Brand New Boat today left me stranded

[admahp]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to share my very first ever boating experience today on my new Coastrunner 490, fitted with a Mercury 75hp EFI. Let me begin by saying that it was a very disappointing one :(

So I picked up my new quinny this morning and being a newbie to boating, we were taken out and shown all the safety features and general use, etc etc. So the motor performed as expected.

So this afternoon we (the mrs and I) thought we go for a short cruise, as practice makes perfect (in regards to launching etc etc). So everything was fine when we launched at Appletree Bay and headed out. I took caution to vary the revs as it was a brand new motor.

After about 5 to 10 mins of being on the plane, the outboard shuts down :o and there was a long beeping sound - same beep as when you turn on the ignition; the engine turns over however it doesn't start. I checked the emergency shutoff, made sure that there wasn't anything around the prop. I could not believe what was happening; one of the main reasons for buying a new boat was to have confidence that things work.

I managed to phone the dealer just before closing however all he could recommend was to check what I had already checked. In the end the best he could do was to advise us to flag down passing boats and ask for a tow :-? This was hardly the maiden voyage I had imagined.

To cut a long story short, we managed to flag down a couple of great blokes off to a weekend of fishing and got a tow back to the ramp, by which time the rain had started to pour down... we were soaked and it was dark.

During the tow, we were able to start the motor whilst we were moving, but the motor would stop after a few minutes. We tried again to get the motor going, but experienced the same problem as before. It was very damn frustrating!

After making it home with the boat, the motor magically worked when I switched it on to flush out the motor.

Has this type of problem happened to anyone else? Would love to hear similar experience and possible causes?

Tomorrow morning the boat is going back the the dealer and I want answers!

[thylacene]

Hopefully they can plug it in, get an error code and sort it right away for you. Sorry to hear such unfortunate experience, takes the shine off it a bit.

[TimiBoy]

Mate, hopefully the Dealer will sort it and you will be fine. Have confidence. You have NOT BOUGHT A DUD and it will be sorted. You and the Mrs will have a blast, it is all part of the adventure!

Cheers,

tim

[admahp]

Thanks guys. The adventures I'm sure will come, but we weren't expecting to be left stranded on our very first trip out. I certainly hope that it's not a dud, hopefully it is a simple fix and not a major engine problem.

I'll keep you guys posted after tomorrow.

[Steeler]

Unfortunate but all is not lost, Timi is right its all a part of boating and i am sure your dealer will be just as anxious as you are to get to the bottom of it.A cool approach and a competent dealer and i am sure all will be sweet.

[NAGG]

Same here - such a shame to hear about such a problem .... It certainly takes the gloss off a new boating experience .

You'll be surprised at how common these bad experiences are ...... my two new boats both had their moments ..... one at 5 hours ( Mariner) & the Yammi at 18hrs ...... after those instances - years of trouble free boating .

I still think it is better to buy new than a second hand one !

Chris

[ShaneC]

Definately sounds like a fuel issue. Are you using tote tanks or an underfloor tank????

[Axl]

Mate I feel for you what a shame but as NAGG has said better to go new than second hand. Hopefully the dealer will have you all sorted tomorrow and there will be no more issues.

[MyEscape]

Not off to a good start, particularly having your wife with you and (I've been there) all of a sudden you wonder why you bought this thing.

But, as the others have said, and I agree, the problem will be worked out and you'll have years of problem free boating.

All the best

Steve

[finga]

Definately sounds like a fuel issue. Are you using tote tanks or an underfloor tank????
That's my first thought. Tank breather.

Don't worry too much about it matey.
It'll all be funny in a month when the cobwebs are sorted out.

[admahp]

Thanks for all the support guys.

The tank is an under floor tank. In terms of the tank breather, I think that it is clear because when I filled up the tank with unleaded petrol (non-ethanol) some excess spilled out of a hole to the rear of the boat, this i assume is the breather?

Anyways I'm up early to take the boat back to the dealer to get things sorted.

[krazyfisher]

I have had 8 new boats and everyone of them has had a problem on the first trip. kinked fuel line, cross threaded steering line lost all the fluid, doubled the oil, wrong thread on bungs so they leaked bad, wrong fuel fitting the list goes on but you learn from those things and they will fix it and the fun will begin

[jake0]

Thanks for all the support guys.

The tank is an under floor tank. In terms of the tank breather, I think that it is clear because when I filled up the tank with unleaded petrol (non-ethanol) some excess spilled out of a hole to the rear of the boat, this i assume is the breather?

Anyways I'm up early to take the boat back to the dealer to get things sorted.

good luck and hope its a very small simple fix for you and has not put you off boating at all8-)

[Apollo]

Yeah mate, best of luck with today. We all have a story or two about something going wrong early on (mine nearly sunk when the livewell drain wasn't put in and emptied into the bilge on the plane), but we are all still here and boating, so it is a fair indication that it was only a small blip in our boating enjoyment.

Get it sorted and get back out there to enjoy your new life.

