ETEC problems update

[March]

Evinrude ETEC 50 engine refuse to start in the Bahamas, last summer, leaving us high and dry as it were on the other side of Nassau. At the time, I suspected the culprit was contaminated gas.

When we got home to Iowa, I cleaned the tanks, replaced the gas, and left for the Apostles where the engine worked impeccably for ten days (we had no wind at all)

So I felt reassured on that end. Bad gas. Lucky me.

My ETEC local mechanic co0nfirmed it, when I brought the boat in for the 5 year revision. However, after checking the computer readings and talking to the ETEC Evinrude specialists, he is telling me that the problem is not the gas

It is the injector. Ok, change the injector.' No big deal

Ah, but the injector has a coil that got shorted out. Inside the injector

How come it works now?

The coil "arks" at low RPMs. It'll work now. Until it doesn't.

Price? $850.00 And they are back ordered at the factory.

Damn!

And this is only one of the two injectors... I am beginning to lose faith in my ETEC

[BOAT]

Or maybe you should lose faith in your local etec mechanic, (sounds like a shakedown to me).

You need a second opinion.

[kadet]

I am beginning to lose faith in my ETEC

I lost faith in mine awhile ago, not because the ETEC is a bad engine but because of how Bombardier has set up the EMM and Injectors so only authorised dealers can use and fit very expensive factory supplied OEM parts and diagnostic tools. It makes it so any fault in these motors makes them not worthwhile repairing. It was going to cost me over $3000 to repair a 9 year old ETEC with only 134hrs on the clock because of a blown EMM. Any other brand and I could have sourced parts myself and repaired the thing for under $500 but not the ETEC. I would never buy another product that locks you into an almost non existent dealer network that has a monopoly on carrying out repairs because of manufacture secret codes and other BS.

[sailboatmike]

I did say something similar when I was looking for a new motor a couple of years ago, during my research I found numerous ETEC's for "Wrecking" that had low hours and only a few years old.

At the time I questioned what could go wrong with a $12,000 motor in only a few years that would make it not worth repairing, the occasional failure I could understand but the numbers seemed to far out of proportion to the numbers out there.

It seems that if almost anything goes wrong then they are not worth repairing due to proprietary servicing requirements and the gouging for parts

[Tomfoolery]

I am beginning to lose faith in my ETEC

I lost faith in mine awhile ago, not because the ETEC is a bad engine but because of how Bombardier has set up the EMM and Injectors so only authorised dealers can use and fit very expensive factory supplied OEM parts and diagnostic tools. It makes it so any fault in these motors makes them not worthwhile repairing. It was going to cost me over $3000 to repair a 9 year old ETEC with only 134hrs on the clock because of a blown EMM. Any other brand and I could have sourced parts myself and repaired the thing for under $500 but not the ETEC. I would never buy another product that locks you into an almost non existent dealer network that has a monopoly on carrying out repairs because of manufacture secret codes and other BS.

It's not limited to ETEC outboards - I just got finished working with an industrial diesel distributor and a service tech at a remote job site to diagnose a problem keeping an almost new, mission critical engine from starting. It was a $20 start solenoid, but the error codes pointed to a problem deep in the ECM, or possibly in the remote control panel, either of which would be a somewhat involved job to replace, as they have to be programmed for the specific serial number of the engine which can only be supplied by the factory, and which is built for a very specific applicantion (EPA Tier IV final pollution control), and none of it can be done by a non-dealer tech, and there's no way to run the engine without it working at 100%.

Something as simple as a bad solenoid throws error codes that can confound even experienced personnel. And it will only get worse as time goes on.

Oh, and power units now cost twice what they did just a decade ago. And engine that cost as much as a high-end Mercedes now costs as much as a Rolls Royce.

[March]

BOAT wrote:
Or maybe you should lose faith in your local etec mechanic, (sounds like a shakedown to me).

You need a second opinion.

Interesting. You seem to think that a second opinion would necessarily be the right one?

What if the first opinion was "contaminated gas?"

At any rate, my ETEC mechanic actually double-checked with the ETEC big guns from Evinrude. If anyone's not to be trusted, then it's the guys who manufactured the engine.

[kadet]

and which is built for a very specific applicantion (EPA Tier IV final pollution control)

This is the same kind of BS that Bombardier uses to justify their price gouging practices yet no other outboard manufacture seems to have to follow this kind of control to keep their EPA ratings. If diesel and 2 stroke requires such expensive stringent factory controls to meet EPA requirements then this should be posted as a BIG WARNING on the side of the engine so buyers are aware of the hidden costs of ownership. Please bring on the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) petrol engine so these old dinosaur engines can be relegated to the history books like reciprocating steam engines

[March]

Right--I even feel kind of embarrassed to complain, since spare parts and ETEC mechanics are much more scarce in the Land Down Under.

Yeah, all engines break down sooner or later, And yes, prices have been going up like crazy (the ETEC cost me $5000 about 10 years ago)

But the what puzzles me is, with all this computerized hoopla, the diagnosis cannot "confirm" that it's the injector. And if it does, it cannot confirm that it's the coil and not the bad gas. And if it does, it cannot FULLY explain why it happens to work now (that's all the ETEC people's inference in the factory) And if it works now, nobody can say how long it will still work.

So if the injector is changed and the engine is working (like it does now) nobody can test and see if the old injector was really worth changing, or how long the new one will last....

[kadet]

But the what puzzles me is, with all this computerized hoopla, the diagnosis cannot "confirm" that it's the injector.

