohms and then zero ohms depending on open or closed circuit.
Pretty full proof to determining if the switch is actually working.
snork
08-04-2008, 07:50 PM
[QUOTE=Gozar;525523]Take the switch out of the side trim and place a meter on it. Check for infinite ohms and then zero ohms depending on open or closed circuit.
Sound easy enough.
bigmac
08-04-2008, 10:22 PM
...................
Thanks for showing this link. I'll edit my previous posts so the clip info is gone.
bigmac
08-04-2008, 11:12 PM
Did I miss something?
JimN is a very experienced tech. There are some diagnostic short cuts used by experienced techs in the field that give some Indmar engineers chest pain. Neither JimN nor Indmar want you to take a chance that you might fry your ECM.
Carbon Dreams
08-05-2008, 11:10 AM
I had the exact scenario happen to me. Everything was the same as you except the lake. I think I even raised my voice to ask my wife ***.
I turned off the batteries and let sit for 15 minutes. Turned it back on and everything was back to normal. This was an old trick on GM cars, so I thought I would give it a whirl. In my opinion it appeared to be the throttle by wire that needed resetting i.e. ECM. I'm no Indmar Mechanic, but all I know it that it worked.
Good luck.
Prostar19
08-05-2008, 11:46 AM
If it is the lanyard switch the gauges will not work either. No need to pull the switch and check it with a meter. Sounds like the fuel pump. They will still power up and sound fine but the impeller inside is bad.
JimN is a very experienced tech. There are some diagnostic short cuts used by experienced techs in the field that give some Indmar engineers chest pain. Neither JimN nor Indmar want you to take a chance that you might fry your ECM.
Thanks was not sure what I missed.
Dropped it off this am I will post outcome. Still under warranty so hopefully if its something major or even the fuel pump I will have a new one before it goes out.
Carbon Dreams I did cut the power frome the Perko for about 5 minutes thinking it may reset something but I may not have waited long enough if it is indeed a ECM issue. I will let you. know.
Dealer called and said Fuel Pump was the culprit. I sure would have thought it would have at least sputtered, coughed or something when it quit.
Now I am told the fuel pump is not part of the 3 year warranty. $739.89. Gotta love that.
Before you tell them to replace it, do a search here for fuel pump issues- there's a link to an aftermarket replacement, but you'll have to decide if you want to use that one.
What's the breakdown of parts and labor? That seems high.
517 on the part then 1.2 hours I believe was what he said. Problem is they already replaced it. I thought it would be under warranty or I would have have done more diagnosis on it and replaced it myself. From the history on these fuel pumps sounds like I will be doing it again sometime.
brucemac
08-07-2008, 02:03 PM
bummer endl. sorry to hear that.
bigmac
08-07-2008, 03:00 PM
Dealer called and said Fuel Pump was the culprit. I sure would have thought it would have at least sputtered, coughed or something when it quit.
Now I am told the fuel pump is not part of the 3 year warranty. $739.89. Gotta love that.Yeah, bummer. I've heard rumors that they extended the warranty to TWO years (don't know if it's true), but the fuel pump is Mastercraft's design, not Indmar's (the three year warranty is an Indmar warranty).