Steve

PS Join your local VMR or Coastguard - just in case!;)

[Kero]

Any motor, new or old, can cause moments of grief.
Don't be too worried, it will most likely be something really simple and you've got a long warranty ahead to iron out the the bugs.
Boating can sometimes be less than relaxing and expensive, but these times will be far outweighed by all of the hassle free fun times.
Let us know how you get on with it.

[Angla]

I think we all have a story like that. Some are nearly catastrophic and some are just dumb stuff. Give it a couple of good trips and all will be well forgotten except when regaling stories around the campfire.

Cheers
Chris

[admahp]

Well I've just drop the boat back to the dealer and he assures me that the problem will be found and fixed. He too feels that it's a fuel problem, he was nice about it all and assured me that it wasn't my fault.

The mechanics are back on Monday so I guess I won't know the exact problem till then. I guess problems do occur and can only hope that this is a once off issue, I don't wish to experince a long chain of problems.

Judging from everyone's posts new boat issues are common, so long as no one gets hurt I suppose things could be worse!

Cheers
David

[Good_as_Gold]

Welcome to boating What a bugger it was on your first trip.

May be all new boats should be water tested by the sales guy and their Mechanic.
They can go out in the bay with no phone but with all their tools ,even take their laptop with them to check for possible faults. This would make them Check everything 100% That is all it is they do not check every thoroughly
Imagine if a lot new aircraft had problems in the 1st 5hours.
Nothing with electronics can be fool proof.

[ranga7]

Most boaties will have motor problems sooner or later in one way or another its a shame yours was on your first trip. hope you get it sorted and get back out there. I always use premium fuel....

[oldboot]

I just can't believe that this sort of thing is soo common and even worse that people seem to tolerate it.

A boat that fails 5 minutes into the first trip obviously had bugger all testing to make sure it worked.

I cant believe dealers take their duity of care so lightly.

What if this happend in the middle of a bar crossing or in some other situation.

remember to join up with one of the marine rescue orginisations.

cheers

[Lucky 1]

Put it down to a learning experience. It sounds like imho opinion the problem will most likely be something simple (my vote is a fuel issue). Whatever the reason you will always remember the problem and the solution come handy in your boating life somewhere else. Unfortunately it was on the maiden trip with your wife, but just get out there again.:)

Regards,

Lucky

[Steeler]

[quote=admahp;1263735]Hi Everyone,



So I picked up my new quinny this morning and being a newbie to boating, we were taken out and shown all the safety features and general use, etc etc. So the motor performed as expected.


Oldboot

They did water test and thats why consumers have warranty to sort any issues.If everything was perfect out of the box who would purchase with warranty and service in mind.

I have always said the emotion and anxiety of a drama on water is always magnafied simply because we just can't get out and walk.

I am sure it is a total pain in the neck for the OP but just as quickly as the problem developed with a good dealer it can be just as quickly sorted.

[rcfisher]

Mate they all have problems. Mine is about 4 years old and has to big holes in the bum of it which quickly filled with water when i dropped her off the trailer yesterday morning. I guess if i would have put the bungs in before i left home it would have solved the problem. Sure the people at the ramp had a good laugh.

[oldboot]

[quote=admahp;1263735]Hi Everyone,




They did water test and thats why consumers have warranty to sort any issues.If everything was perfect out of the box who would purchase with warranty and service in mind.

.

What a load of crap................everything should be perfect as it rolls out the dealers gate.........why should it be anyother way.

Warranty is a statuary obligation and no one should expect to buy with out it.

You will note with out exception...those manufaturers who build consistently reliable products do not have to offer the long warranties that the less consistent manufacturers need to to sell product

Any manufacturer with half a brain realises that the earlier a problem is addressed the cheaper it is to rectify..better still if the problem never occurs.

And boats failing...is definitely a more emotional issue..because you life may very well be at stake.

I am consistently gob smacked at the low standard of product, workmanship and service in the recreational marine market.

Both dealers and manufacturers ( particularly the american ones) have been playing fast and loose with peoples lives for far too long.

This level of failure would not be tolerated in the new motor vehicle market.

cheers

[googarra]

Hi,

larger mercs have the 'engine guardian' system that monitor everything and the either limits revs or shuts it down if something goes wrong that may cause engine damage. Mine has digital readout telling you whats happening, overtemp, max 2500rpm ect ect.

What I am getting at is your merc was going wrong somewhere and a sensor shuts the system down so your motor remains in one peice. It could be a number of things but probably relates to water temp or pressure which cooled down and let you start the motor until it got hot again.

It should be an easy fix for the dealer and not really their fault. If they water tested every boat for an hour or two they would be selling you a second hand boat, a bit like buying a new car with 300k's on the clock.

They have to rely on the factory quality control to have the merc right when it comes out of the box, service and test run, and sell it.

It happens to us all, ive been 20k's out at 10pm in the middle of nowhere and had a shut down, no other boats in radio distance up here.

If you get keen on boating and fishing I can assure you it wont be the last time.

Cheers

[Lancair]

My first new boat wasnt water tested before I took delivery of it. The throttle had been incorrectly connected, I had little more than about 1/3 of the full range. Simple problem that shouldnt have happened. My 2nd boat was a demo boat for the dealer and had 8 hrs on it, it was still incorrrectly propped !

