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I love my new Zuki motor, however I have some questions, not addressed in the manual and figured this was the best place to ask.
1)Flushing and running on Muffs:
Everyone here says not to run on the flush port, it doesn't get water to the impeller. My neighbor runs a DF140 and his mechanic said run it on the flush port, no problems. My dealer says the same. I can't get my standard earmuffs to make a good enough seal on the lower unit, hence no water coming out of the pee stream. Any ideas?
2) There is one 14 Gauge wire coming from the engine to the #1 battery. What is this wire and it's purpose? I usually run on one battery, however, the dealer said to run the selector switch on all, I voiced my high displeasure on this and he said it's the only way to run the motor. Is this lead capable of draining down a group 24 battery on a normal offshore trip if I'm running and charging the other battery?
3)While running the motor today, I accidently bumped the lanyard off the kill switch. The motor was idling in neutral. Does the kill switch only kill the motor when it is in gear, or is my kill switch wired wrong?
Thanks for the help fellas.
PS. As for the Title, sorry no real problems with the motor, just baiting the responses.
The motor starts and runs on either battery, is it possible that the ECM or EMM will draw enough voltage out of a deka group 24 starting battery on a 10 hour trip so that the battery would not be able to crank the motor?
I would really think about finding a new dealer...the flush port is to be used with the engine off - so he's wrong there - further, no engine should be run on "both" with two batts, that postion is for emergency starting only. Run on #1 out and #2 back. Can't answer #3 but I'll bet Zuke customer relations could answer all three of these questions.....
I would really think about finding a new dealer...the flush port is to be used with the engine off - so he's wrong there - further, no engine should be run on "both" with two batts, that postion is for emergency starting only. Run on #1 out and #2 back. Can't answer #3 but I'll bet Zuke customer relations could answer all three of these questions.....
Tanks Glen,
I'm calling Zuki Monday am and asking some questions.
I would really think about finding a new dealer...the flush port is to be used with the engine off - so he's wrong there - further, no engine should be run on "both" with two batts, that postion is for emergency starting only. Run on #1 out and #2 back. Can't answer #3 but I'll bet Zuke customer relations could answer all three of these questions.....
Tanks Glen,
I'm calling Zuki Monday am and asking some questions.
I don't know exactly what that wire is, but I do know if the in-line fuse blows, the engine dies. The kill switch should stop the engine whether in or out of gear. As far as the flushing is concerned the Suzuki website states:
Suzuki Marine FAQs
How do I use and care for my outboard engine in saltwater?
Flush your outboard with fresh water after each trip.
Use a quality "ear muff" style flushing adapter that fits on the lower unit water pick-up (or flushing port when available), and run your engine at idle speed (in neutral) for at least 5 minutes to flush out any salt. Your owner's manual will give you more information (including important safety precautions) on this procedure.
I don't know exactly what that wire is, but I do know if the in-line fuse blows, the engine dies. The kill switch should stop the engine whether in or out of gear. As far as the flushing is concerned the Suzuki website states:
Suzuki Marine FAQs
How do I use and care for my outboard engine in saltwater?
Flush your outboard with fresh water after each trip.
Use a quality "ear muff" style flushing adapter that fits on the lower unit water pick-up (or flushing port when available), and run your engine at idle speed (in neutral) for at least 5 minutes to flush out any salt. Your owner's manual will give you more information (including important safety precautions) on this procedure.
Blue - certainly Cayo is correct. Zuke does allow the motor to be run. I stand corrected. This is unusual though, as everyone one else has the engine off when using the flush ports...I wonder what engineering is in the zuke that allows this, I'm sure this is a better way to flush than having the engine off..once again an advantage for Zuke!
