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  1. #1
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    1999 Evinrude 225 Ficht Woes

    After 21 years of absolutely trouble free boating my 1999 Evinrude 225 HP FICHT injected outboard threatened to make me call Towboat US. I was comfortably cruising along at 4400 rpm when she inexplicably bogged right down to about 2200 rpm slowing from 30 mph to about 15 in a few seconds. Due to the fact that we were crossing the east channel of Grand island, Lake Superior, about 10 miles out with 2 women and a couple aboard who were on the lake for their first time, l didn't have the luxury of being able to stop and check things out. So I firewalled the throttle and forced it the 30 miles back to the harbor. The rpm's got back up to 4000 but it was obvious the engine was laboring and seriously not right.

    When we got into the harbor and I backed off on the throttle for the no-wake zone, it rattled and rocked and felt just like I had lost a blade off the prop (I hadn't). At the ramp, there was a nice fuel sheen and when we trailered it out of the water, fuel leaked out of the exhaust.

    Once back at the cottage, I checked for anything obvious like split hoses, fuel leaks, blown fuses, etc. Nothing. I pulled the plugs which, though brand new, were in deplorable condition. Burnt, oil & ash fouled, wet with fuel (I can include a picture if that will help). So I changed them all, gapped and indexed and tried to start the engine. It would fire once or twice and die. Once or twice it did fire 8 or 10 times in a row, but it smoked like hell and fired very rough and died. Prior to this, it never spun through one full revolution before it started, even if it had been sitting for 8 months.

    When I got the boat home, I performed a full compression test (all of the plugs had been removed for the test and the safety lanyard was not on the ignition switch, also I didn't know the throttle needed to be wide open so it wasn't), all cylinders read 85#, absolutely no deviation between them. I have the Evinrude diagnostic software & cables (which I really don’t know how to use but I’m trying) so I hooked it up and ran all the tests I could run on a non-running engine.

    I found two very old 'over temp' codes from 2012 when I picked up a plastic bag over the water intakes in the Detroit River (see attached reports). Both seemed to be minor over temp faults 212 & 213 degrees. I never cleared them and still haven’t. I ran spark tests on all the cylinders (again, no plugs in the engine and the safety lanyard not installed) and heard the obvious spark ‘click’ on all cylinders. I did not see a report at the test conclusion nor have I been able to find a report saved to the computer - is that normal? I then ran lift pump and high pressure pump tests, injector tests, oil pump tests and everything else I could figure out how to do with the software. One thing I did notice was in the fuel injector tests. As I cycled through the cylinders I heard distinct activation sounds (clicks) from each of them until it got to #6. That one clicked twice then made no noise at all after that. All other tests, spark, oil pump, fuel pump, etc., seemed normal - as far as I know. Again I have no reports that I know of, unless I do and just don’t know how to access them. That last sentence is not true, I've since discovered several reporting type features and ran as many as I could, they are attached to this thread.

    A couple more things. I got the engine running (sort of) and ran several more tests with the diagnostic software. They are included below. I went through and disabled each of the injectors under the dynamic test section and as I did, the motor stalled on each one except #6. That one made no difference. I find it odd that I have no engine codes in the report, and there are no 'check engine' type codes on my dash gage but this thing is coughing and wheezing like an old smoker losing at the slots.

    So. Any advice or direction would be appreciated. I’d especially like to know if there is a step-by-step guide for operating the software (yes, I’ve written the software developers but they have not responded as of yet. The merchant sent me an email stating the software does save reports but couldn’t tell me how to access them and also told me the developer would be in touch ‘shortly’ which was about 10 days ago).​4694771_Diagnostics_Identification.jpg4694771_Diagnostics_Faults_Occurred_Faults.jpg4694771_Diagnostics_Monitor_DI.jpg4694771_Diagnostics_Monitor_DI(1).jpg4694771_Diagnostics_Profiles_Engine_Speed.jpg4694771_Diagnostics_Profiles_Engine_Temperature.jpg
    Attached Files Attached Files

  2. Member
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    #2
    Model # = E225FPXEE0, for 1999 Ficht 225hp

    My 1st thoughts are on the Fault screen you only appear to have read 'Occured' Faults but there are 2 other tabs - Active and Historical. Not sure if that makes a difference ...