Your problems will be fixed and like everyone else says, in a month or two you'll laugh about the issue.

Lancair

[admahp]

rcfisher :-X I can easily see the bunts as an issue cause the ones fitted to the quinines come off very easily... I hope you didn't have to travel to far home to get them.

If the problem is purely the merc motor I can understand that it's not the selling dealers fault, however it's becomes then a matter of how they resolve issue. However confidence in the merc has needs to be restored.

Googara - what a nightmare situation! I certainly won't be venturing out any great distances...

[Steeler]

[quote=Steeler;1263850]

What a load of crap................everything should be perfect as it rolls out the dealers gate.........why should it be anyother way.

Warranty is a statuary obligation and no one should expect to buy with out it.

You will note with out exception...those manufaturers who build consistently reliable products do not have to offer the long warranties that the less consistent manufacturers need to to sell product

Any manufacturer with half a brain realises that the earlier a problem is addressed the cheaper it is to rectify..better still if the problem never occurs.

And boats failing...is definitely a more emotional issue..because you life may very well be at stake.

I am consistently gob smacked at the low standard of product, workmanship and service in the recreational marine market.

Both dealers and manufacturers ( particularly the american ones) have been playing fast and loose with peoples lives for far too long.

This level of failure would not be tolerated in the new motor vehicle market.

cheers


In an ideal world yep yep, but that it ain't.

[jake0]

You may of picked up something in yesterdays run and have a blockage somewhere causing an alarm to set off, was there water peeing from the tell tail?

[oldboot]

Hi,


It should be an easy fix for the dealer and not really their fault. If they water tested every boat for an hour or two they would be selling you a second hand boat, a bit like buying a new car with 300k's on the clock.

Cheers

Again a load of rubbish...most cars you buy will have 20 to 30Km on them.......quite a lot of properly tested products specificaly state how long they are tested for.

That does not make them second hand.....that makes them, properly tested.

If I was delivered any motor and it had less that an hour on the hour meter.....my expectation is that it has not been properly tested.

Regardless of how good the quality assurance is claimed to be...there is no substitute for proper testing immediately prior to delivery.

cheers

[FishHunter]

Hi,

larger mercs have the 'engine guardian' system that monitor everything and the either limits revs or shuts it down if something goes wrong that may cause engine damage. Mine has digital readout telling you whats happening, overtemp, max 2500rpm ect ect.

What I am getting at is your merc was going wrong somewhere and a sensor shuts the system down so your motor remains in one peice. It could be a number of things but probably relates to water temp or pressure which cooled down and let you start the motor until it got hot again.

It should be an easy fix for the dealer and not really their fault. If they water tested every boat for an hour or two they would be selling you a second hand boat, a bit like buying a new car with 300k's on the clock.

They have to rely on the factory quality control to have the merc right when it comes out of the box, service and test run, and sell it.

It happens to us all, ive been 20k's out at 10pm in the middle of nowhere and had a shut down, no other boats in radio distance up here.

If you get keen on boating and fishing I can assure you it wont be the last time.

Cheers

Your new car does have 300km on it, mostly by a P plate hoon. You just don't know it because the dealer has the facility to return the odo to zero if its done less than 250km or so.

I f I bought a new boat and it wasn't water tested the dealer concerned would wish he wasn't born.
Saying that those faults are acceptable is total nonsense, I expect perfection for my hard earned money.

[peterbo3]

Boot said:
"You will note with out exception...those manufaturers who build consistently reliable products do not have to offer the long warranties that the less consistent manufacturers need to to sell product".

There are some exceptions..............................::)::)::): :)
My new Landcruiser had a 6 year/160000Km Warranty
My 175 Suzuki has a 5 year warranty
My Furuno sounder,Raymarine plotter & ICOM VHF have 2 years
My GME EPIRB is good for 5 years
Even Korean cars seem to have a 5 year warranty

Soooooo..............perhaps the makers of quality stuff are in fact happy to provide a longer warranty. I doubt if those cheap Chinese copies of Shimano reels are being sold with a long warranty.;D;D

[admahp]

You may of picked up something in yesterdays run and have a blockage somewhere causing an alarm to set off, was there water peeing from the tell tail?

After if started whilst under tow there was a steady tell tail, this was also present when I was able to flush the engine last night.

Being a brand new boat I feel very dissatisfied how such a major problem occurred. There where very few boats around and we where very lucky that the guys who towed us had a well equipped offshore boat. Without them passing us we would have had to wait for a sea tow service and may not have gotten home till 11 or 12pm.

In my view, I feel what happened is not acceptable to a brand new boat, as to who's fault it lays on we'll have to see what the fault is.

[cormorant]

Did you try and push start it? http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/Original%20Smilies/grin.gif


On a serious note It will get sorted. You'll possibly learn something and so should your dealer about his predelivery. Hope it is something simple and will soon tell you if your dealer is a good bloke or a ............%^^%

I' m with Oldboot. There is a lack of care by many in the marine industry but yours may well just be a one off rather than a ongoing issue. Lets wat and see what the problem really was.