Concerned about running it on flushing port, and not getting the ear muffs to seat properly, I left the ear muffs on to block the lower unit pickup somewhat, then ran the motor on the flushing port for 10 minutes, while constantly checking the pee stream for overheating issues. The lower unit has 4 holes ahead of the pickup screen where water spurts out, so I was fairly certain that the lower unit was water lubricated, and the overheat alarm never came on, even though the cylinders were hot on the touch. I had the cowling off while running and was inspecting everything for corrosion, as I have about 45 hours of saltwater use, and want this motor to be like new when I sell it in a few years.
One thing I did notice and was surprised to find was that the fuel pump, at idle, is intermittent and only fills the see thru bowl as needed. At idle, the pump kicks on and off at about every 15 seconds as the motor sucks the small bowl down. When you bump past idle, it runs constantly. Interesting.
Also, thanks Cayo, seems my kill switch is wired wrong, I'm gonna have to investigate that. I thought it should kill the motor asap, but it seems the mechanic hot wired it and never explained. Sometimes I use the boat solo and that's definately a dangerous situation.
It can take a couple minutes to get water out of the tell tale.
Nothing should be connected to either batt except for the common lead of the batt switch. Putting something directly on the batt defeats the purpose of having a switch and a back up batt in the first place. Never run on both. Batt 1 for a couple weeks, then swap to the other batt. Batt's can sit idle for a long time without losing charge. Mine sit a month idle and trickle charge up in a few hours, no loss at all.
A group 24 starting batt is next to useless, they go dead in a heartbeat. Go deep cycle for everything. Go group 27 if you can stuff them in there.
Glen E - 3/31/2007 2:04 PM
Blue - certainly Cayo is correct. Zuke does allow the motor to be run. I stand corrected. This is unusual though, as everyone one else has the engine off when using the flush ports... the engine off. I wonder what engineering is in the zuke that allows this, ...!
Nope, Suzuki is not unique. The Etec can be run on the flush port too, per owner's manual.
I guess it's just those old fashioned brands that require muffs.
Most of the time these questions are answered right in the owner's manual. Much more reliable than asking the dealer or a mechanic.
Zukes have always been a little different. Mostly in a bad way with the rods pressed onto the crankshafts but on a good note they had sub-water pickups under the anti-ventilation plate, so if you wrapped a plastic bag on your intakes underway, you will still have cooling water.
Good point Local Motion, I am not sure if all manufactures have the pickup under the anti-ventilation plate. My 97 225 Suzuki had that on it as well. I had one Merc when I was just getting into offshore fishing that sucked up a bag, needless to say it through a rod right out of the block.
__________________ My Suzuki 200's have tons of Torque, please no more lame talk about having to change the oil. Fish On...
OK, I'll try to answer all the questions in order.
First, as someone already said, you need to find a better Suzuki dealer.
The additional water holes ahead of the water intake need to be blocked off when running the engine with a flusher - we actually run a second set of muffs if we have to run the engine for an extended length of time as the V6's can overheat. We do not recomend running the engine on the flush port, just to be on the safe side.
As said above, never run the engine with the battery switch set on 'Both". The small wire supplies power to the engine electronics - the large battery cable only supplies power to the starter. Both must be hooked up to the same battery. If you have a dual battery set-up you should have an isolator or combiner.
The stop switch absolutely must be hooked up as it has more functions than just stopping the engine. It is used to reset the oil change reminder (which must have been done since you have 45 hours on the engine). It is also used by the tech to put the IAC in duty cycle mode for setting the idle speed. If this engine was rigged properly with all new components then it is impossible to wire the switch wrong as it is a snap-together plug behind the ignition panel.
The pump you hear is the low pressure pump that draws fuel from your tank to keep the vapor separator tank full. The VST tank is like a carburetor float bowl, so the pump does not need to run constantly. The ECM controls the duty cycle. The high pressure pump then feeds the fuel injectors from the VST tank.
Do not use deep cycle batteries. They are designed to be drawn down very low at a slower rate and then recharged. Starting batteries are designed to be loaded more from initial starter draw, and then quickly recharged. Your owners manual will give you the minimum specs that that engine requires.
dusky256 - 3/31/2007 4:53 PM Good point Local Motion, I am not sure if all manufactures have the pickup under the anti-ventilation plate. My 97 225 Suzuki had that on it as well. I had one Merc when I was just getting into offshore fishing that sucked up a bag, needless to say it through a rod right out of the block.