This is what peeved me off so much with my EMM issue, the thing has about $60 worth of components in it potted in epoxy but no external protection circuit and a battery short fried the thing. So they have a part that cost $3000 to replace that is highly susceptible to power fluctuations in a motor used in a saltwater environment with 0 protection.

The computer only generates a code to what a sensor reports not the reason why the sensor is reporting the code. For example a low pressure error in an injector could be the result of many different things from bad gas, a blocked injector, a leaking fuel line, vacuum lock in fuel tank, bad coil or a faulty sensor. Hopefully other fault codes will help narrow the diagnosis but at the end of the day the mechanics and manufacture are relying on experience with past faults to identify the problem.

[BOAT]

As a long time driver of Mercedes vehicles I have learned to not trust what the mechanic says just by reading the error codes.

Sometimes there might not be enough pressure in my manifold because I am going down hill at a really high rate of speed and my turbo pressure will read way too low when I accelerate in those conditions - the computer will read a low turbo pressure boost and think i blew a turbo hose and log a code for a low pressure reading. If that happens more than three times the engine light will come on. Because I have a meter attached sitting on my dash and know the codes I just reset the log myself from inside the truck. That's exactly what the GOOD mechanic will do too when you take the truck in for an idiot light. A BAD mechanic will try to get you to buy something you don't need. like a new turbo hose.

It's a scam.

There should be code readers out there somewhere for the ETEC - if you can get one just reset the log and see if there really is a problem. If there is, the code will come up again, and then you can dig into it. Bad gas can make 02 sensors send a bad code or other things - after all the stuff is cleaned out the code may never come back.

How much is a code reader for the etec?

Here are some of the code error numbers:

http://www.etecownersgroup.com/file?id=1032757


51 Fuel injector circuit #1 OPEN 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
Check circuit resistance
52 Fuel injector circuit #2 OPEN 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
53 Fuel injector circuit #3 OPEN 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
54 Fuel injector circuit #4 OPEN 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
55 Fuel injector circuit #5 OPEN 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
56 Fuel injector circuit #6 OPEN 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
57 High RPM with low TPS setting 3 333 CHECK ENGINE (FLASHING) Flash SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 5 seconds EMM has detected abnormally high RPM relative to TPS position. This could be caused by uncontrolled fuel entering the combustion cycle. DO NOT attempt to clear code and START the outboard until the problem has been evaluated and repaired.
58 Operating temperature not reached (port/ inline) 3 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 9 minutes/ 10 minutes for 90°V Engine operating temperature less than 104° F (40° C) with engine speed less than 2300 RPM or 122°F (50°C) on 115-250 HP 60°V & 90°V models.
59 Operating temperature not reached (stbd) 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3)
9 minutes/
10 minutes for
90°V6
Engine operating temperature less than 104° F (40° C) with engine speed less than 2300 RPM or 122°F (50°C) on 115-250 HP 60°V
& 90°V models.
61 Fuel injector circuit #1 SHORTED 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
Test for shorts to ground. Check wiring and perform resistance test on injector circuits. Check for pinched or chafed wiring.
62 Fuel injector circuit #2 SHORTED 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
63 Fuel injector circuit #3 SHORTED 3 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
64 Fuel injector circuit #4 SHORTED 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
65 Fuel injector circuit #5 SHORTED 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
66 Fuel injector circuit #6 SHORTED 3 INJECTOR/IGNITION FAULT (LED 2) 8 seconds
67 Engine Temperature Sensor (starboard) 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds 5 V* circuit and Ground (NEG) 9000 to 11000 Ω @ 77°F (25°C)
68 Engine Temperature BELOW range (stbd) 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds Engine temperature below -4°F (-20°C). Check engine temperature and sensor resistance.
69 Engine Temperature ABOVE range (stbd) 3 3 WATER TEMP/HOT NO OIL/OVERHEAT (LED 4) 8 seconds
Engine temperature: 40 - 90 HP models ≥ 212°F (100°C); 115-250 HP 60°V & 90°V models ≥ 212°F (100°C) below 3000 RPM or
≥ 194°F (90°C) above 3000 RPM. Check engine temperature and cooling system operation. Check tempera;ture sensor resistance.
Code 31 activates SHUTDOWN at 248°F (120°C) and Code 43 or 69 activates S.A.F.E. at 212°F (100°C) on 40 - 90 HP models or
194°F (90°C) on 115-250 HP 60°V & 90°V models.
71 Oil pressure circuit sensor fault detected 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 4 seconds < 0.12 V , > 4.88 V
72 Oil pressure BELOW expected range 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds < 0.5 V
73 Oil pressure ABOVE expected range 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds > 4.5 V
74 Water pressure sensor circuit fault detected 3
CANBus Option
SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds Use Evinrude Diagnostic Software to activate option < 0.12 V , > 4.88 V
75 Water pressure BELOW expected range 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds < 0.5 V
76 Water pressure ABOVE expected range 3 SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds > 4.5 V
77 S.A.C. overcurrent fault 3 3 CHARGING FAULT (LED 1) 8 seconds Check for shorted 55 V wiring (injector circuits). Check for pinched or chaffed wiring.
78 Analog 5V circuit overload detected 3 3 CHECK ENGINE SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds Sensor voltage reference fault. Check sensors and related wiring. Check for pinched or chaffed wiring.
79 Starter solenoid circuit OPEN 3 CHECK ENGINE SENSOR FAULT (LED 3) 8 seconds Check starter solenoid circuit for continuity (key switch OFF) and for 12 V with key swit