On the not so serious side - popcorn cooking right now

I know what you problem is.

The boat was obviously infected with the "etec" disease. Must have parked too close to one at some point. ETECS are apparently the only motor to ever stop and strand people.

Are you sure it is a Merc not a ETEC with a different Cowl???

As you would know that the mere mention of the word ETEC in thread and broken, failed, imploded brings out all from the peanut Gallery gloaters telling you it is a inherent design fault etc etc . Most of them wouldn't mention there own motors failures on here after the bollicking they have handed out to every other brand other than their pet favourite.

Well I guess we can all say 2nd hand now we know another Merc that has failed to run out of the box and left someone stranded.

Be good to hear what it ws and how your dealer treats you. A case of beer and a day spa for the missus would be a start if it something he should have forseen. Keeping the missus happy is half the happy boating equation.

Popcorn popcorn ;D free popcorn here

[Gon Fishun]

I to am with Oldboot. BUT in the original post it said flag down a boat and get a tow home.>:( Mate, if he was a half decent sort of person, what sort of Dealer is he. Leaves you out on the water to find your own way home. BULLSHIT. Maybe there is more to the story.

[robothefisho]

Oldboot, would you run a brand new oldschool 2 stroke to WOT to see if it's propped correctly and running sweet? Do you expect a dealer to run your motor in for 10 hours? load it to how it will be used? Set the motor and prop correctly so the customer can whinge how it cavitates when they really mean ventilate when they turn or trim it out to far. At what point do you stop? What do you do if in the process of water testing you hit a stick and it scratches the hull then the customer wants a new boat? See what i'm getting at? Boats are not the same as cars.

Do dealers do their best to provide a product without fault? Most do. But there is a fine line that must be tread. The most important thing with buying a product is the aftersales backup and support.

[LittleSkipper]

Now this is what I call SUPPORT from a long list of AUSFISH members and boaters,it's nice to know there are decent people out there willing to give there all to help others in a minor crisis.A big pat on the back fellows.Oh and admahp (David) chin up. I too am new to owning my first new boat (Just on 1 year now) gratefully no problems occurred during my first run but these things do happen and unfortunately can't be helped but being a new vessel/motor still under warranty she'll be sorted very promptly I'm sure.Good Luck!

Cheers
Wayne.

[Shawn 66]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to share my very first ever boating experience today on my new Coastrunner 490, fitted with a Mercury 75hp EFI. Let me begin by saying that it was a very disappointing one :(

So I picked up my new quinny this morning and being a newbie to boating, we were taken out and shown all the safety features and general use, etc etc. So the motor performed as expected.

So this afternoon we (the mrs and I) thought we go for a short cruise, as practice makes perfect (in regards to launching etc etc). So everything was fine when we launched at Appletree Bay and headed out. I took caution to vary the revs as it was a brand new motor.

After about 5 to 10 mins of being on the plane, the outboard shuts down :o and there was a long beeping sound - same beep as when you turn on the ignition; the engine turns over however it doesn't start. I checked the emergency shutoff, made sure that there wasn't anything around the prop. I could not believe what was happening; one of the main reasons for buying a new boat was to have confidence that things work.

I managed to phone the dealer just before closing however all he could recommend was to check what I had already checked. In the end the best he could do was to advise us to flag down passing boats and ask for a tow :-? This was hardly the maiden voyage I had imagined.

To cut a long story short, we managed to flag down a couple of great blokes off to a weekend of fishing and got a tow back to the ramp, by which time the rain had started to pour down... we were soaked and it was dark.

During the tow, we were able to start the motor whilst we were moving, but the motor would stop after a few minutes. We tried again to get the motor going, but experienced the same problem as before. It was very damn frustrating!

After making it home with the boat, the motor magically worked when I switched it on to flush out the motor.

Has this type of problem happened to anyone else? Would love to hear similar experience and possible causes?

Tomorrow morning the boat is going back the the dealer and I want answers!
G'Day Mate,
I hesitated for awhile before posting this comment, I did not want to hijack your thread . No , bugger it I will keep my mouth shut . I wish you all the best with your rig and I am sure your problem is only a small one .May you and the missus have many years of enjoyable boating .
Shawn;D ;D

[admahp]

I to am with Oldboot. BUT in the original post it said flag down a boat and get a tow home.>:( Mate, if he was a half decent sort of person, what sort of Dealer is he. Leaves you out on the water to find your own way home. BULLSHIT. Maybe there is more to the story.

I definitely felt abandoned after the call to the dealer, he gave me the sea tow phone number and suggested we try to flag down a passing vessel. After buying a brand new boat I thought there might have been something else more he/they could have done.