    But the point is that appears to be the 'newer' Evinrude diagnostic software, as my Ficht is a 1998 and that version did not correctly display the true history of my motor. I ended up buying the older 2-1/2" diskette version and made a RS232 connector out of more modern Bomb connector from which the USB part was cut off (the old software must read the program from the Com1 port).

    That engine also looks to have run HOT for 36 of its life, but again, as read by a newer version of the software. When I red mine, the RPM chart was so whacked ... that I didn't trust anything it said. Faults that showed in the newer software did not show up when using, for me, the correct version.

    Do you have anyway to scope inside #6 for damage? I know you got the same comp value, but where the RPMs didn't drop on that one, sounds like the issue is with that cylinder/injector, just surprised the range of RPM variance you experienced out on the water.
    Last edited by DaleH; 09-16-2020 at 04:08 PM.

  3. Member
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    #3
    sounds like #6 is not getting proper fuel or spark. given the injector test results, sound like the injector but who knows.

    a fairly simple test is to switch the injector to another cylinder and see if the problem follows.

    before you do that, some less difficult things you could do are:

    -pull the plugs and crank the engine with a dry piece of paper in the #6 hole to see if it is getting fuel. compare pattern to pattern you get in another cylinder.
    -switch the #6 plug with another and start it and see if the problem follows the plug
    -switch the #6 coil with another and start it and see if the problem follows the coil

    do these one at a time. you may need to disconnect the crankcase position sensor to crank the engine with no plugs installed. my etec manual tells me to do that to check compression.

  4. Member
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    #4
    From a current Ficht owner (DIY wrench) but not a trained marine mechanic, be careful if you consider swapping injectors as each has a unique injector coefficient EMM configuration that may or may not mislead your diagnostics. If you swap injectors for testing, ensure you swap them back to preserve the relationship between your injectors and their respective coefficients.

    The drop from 4400 to 2200 RPMs is peculiar and perhaps coincidental but could imply an issue with the shift switch (dropping 3 cylinders) - 2200 RPM seems excessive for limp mode. It might also explain bogging as the EMM attempts to compensate for the issue(s). The number 6 injector test failure might explain the raw fuel in the water as it is expelled thru the exhaust. How do each of the six plugs look - particularly 6? I’d suggest a leak down test...

  5. Member
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by DaleH View Post
    Model # = E225FPXEE0, for 1999 Ficht 225hp

    My 1st thoughts are on the Fault screen you only appear to have read 'Occured' Faults but there are 2 other tabs - Active and Historical. Not sure if that makes a difference ...

    But the point is that appears to be the 'newer' Evinrude diagnostic software, as my Ficht is a 1998 and that version did not correctly display the true history of my motor. I ended up buying the older 2-1/2" diskette version and made a RS232 connector out of more modern Bomb connector from which the USB part was cut off (the old software must read the program from the Com1 port).

    That engine also looks to have run HOT for 36 of its life, but again, as read by a newer version of the software. When I red mine, the RPM chart was so whacked ... that I didn't trust anything it said. Faults that showed in the newer software did not show up when using, for me, the correct version.

    Do you have anyway to scope inside #6 for damage? I know you got the same comp value, but where the RPMs didn't drop on that one, sounds like the issue is with that cylinder/injector, just surprised the range of RPM variance you experienced out on the water.
    Dave, thanks again. On the Temp thing, there was only two occurrences in one instance of overheating, that lasted about a total of just over 4 minutes. I was on an extended cruise and I picked up a plastic bag over the water intake in the Detroit river. Once I found it and got the bag off of it, it cooled right down and ran fine. I replaced the water pump when I got to my destination anyhow. Yes I can scope the inside and plan on doing that today. I'm also going to redo the compression test - this time with the ignition lanyard installed and the throttle at WOT. I'll keep you posted. BTW: I've also contacted both Marine Computer Supply and DFI Technologies for their input.