I'm not sure why, but Suzuki has done away with the secondary water intake under anti-cav plate. Could be because at very high engine heights or extreme trim, the water pump could suck air. Instead, the computers now know how quickly the engine temp should rise within a given number of seconds and if it exceeds that, it will set of the temp alarm - long before the engine has actually overheated or caused any damage. I am not aware of any other engine manufacturer has that feature.
OK, I'll try to answer all the questions in order.
First, as someone already said, you need to find a better Suzuki dealer.
The additional water holes ahead of the water intake need to be blocked off when running the engine with a flusher - we actually run a second set of muffs if we have to run the engine for an extended length of time as the V6's can overheat. We do not recomend running the engine on the flush port, just to be on the safe side.
As said above, never run the engine with the battery switch set on 'Both". The small wire supplies power to the engine electronics - the large battery cable only supplies power to the starter. Both must be hooked up to the same battery. If you have a dual battery set-up you should have an isolator or combiner.
The stop switch absolutely must be hooked up as it has more functions than just stopping the engine. It is used to reset the oil change reminder (which must have been done since you have 45 hours on the engine). It is also used by the tech to put the IAC in duty cycle mode for setting the idle speed. If this engine was rigged properly with all new components then it is impossible to wire the switch wrong as it is a snap-together plug behind the ignition panel.
The pump you hear is the low pressure pump that draws fuel from your tank to keep the vapor separator tank full. The VST tank is like a carburetor float bowl, so the pump does not need to run constantly. The ECM controls the duty cycle. The high pressure pump then feeds the fuel injectors from the VST tank.
Do not use deep cycle batteries. They are designed to be drawn down very low at a slower rate and then recharged. Starting batteries are designed to be loaded more from initial starter draw, and then quickly recharged. Your owners manual will give you the minimum specs that that engine requires.
Hope this answers all your questions.
Yes it does, thanks Lakensea.
I've been constantly wondering why the Tach did not give the 20 hour service indicator, I now know why. It's because my kill switch was probably hotwired by the mech in order to get it out the door. I've been leary of my dealer since, and he has not touched my motor since rigging it. He damn sure charged me for rewiring the standard Zuke kill switch though.
I'm gonna hook up an ACR combiner this paycheck, so I'll get rid of that problem next week.
When flushing, the muffs I have can't possibly cover both the holes before the screen and the screen itself. Do you sell an earmuff that can or should I just slap some electrical tape to half a$$ seal the holes, allowing my earmuffs to give enough pressure?
I'm gonna have some choice words with the dealer come Monday morning. Especially about the kill switch wiring.
The emergency stop switch has nothing to do with the oil change alert coming on - only for reset to turn it off. If you did not see the flashing oil light at 20 hours, then someone had to reset it (the alert light does not have to be on to reset the time interval) and had to use the stop switch to do it. As I said, there is no way to "hot wire it" - either it's connected or not. Was this a repower or did it come on a new boat?
Yes, you can tape up the extra holes, but I would use something brightly colored so you will not forget to take it off.
It included a new tach and wiring harness adapter. The oil alarm was never reset by me, even ater the iginition wired hour meter read 45 hours. Dealer said it was because the computer doesn't log hours under 1000 rpm's. That's crap, I'm sure.
That means he used all your old stuff and that's not a good idea with a nice new expensive engine. You really need to find a new dealer. The computer logs run time from the first minute, and your tach needle will start indicating it at 50 hours. - it's in the back of your manual. He had to have reset the oil change alert before you got the boat. Please find a new dealer and make sure he is a Suzuki Super Service Award recipient.
It enables you to connect the engine to one battery, the "house" to the other battery, turn them both off at once, charge them both while engine is running and combine both batteries for emergency starting.
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