I must give a thumbs up to the mrs, she performed admirably whilst soaking wet as we pulled the boat back onto the trailer ::)

[andkat]

I sit here reading this thread and remember a story of a mate who also had just bought his first boat. The previous owner took him and his wife for a maiden run showing him how it was done, on returning to the ramp the previous owner then showed new owner how to retrieve and then how to flush the motor!!!!;D
Anyway after standing around at the boat ramp yappin how ell the boat went yadayada, the hose was disconnected, the previous owner said his farewells and left the new proud owners to pack up and tow the HMAS new boat home.;)
Two day's later wife and Hub decide to take new boat out for another trip, tow tub to marina, launch and proceded to head o known fishing grounds.
Are you with me, 6 minutes into the trip the motor goes into limp mode sirens start to sound, and then the motor shuts down!!!
After checking things the motor would not start. I was phoned to see if I could help, but due to being at work I was no help. New owner flagged down another boaty and was towed to ramp, on retrieving the boat, it was noticed that someone had forgotten to remove the ear muffs from the motor!!!!!!:-X :-X :-X
After much embarrassment the boat and motor was taken to local mechanic, and no real damage had been done, the motor's computer system had shut itself down. Motor reset and all was ok.:)
Not saying you had this experience but though I would tell this story so others may learn.

Crawfy;)

[novice23]

I don't mean to ask silly question but what statute contains the obligation to provide a warranty?

I feel you dissapointment mate and hope it all sorts itself out. As bad as it is try not to jump the gun and call it a 'major' issue until you get all the facts as to what went wrong. You will get answers in good time.

[Angla]

I sit here reading this thread and remember a story of a mate who also had just bought his first boat. The previous owner took him and his wife for a maiden run showing him how it was done, on returning to the ramp the previous owner then showed new owner how to retrieve and then how to flush the motor!!!!;D
Anyway after standing around at the boat ramp yappin how ell the boat went yadayada, the hose was disconnected, the previous owner said his farewells and left the new proud owners to pack up and tow the HMAS new boat home.;)
Two day's later wife and Hub decide to take new boat out for another trip, tow tub to marina, launch and proceded to head o known fishing grounds.
Are you with me, 6 minutes into the trip the motor goes into limp mode sirens start to sound, and then the motor shuts down!!!
After checking things the motor would not start. I was phoned to see if I could help, but due to being at work I was no help. New owner flagged down another boaty and was towed to ramp, on retrieving the boat, it was noticed that someone had forgotten to remove the ear muffs from the motor!!!!!!:-X :-X :-X
After much embarrassment the boat and motor was taken to local mechanic, and no real damage had been done, the motor's computer system had shut itself down. Motor reset and all was ok.:)
Not saying you had this experience but though I would tell this story so others may learn.

Crawfy;)

Been there....Done that.... Drove the 115 Evinrude all the way to Flinders Reef from Bribie, and returned... Found that I could not go more than about 12 knotts or the alarm would come on.............Boy was I cranky at the motor. Was like a four or five hour trip both ways

Got back to Bribie and put the boat on the trailer then drove up the ramp and walked around the back of the boat to find...........ear muffs I used, still on the leg.
Say no more.

I know your problem is not ear muffs but I still hope it is just a silly oversight on someones behalf and no real damage is done. Just a dented bit of pride to someone.

Cheers
Chris

[oldboot]

I don't mean to ask silly question but what statute contains the obligation to provide a warranty?

I feel you dissapointment mate and hope it all sorts itself out. As bad as it is try not to jump the gun and call it a 'major' issue until you get all the facts as to what went wrong. You will get answers in good time.

Cant tell you the actual name of the act, or quote chapeter and verse.

But if you do any small business intenders course, all this sort of stuff is covered.

There is a general expectation that almost anything sold to a retail buyer is; of merchantable quality, fit for purpose and warranteed for 12 months from date of purchase..regardless of any warrantee stated by the manufacturer.

There are also specific provisions relating to motor vehicles..not sure if this applies to boats.

The term often used is.."Statutary warranty"

cheers

[cormorant]

It recently changed which I was told about the other day. I think this is it as they have changed names of things again. I thnk printing letterhead for the government must be the most lucrative contract on earth.

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815360

It is a bit wishy washy with no balls and it is ultimately up to the consumers resources to persue if the other party doesn't want to play ball.

A minister has again done a half job. The bad companies and poor products will continue to fall through the gaps of definitions and know the rules and limits far better than the average consumer.

[oldboot]

I know that the feds have recently inacted legesaltion to standardise consumer protection to some extent, and to plug some loop holes...have not read the details.

but there is wide bassed state consumer legeslation that varies in details but is more or less the same in essence from state to state.

there are some very specific pieces of legeslation, for particular areal like motorcars.

and then there are the common law rights

So if you want to know the whole deal, you have to scratch arround to find all the pieces.

But the fact remains, there are general obligations surrounding, merchantable quality, fitness for purpose and rectification of manufacturing and design faults.


The other thing that quite a few people seem happy to ignore.....is the general principle of "duty of care" that pervades every aspect of business these days.

If Dodgy Dave boat dealer, slapped a motor on a hull in a hurry and deliveerd it to a customer without proprely testing it.
Subsiquently the customer and pasengers perished due to a clear failure of the work done......it would be quite reasonable for the family or more to the point the life insurance company to sue Dodgy Dave for failure in his duty of care.
Last time I checked a single human life is worth $6mil ( might be more).

