Don't understand ETEC-60 fogging procedure

[tonymi]

I've read the ETEC owner's manual and watched the YouTube video on winterizing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvNBF8Az0ic), but I'm confused. The procedure seems to depend on a fast idle button, but my throttle doesn't have one. I don't see a button or switch in the engine compartment either. Maybe I don't know what to look for. Can someone clarify this for me?

[Bleakco]

I have an Etec 60 and the fast idle is a lever next to the throttle. sorta flat with a curved end t hat you lift to go to fast idle....the fogging works well on mine...remember to clean and index the plugs in the spring when you take it out of hibernation....bob

[bscott]

Bleakco X 2, I put SeaFoam in my gas before I fog. I have not checked my plugs before start up and the engine has started on the second revolution each season (so far).

Bob

[Catigale]

I think the fast idle on most boats is a button you push on/about the throttle which lets you advance the throttle, without putting it into gear. On MERCS it is a 2 inch diam button or so, centred on the axis of rotation of the throttle lever.

[markh1f]

I have no fast idle lever on my ETEC-60 either, just pull out (to the side, away from the pedestal) the shifter/throttle and move it forward (in neutral) about 45 degrees. That will get you some throttle when you start it which will trigger the fogging.

Mark

[tonymi]

I have no fast idle lever on my ETEC-60 either, just pull out (to the side, away from the pedestal) the shifter/throttle and move it forward (in neutral) about 45 degrees. That will get you some throttle when you start it which will trigger the fogging.

Mark

Okay, that worked. Thanks for the info. I wish MacGregor would document more little features like that.

[Spentit]

I am having the same problem except my stick will not move away from the pedestal, I can only lift the top of the stick and move it forward or reverse, I don't have any buttons to engage the idle feature - am I missing something?

I have the e-tech 60 2011 macgregor 26.

Thanks.

[seahouse]

Spentit- There is no dedicated knob or button; the entire lever moves outward- it's brilliant in its simplicity, but can be a "secret" if you aren't aware of it. Instead of grabbing the lever by the knob at the top, try grabbing the lever at or near the base (where it pivots, connecting it to the binnacle) lifting outward, but with a back and forth (slightly) motion. If it hasn't been moved in a while, it might be snug. Maybe a shot of spray lube will help.

- Brian.

[March]

Removing the sparkplugs in the spring is a risky overkill. Because of the position of the injectors, each spark plug needs to be indexed, marked, removed, and put back in exactly the same position. No reason to assume that the E-TEC would have fouled the sparkplugs over one season--the highly computerized engine will either work correctly, or let you know that something is wrong with it--in which case, cleaning the spark plugs is pretty low on the priority list, from all things that may go wrong with the E-TEC.

Let the specialized E-TEC mechanic change the plugs and the impeller next time they do mainenance.

Likewise, make sure you run the stabilized gas through the systembefore you winterize the engine. The engine is so economical at idle that it'll take a good half an hour until the treated gas moves through the filters, separator, injectors, etc. and does what's supposed to be doing to the engine. Or: you could make sure you put the stabilizer in right before you pull the boat out of the water, and run her at WOT for a couple of minutes. That'll do it.

Evinrude reccommends 2+4 as a gas stabilizer, rather than SeaFoam. Just saying

[Kittiwake]

I've read the ETEC owner's manual and watched the YouTube video on winterizing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvNBF8Az0ic), but I'm confused. The procedure seems to depend on a fast idle button, but my throttle doesn't have one. I don't see a button or switch in the engine compartment either. Maybe I don't know what to look for. Can someone clarify this for me?

What you describe sounds like my experience with our 2010 Etec-60: by trial and error over several years I finally figured out the explanation given above by markh1f and seahouse. It may take a couple of tries going through the sequence (as it did for me this fall).

With my model of Etec-60 there is no separate 'fast-idle button'. Instead I turn the engine off with the shifter/throttle arm in neutral, then grasp the pivot point as seahouse says and pull the whole thing laterally out about 1" from the normal position and leave it there while pushing the shifter/throttle forward about 90 degrees, then start the engine and run for 15 seconds, then back to neutral with the shifter/throttle (the shifter/throttle will then pop back 1" laterally inward by itself to its normal position) for 15 seconds, then I grasp the pivot point of the shifter/throttle and pull it out laterally again while pushing it forward about 90 degrees again ... and keep my fingers crossed that it will fog and die after about 1 minute (I think mine took about 90 seconds).
Clearly the manual was written by someone trying to cover a number of different-model engines.
Kittiwake