2005 Etec 250 problem - The Hull Truth

606zpx · 09-17-2007, 01:01 PM

Hello, Thank you for inviting me to post here on your vendor forum.

SN 05096507

Early July noticed that the motor would just hesitatea little bit when using the trim switch and would only happen at around 3000rpm and above. Releasing the trim switch would cause the condition to go away with normal running thereafter, though occ I felt that quickly moving the throttle back and forth would remit the problem. It continued to get worse over the next trip such it would lose around 300 rpm and run rough with trimming so I thought there was a link to the trim circuit somehow.

I checked all battery connections from the battery all the way to the motor. Everything tight and clean. Checked teh trim switch wiring (dismantled the handle) and found no problems. Took it to the Boat Center in Savannah.

There were no codes on the motor so they inspected and felt that it might have been a trim switch problem so replaced this.

Took the boat out (now a month later) and was much worse such that was running rough at speeds above 2500-3000 rpm whether I was trimming or not. Could not get it to run above 4000rpm. Note that it cranks and idles smoothly. Also note that in neutral will freely rev and is smooth. Now figuring that it is not trim related and took it back about 2 weeks ago.

I am not certain what diagnostics they did but do know that there were no codes. They thought might have been EMM so this was replaced on Friday and I watched them run it on the dyno. Would not go any higher than 4000-4200 rpm under load and was rough (almost like a rev limiter but more erratic). This was done while on the computer. Volts looked OK on the computer and fooling with injector pressures did nothing. About this time I am frustrated so I left.

I decided to call Evinrude today and spoke to Art who was very nice. I told him I either want the motor running reliably or I am going to get it fixed and dump it, no sense having a relatively new boat that I cant use. Problem is that I dont know if part of the problem is dealer incompetence since I am not an expert here. It would sure help if the engine would put out a code to help narrow down the problem.

Thanks so much for your help.

A1 Outboard · 09-18-2007, 02:17 AM

It's a bit hard to diagnose that type of problem without seeing and checking out the engine personally. From what you describe about the miss when hitting the trim button is common problem in older motors. Most of the time we find that the battery does not have enough capactiy when checked against the motor company's recommendation. To allow for the electrical demands from the boat, make sure your battery is a regular flooded-cell marine starting battery of 750 or higher CCA. Do not use maintenance free or sealed batteries for best results.

There is a possibility that the stator under the flywheel may be suspect as that generates the alternator current to run the engine and accessories. It is controlled by the EMM and has 3 separate windings in it. Perhaps one is weak or breaks down at times. Only certain problems cause an error code to be stored. The computer cannot tell everything about the motor. Many newer techs don't know or were never taught that it is still a motor and you have to have training and experience to know how to troubleshoot engine basics.

BRP will take good care of you. Most every E-TEC problem post you see on these Internet forums are because of a dealer not helping out his customer, either by passing the buck or not having trained techs or improper rigging and prop.

Keep us posted.

606zpx · 09-21-2007, 08:09 AM

A1, I appreciate your reply and it looks like you were on target. My understanding was that the etec does not need a battery to run once cranked. At any rate, I have Cabela AGM that have more than enough rating for the motors and they initially worked just fine. When the problem was occurring I switched to parallel to rule out a battery problem (there was no change).

It was more than just a mis with trimming, it was a full on stumble with loss of 200-300rpm.

FWIW, I think you are right about this in that the original techs may not have had the experience, training, or tools to get this fixed. The only disappiontment is that the EMM did not self diagnose. Seems like it would detec and make an alarm for a significant voltage or fuel problem and save all this guessing and downtime.

A1 Outboard · 09-21-2007, 08:39 AM

The EMM is not a cure-all as some folks believe. It only monitors and saves error codes for certain sensors and conditions, it is not like the starship Enterprise.

CLVL · 09-21-2007, 11:09 AM

A1, got to say that this is impressive. I read all 10 pages of the E-Tec thread, and toward the end saw you invite 606 to post his problem here. He noted that you were right on so I came to find this thread and see what was said. You provided a diagnosis from a written description that pretty much hit the mark, as good as you could do without seeing the outboard.

606zpx · 09-21-2007, 01:53 PM

Yup, pretty much!
Which basically illustrates that I needed to get service elsewhere. I am still disappointed that my boat has been in for several warranty issues in under the 300 hour first maintenance time, but I do have a very early model Etec which may have a bearing on this.

Brian Burns has assured me that he is going to go over the engine well to make certain it is in top running form before releasing it. I certainly look forward to that.

606zpx · 09-21-2007, 01:59 PM

One other thing. I have now heard the exact same statement from 3 different evinrude techs at separate times.

Basically goes "We want to see these motors successful." I think that this probably represents robust factory support of their techs.

A1 Outboard · 09-22-2007, 02:18 AM

Ask your tech how the stator failed. Was it just a bad electrical reading or was there physical damage perhaps from someone using too long a bolt thru the flywheel when attaching the lifting ring to mount the motor on the boat initially?

606zpx · 09-22-2007, 04:02 PM

Hopefully they will have the parts for inspection. It would actually make me feel better if there were damage to the stator, but is something that could present as a problem 2 years later?

A1 Outboard · 09-22-2007, 08:17 PM

The reason I asked if it was physical damage, as some "careless" mechanics screw a too long a bolt through the engine lift ring and it damages the stator.

Otherwise, the stator has hardly even been a problem with the E-TECs.

606zpx · 09-23-2007, 10:57 AM

You know, I am going to look specifically for that. There were two times when this motor might have been hoisted.

1. Upon original install. Doubt they damaged it here because it has run for 2+ years without problem.

2. Very recently when I asked for the motor to be jacked up a hole for performance reasons.....hmmm....it will be very enlightening to see if it is damaged which would likely have been done by the prior mechanic.

THat would definitely explain why there were two problems at one time.

THANK YOU!