There is no way any boat dealer in his right mind should be letting a boat new or used out their gate without being properly tested.

cheers

[johncar]

Hi admahp,
Sorry to hear you had such trouble on your first new boat trip. Not a nice introduction to boating for you or you wife.

I am more at the other end of things boating with about 50 years, well pretty much all my life.

I just want you to know that this is not typical of boating unless you are just plain negligent. I know you are not necessarilly in this case as your new boat should perform well if you have done everything correctly.
Your job as a new boat owner to maximise your experience and safety is to study your owners manuals and you should also be studying a small ships manual. You also need to be overly observant and do your checks and double checks before leaving home and before and during launching. Log in to a CC or VMR with your radio. If there is one in your area you should also be a member of the local Coast guard or VMR, Plus sign up for any boating safety courses that they run.

I have to say that in 50 years of boating i have never needed a tow that I can remember and in the past 30 years of boating I often average 140 or so kms a day out, usually 50-70kms offshore.. I have assisted plenty and the number of times I hear "Just had it serviced" again as recently as last Wednesday a big new Honda on a Quinnie.
I have bought a few new boats in my time and most have been pretty poorly fitted up to be honest, even from reputable dealers/builders. In saying that I know that time is money and many are build to a price which does force shortcuts and oversights unfortunately. The only boat I ever bought that I could truly say was well built and fitted out was a Seafarer 6.0 Victory which was totally built and fitted at Lindsay Frys complex. No dealer involvement except to hand over the cheque. I also deeply regret selling that boat but had to at the time sadly.

I am lucky I guess that I have the knowlege to go right over my new boat/Motor/and yes Trailer too, before it hits the water and circumvent most potential problems. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm for your new boat but just be aware that Boats are much different to many other products whereas many hands are involved along the way and every set of hands increases the potential for problems.

I don't know about your Mercury engine but the warning horn or instrumentation should also give you some idea of the type of problem and for your own safety you need to know what the alarms mean or keep your operators manual handy.

So my advice it to get to know your boat. Go through it from one end to the other, check every fuel connection, every bit of wiring, terminal to terminal, keep everything clen and free from corrosion, check your fuel filters regularly especially in a new boat. New fuel tanks can be full of rubbish.

Just to clarify yes I have had the odd bit of engine trouble where alarms have gone off, it happens to everyone at some point and I guess I have been lucky that things haven't happened while out at sea, a couple of times at the ramp or at home while doing checks but I think that good maintenance, vigilance, knowing your boat dramatically minimises the risk and give you a good boating experience.

And by the way I have owned pretty much OMC engines the whole way through, all been fairly bullet proof but currently a Yamaha 4st being my first deviation so I hope it is as good.

Good luck with getting it sorted.

[ShaneC]

I just had a thought, rum does that to me!!
I dont know if any new motors still have this
feature, but does it by any chance have a manual choke/ throttle advance that is a lever on the top of the control box??? The older Yammys and Johnnos had this feature and I would suggest some still do. Maybe, just maybe the lever wasn't home properly and you were effectively flooding it?? That would explain why she would start after a while then stop after a short time because it is being choked. If its a carby motor, that would support my theory of a fuel issue and offer a simple solution.

For what its worth, I had a Yammy 150 four stroke stop about a month ago, wouldnt start for love nor money, went home on one motor, got home, it started and hasnt had a problem since. Diagnostics came up with nothing, everything working great again and no reason for it. Its boating mate!! Just enjoy it while we still can....

Rum is good!!!

Shane

[Noelm]

OK, is the issue fixed yet? I kind of suspect there may be a small clue in the original post, the boat went fine on the dealer demo, correct? but he filled it with fuel for his own trip, correct? the breather spilled fuel during filling, correct? now, could it be possible that the breather has a loop in it, and it is now filled with fuel, thereby stopping any "breathing" going on? Next possible problem (and lets hope this is wrong, when you filled up, you got a heap of water along with your fuel! hence why it is sort of intermittant! What it turns out to be is really irrelevant, as long as the dealer finds the problem and fixes it quickly is all you need to worry about (well for now anyway)

[robothefisho]

Lower pressure in the tank would "syphon" the fuel from the breather if indeed there was a loop.

[Shawn 66]

Hey Admahp
What was the result bud.
Shawn

[julian1]

welcome to world of boating, it seems to be an indusrty where this happens, and mainly due to no total factory delivered boats fully rigged. did you check the oil bottle priming ? i had this issue with a pair of Opti's once they completed a trial run, then after 10mins of high trhottle did exactly what you described, the problem was the dealer neverbeleed through the oil bottle correctly and there was an air lock in the systems.

[admahp]

Firstly a big thank you to everyone here who has contributed to this thread. I will definitely take some on board some of the suggestions, especially in regards to joining some form of marine resuce.

After taking my boat back at the dealer, I waited until yesterday (Monday) to follow up. I called the dealer late in the afternoon since not receiving any calls from them. The response was that the technicians could not idenitfy the cause of the issue and therefore would need to take the boat out for a water test on Tuesday so it would be another day's wait until I would hear back from them.