  6. Member
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by suzukidave View Post
    sounds like #6 is not getting proper fuel or spark. given the injector test results, sound like the injector but who knows.

    a fairly simple test is to switch the injector to another cylinder and see if the problem follows.

    before you do that, some less difficult things you could do are:

    -pull the plugs and crank the engine with a dry piece of paper in the #6 hole to see if it is getting fuel. compare pattern to pattern you get in another cylinder.
    -switch the #6 plug with another and start it and see if the problem follows the plug
    -switch the #6 coil with another and start it and see if the problem follows the coil

    do these one at a time. you may need to disconnect the crankcase position sensor to crank the engine with no plugs installed. my etec manual tells me to do that to check compression.
    SuzukiDave, Thanks. According to most everything I've read in both Evinrude and the Sealoc manuals, the injectors need to be mapped in the EMM; so I'm not sure how I could just switch the injectors out and expect them to work...is that not true? If I could make that work it would be a pretty infallible test... Dry piece of paper is a good idea, I'll give that a try. I did my initial compression test with all plugs removed and it cranked just fine. I'll keep you posted...

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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Neverest View Post
    From a current Ficht owner (DIY wrench) but not a trained marine mechanic, be careful if you consider swapping injectors as each has a unique injector coefficient EMM configuration that may or may not mislead your diagnostics. If you swap injectors for testing, ensure you swap them back to preserve the relationship between your injectors and their respective coefficients.

    The drop from 4400 to 2200 RPMs is peculiar and perhaps coincidental but could imply an issue with the shift switch (dropping 3 cylinders) - 2200 RPM seems excessive for limp mode. It might also explain bogging as the EMM attempts to compensate for the issue(s). The number 6 injector test failure might explain the raw fuel in the water as it is expelled thru the exhaust. How do each of the six plugs look - particularly 6? I’d suggest a leak down test...
    Neverest, Good point on the injector coefficients. When I pulled the plugs after I got the boat out of the water initially, they looked horrible. I've attached a picture, but unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to number the plugs, so I don't know which one came from which cylinder. Keep in mind, these plugs had less than 5 hours on them when this happened. I will also check the shift switch, but honestly - I'm thinking this is an EMM problem. In any case - I really appreciate all the excellent advice.Plugs 3.jpgPlugs 3 A.jpg

  8. Member Danrude's Avatar
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    #8
    Plug #4 in the first which I assume is #1 in the second picture is wet leading me to believe it came out of the #6 cylinder. It appears that the problem is that that plug is not firing. you should be able to confirm that with a timing light if you have one! My first thought would be a bad coil which can can be swopped to see if the problem follows. There is a single and a dual coil in each bank so swap from each bank.
    Dan Burnette - Marietta, GA
    Triton 18TRX - 200 HO G2

  9. Member
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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Catenary Kid View Post
    SuzukiDave, Thanks. According to most everything I've read in both Evinrude and the Sealoc manuals, the injectors need to be mapped in the EMM; so I'm not sure how I could just switch the injectors out and expect them to work...is that not true? If I could make that work it would be a pretty infallible test... Dry piece of paper is a good idea, I'll give that a try. I did my initial compression test with all plugs removed and it cranked just fine. I'll keep you posted...
    i am not an evinrude tech but i believe the "wrong" injectors are calibrated well enough to run at idle for a basic test and i am strong believer in isolating issues by dropping spark. i just helped a friend locally with a new to him v4 etec diagnose the same problem. motor has been sitting for a while. it seemed to idle fine, but he found that if he dropped spark on any cylinder but #2 it stalled. he switched #2 and 4 injectors last after trying everything else first. the problem stuck doggedly to #2 cylinder until the injector moved and then it moved to #4. he now has the injectors out for cleaning and testing.

  10. Ohio Fishing Reports Moderator omcforever's Avatar
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by suzukidave View Post
    i am not an evinrude tech but i believe the "wrong" injectors are calibrated well enough to run at idle for a basic test and i am strong believer in isolating issues by dropping spark. i just helped a friend locally with a new to him v4 etec diagnose the same problem. motor has been sitting for a while. it seemed to idle fine, but he found that if he dropped spark on any cylinder but #2 it stalled. he switched #2 and 4 injectors last after trying everything else first. the problem stuck doggedly to #2 cylinder until the injector moved and then it moved to #4. he now has the injectors out for cleaning and testing.
    I wouldn't change around injectors,,,

    Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill !!

  11. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #11
    Won't hurt for testing purposes....as long as it's at idle speed only. They MUST go back to original cyls before running again.

  12. SC Club Moderator ChampioNman's Avatar
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    #12
    I would investigate this error.
    Inked4694771_Diagnostics_Monitor_DI_LI.jpg