2019 Merc 60HP ELPT problems...several of them

[TimH]

<1C561925>

I have a 2019 Mercury 60HP four stroke ELPT on my 2019 Ranger RT 178. The motor has had all preventative maintenance performed religiously, the boat is stored in a garage, and used for a few hours every other weekend. I have only put ethanol free fuel in the tank. The motor has been flawless since I got it, but problems have been showing up over the past few weeks. Here are the issues I am encountering. They are listed in the order they started to appear.

• It will not start up in the morning. The motor will turn over, but it just will not fire. Sometime moving the shifter out of neutral, into gear, and back into neutral before starting will help get it started quicker.
• Once it starts (usually after 15 minutes of trying) it will run good the rest of the day most of the time, but other times the starting issue will return.
• It is not getting the top speed it used to. I used to be able to hit around 33MPH at 5500 rpms, but now it struggles to hit 27 at WOT.
• On two occasions the motor shut down while running on plane.
• I occasionally get a grinding sound as I throttle down. The sound becomes more pronounced the closer to neutral the throttle gets.

I am at a loss as to what is going on. All local repair shops are running a 2 - 3 week wait just to look at the boat, but I cannot wait. I am running a charity/fundraising derby on August 7th and need to have a functional boat. Any suggestions and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[EuropeanAM]

If you would, please take a moment to review the Announcements at the top of the Forum, and be sure to provide the Required Info (serial number) when posting. Thanks!

The starting problem: Please clarify whether:

-The starter does not spin or engage the flywheel to turn the engine over for starting purposes

-The starter spins and spins and spins but the engine never comes to life.

[TimH]

If you would, please take a moment to review the Announcements at the top of the Forum, and be sure to provide the Required Info (serial number) when posting. Thanks!

The starting problem: Please clarify whether:

-The starter does not spin or engage the flywheel to turn the engine over for starting purposes

-The starter spins and spins and spins but the engine never comes to life.

Thank you for directing me to the announcements at the top of the forum. The serial number is 1C561925. As for your questions, the starter spins and spins, but the engine never comes to life. I greatly appreciate any assistance and guidance you can provide. Thanks!

[EuropeanAM]

Need to start with the basics then:

-Verify lanyard is in the RUN position, and there is fuel in the tank to supply to the engine

-Spark Test

-Fuel Quality/Delivery/PRESSURE tests

-At that point, if problem has not been found, continue to compression test and G3 Diagnostic Tests.

[blkfalc4]

Playing with throttle position to get starting and some grinding noise as you approach neutral may be signaling shift cable needs adjusting.

[Extremeboating]

I'm not in a huge position to make many suggestions here other than the ones given above, but as far as the so called grinding issue goes, that sound has been described by many to be normal on these 40-60 HP engines. I have a 50 convert to 60 and it has done that grinding noise as I come off a plane to a hard slowdown as well many times. It has something to do with the water pressure and the engine slowing down apparently, but it's not abnormal.

[TimH]

Need to start with the basics then:

-Verify lanyard is in the RUN position, and there is fuel in the tank to supply to the engine

-Spark Test

-Fuel Quality/Delivery/PRESSURE tests

-At that point, if problem has not been found, continue to compression test and G3 Diagnostic Tests.

I verified the kill switch was in the run position and that there was fuel in the tank. I did a spark test, and that checked out, so I looked further into the fuel quality and found it to be somewhat suspect. I drained the tank and filled up with fresh, ethanol free fuel. Dropped the boat in the water and it fired up on the first turn of the key. The boat ran flawlessly. It hit top speed and didn't shut down. I happily returned to the dock and backed down my trailer. I jumped in the boat to drive onto the trailer, but when I turned the key, I only heard a beep for a split second and then nothing. Starter wouldn't engage, flywheel would spin, the gauges didn't work, nothing. It was acting like the battery was suddenly disconnected. I checked the kill switch and made sure the boat was in gear, but everything checked out fine. I winched the boat up and drove home.
When I got home I turned the key one turn (when the beep sounds), and it beeped and all gauges came on. I hooked up the ear muffs and it fired right up in the driveway. It's almost like something is loose and the drive home rattled the connection back together. I am at such a loss at what could be going on. This boat is driving me nuts!

[EuropeanAM]

Check the battery FIRST.

-AMPLE battery rating is important. NOT the "minimum".

-Engine cables installed FIRST, remaining lugs Largest to Smallest. Finish off connections with a Stainless NUT or LOCKNUT (do NOT use wing nuts).

-If you have a battery switch, CHECK CONNECTIONS ON THE BACK OF IT (clean, and wrench-tight so lugs can't move)

-Check battery cable connections at the engine

-Disconnect and Reconnect the 14-pin wiring harness connector for the engine. Make sure it is fully locked and then secured in place.

[TimH]

Check the battery FIRST.

-AMPLE battery rating is important. NOT the "minimum".

-Engine cables installed FIRST, remaining lugs Largest to Smallest. Finish off connections with a Stainless NUT or LOCKNUT (do NOT use wing nuts).

-If you have a battery switch, CHECK CONNECTIONS ON THE BACK OF IT (clean, and wrench-tight so lugs can't move)

-Check battery cable connections at the engine

-Disconnect and Reconnect the 14-pin wiring harness connector for the engine. Make sure it is fully locked and then secured in place.

On Friday I checked everything you had listed and found two issues. The lugs on my positive post where not largest to smallest. The two smaller lugs were first with the larger on on top. I switched those around and used a locknut. I also found that the 14 pin connector was together, but not fully locked. I took care of that and gave the boat a test run first thing Saturday morning. I had NO issues whatsoever the entire time I was out there! Thank you, Don, for you suggestions and guidance with this issue! I truly appreciate it!!!

[EuropeanAM]