Again I called late this afternoon, and spoke directly to the mechanic this time. They found out what was causing the motor to stop... it was due to a..... "faulty cam sensor".
A new sensor will be ordered tomorrow and fitted on Thursday :). At least it's only a minor fault, not something more major.

Just to clarify, they had to take the boat out on the water for a full 15-20mins before the problem occured and they also needed a tow back to the ramp after the motor failed to start. They also confirmed with me that they did perform a full water test prior to me picking up the boat without any issues. It was pretty obvious that they probably didn't take out the boat for very long when they did the water test as the issue only occured after about 10 to 15 mins.

Anyway, I hope that once the replacement part has been fitted, she'll be sweet. However I think I will ask for another full water test to be performed to make sure that the boat won't leave me stranded anywhere else!
Now I can focus on accessorising and personalising our new boat :D

Cheers,
David

[brrbear]

good result!

[cormorant]

Good on the dealer. Good result . Still owes you a case of beer. A lot would have let you get stranded again and not investigated it thoroughly. I wonder how they worked it out if it didn't leave a code on the computer? Real pain going from sensor to sensor testing resistance and specs on teh off chance.
I can't for the life of me work out why a cam sensor would have a intermittant fault or one caused by 20 mintes of running.

Can't help myself - at least etec's don't have cam sensors to fail. ;D

[johncar]

Good, let's hope they got it and yes a thorough water test would be wise.

All the best

[finga]

Good result.
I wonder if they'll take a back-up boat at the next water test??

After a couple of successful trips on the water this experience will be all but forgotten and you'll have a laugh talking about it over a beer around the BBQ.

[DTHCoCo]

Glad to hear they are getting things sorted out for you.

[PADDLES]

It'd probably be heat cormorant, sometimes electronics can be fine when cool and then just do funny stuff when they get hot. It is however interesting that the engine diagnostics didn't log the fault in the memory.

[oldie]

once a boat is fitted up the water test/pre delivery would consist of running the boat out to max revs RPM and check that motor did this successfully, check the fitted height, steering etc, they would not rack up 15-20 minutes on this test as thats time/hours on a new donk

I think as there would be hundreds of cam sensors being produced there may always be a faulty one same with cars trucks, generators etc etc

A case of Bad luck thats the good thing about buying a nEw motor Warranty and the 5 years Merc offers is great, imagine you just bought a used boat with out warranty you'd be reaching in your pocket.

good luck

[admahp]

when I sopke with the tech I did ask him about error logs and apparently he only found one error code before the water test, which was odd since it problem occoured three times on our initial run.

I don't know what the cam sensor detects but I am assuming that they have good information that it is the sensor that is the problem and not the cam itself :o .

Cheers

[cormorant]

when I sopke with the tech I did ask him about error logs and apparently he only found one error code before the water test, which was odd since it problem occoured three times on our initial run.

I don't know what the cam sensor detects but I am assuming that they have good information that it is the sensor that is the problem and not the cam itself :o .

Cheers


It would be a rare thing these days for a mechanical item like a cam to have a issue as things are made so well but it can happen. Just about always it is something electronic. Intermittant faults are a pain to diagnose.

I was going to have a look at the schematic for your motor but haven't had a chance to see just what they were calling the "cam sensor) as your motor doesn't have variable valve timing and cam is in afixed position to crank. maybe Mercs use a cam senor not a crank sensor.

[PADDLES]

you got me curious so i just did a bit of reading cormorant, MPI engine management units use crank position sensing as well as cam position sensing to determine exactly which piston is about to hit TDC and which stroke it is at so that the correct injector gets fired.

[admahp]

Just an update to my situation, it turns out the problem was not a cam sensor but a crank shaft sensor. After replacing the cam sensor they took it out for a water test which still resulted in more engine failures.

A new crank shaft sensor has been fitted and the boat water tested with no further problems. I just hope that they do know what are doing, as they wrongly diagnosed it as a cam sensor first time round.

Anyway I hope to pick up the boat tomorrow.

I was wondering if anyone new where to get an adaptor for a LED lights on the trailer as apparently the low current on the LED are causing my car a VW Tiguan to throw malfunction warnings. Also the trailer lights do not function properly.

Cheers

[fishingrod]

I was wondering if anyone new where to get an adaptor for a LED lights on the trailer as apparently the low current on the LED are causing my car a VW Tiguan to throw malfunction warnings. Also the trailer lights do not function properly.

Some cars these days have BCM (body control modules?) and other gee wizz data bus systems that monitor everything. Ive read that some modern cars need special adaptor boxes for trailer wiring to avoid malfunctions. http://www.haymanreese.com.au/products/smartclick.htm (http://www.haymanreese.com.au/products/smartclick.htm)

Apparently the days of "splicing" into the existing car wiring harness are limited ?

If you have access to another trailer with conventional bulbs you could test your cars wiring. In some cases you can install a simple low cost load resistor to get around problem associated with LED lighting. Something like this : http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/led-load-resistor
It sounds like you are from the Hornsby Area. Ive seen similar items at Auto One Waitara (opposite McDonalds) on the shelf with their LED trailer lights. Otherwise Repco is about 3 doors further down the road.

cheers
Rod

[admahp]

If you have access to another trailer with conventional bulbs you could test your cars wiring. In some cases you can install a simple low cost load resistor to get around problem associated with LED lighting. Something like this : http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/led-load-resistor
It sounds like you are from the Hornsby Area. Ive seen similar items at Auto One Waitara (opposite McDonalds) on the shelf with their LED trailer lights. Otherwise Repco is about 3 doors further down the road.

cheers
Rod

This sounds like a nice work-around although would that mean I would need a resistor for each indicator and for the break light too? I will definitely look into these.

David

[fishingrod]

It could be a problem with the Tiguan, thats why its worth trying your car on another trailer first.

Some cars might measure resistance or check for loops thru the lighting circuits to check for blown bulbs so they can give you warning you on the dash. Besides the LEDs having a lower current draw, being diodes, they probably dont pass the small signals used to check the health of your lighting system .... well something like that anyway. Ive read a bit in the past but never actually had to solve this problem myself.

Each indicator, brake light and parkers could need the resistor - assuming thats what your problem is.

The actual parts inside the resistor units would probably only be worth a few bucks, but since they are packaged up nicely in the alloy housing with the heatsink fins etc they will no doubt cost more.

Rod

[cormorant]

you got me curious so i just did a bit of reading cormorant, MPI engine management units use crank position sensing as well as cam position sensing to determine exactly which piston is about to hit TDC and which stroke it is at so that the correct injector gets fired.


I was trying to be subtle. ;D I thought the diagnosis was wrong. Guess those whipper snappers in the workshop waiting for a error code still have some learning to do. Unless they prove that sensor is the issue ( rather than just replace it and pray) there is still a couple of other possible causes that cause intermittant faults.

Credit to the dealer to actually do another water test. Wonder if they were confident or took a portable just in case? .

Now for the stir and wind up

Once you've gone black you don't get back!;)

Still recon you are owed a couple of cases of beer or something.

[finga]

Now for the stir and wind up

Once you've gone black you don't get back!;)
.
If you try white you might get a fright ::)

[Stillfishun]

Alot of European cars have 24 volt systems
You will need to change the LED trailer lights back to globes, or have an auto electrician convert your trailer plug for you. It might be cheaper to go back to globes on the trailer
Most dealers should know this by now

[FishHunter]

Alot of European cars have 24 volt systems
You will need to change the LED trailer lights back to globes, or have an auto electrician convert your trailer plug for you. It might be cheaper to go back to globes on the trailer
Most dealers should know this by now

AFAIK when they jump from 12v it will be 42v systems

As for led lights we fit resistor packs between the power wire and ground so as too increase the current draw as the indicators no longer work correctly with LED lights.
I suggest you consult your VW dealer to see what work around VW has come up with.

[johncar]

but if you go grey you should be OK...??

[Boat Hog]

David, 4x4 Equip have an adaptor they sell especially for European cars towing trailers with LED Lights.

http://www.4x4equip.com.au/showProduct/4x4+Accessories/LED+Trailer+Adaptor+Modules/LED+Adaptor+Module+European+and+UK

At $299 it's not cheap:o

Jim

[Back In Black]

My Touareg could not manage the LED's on my trailer, so VW sold me a "converter", which in hindsight is just a fancy resistor, which did the job beautifully, but as it should for $700

[admahp]

My Touareg could not manage the LED's on my trailer, so VW sold me a "converter", which in hindsight is just a fancy resistor, which did the job beautifully, but as it should for $700

:o $700 I hope to find a cheaper alternative, even Jim's www.4x4equip.com.au option at $299 is a a fair bit to fork out.

Just an update in regards to the boat this weekend, weather permitting I'll be putting the boat out on the water for an extended period to make sure there aren't any problems that occur. Where's that VMR number... ::)

Cheers

[peterbo3]

Dump the existing setup & get a light board (non LED) to hang off your transom. Legal everywhere. It never gets wet & will cost you less than $80.;D;D

By "dump" I do not mean to remove the current LED lights (although you probably could sell them on EBay or here) but to simply hook up a lightboard. BCF & the like have them.

[White Pointer]

G'day,

Lots of suggestions about the probable cause by lots on here who know what they are talking about. But that's small comfort to you now having your confidence in the engine destroyed.

It could be something simple, like a fuel tank breather. Or it could be a defective thermostat that is causing the engine to detect overheat and shut down. I had a similar experience with my 3.5HP Mercury 4-stroke just after I finished the running in period. The dealer initially said they had checked everything and it was fine.

I objected and told them to put it in the tank on half throttle and run it for half an hour. Sure enough, it broke down and they couldn't make it start again until it had cooled down. It was the CDI ignition unit. It was getting hot and giving up. They replaced it after waiting a number of weeks for a replacement part. They said they had never seen a failure like it.

So my suggestion is not to accept the possible simple fix but ask your dealer to run the engine in his tank for as long as it takes to heat soak it under load. Your life may depend on this test.

Regards,

White Pointer