Update 2006 175 HPDI

[Warpath]

Morning everyone,

I wanted to post an update to my motor. It's been to the shop twice now, and is scheduled to go to a different shop this week. Same dealer just a different location. The motor continues to stall occasionally at idle, and will shutter eventually under load and then shut off. It's completely random and I'm lost, the mechanic can't replicate it in the shop and it doesn't show any codes. So far, they've focused on an electrical issue. We've replaced the main relay to the motor, the battery, the key switch, and he found some corrosion on the ground wire at the motor itself. He can find no other concerns.

Example from yesterday. I had picked the boat up on Saturday and took it home. I charged the batteries and took it out of Sunday. I put in and ran it for a solid half hour. It honestly ran great, no issues at all. I had no accessories running. So, I stopped and fished for maybe an hour. It started right back up, and ran well. I headed down the lake, and it stalled in a no wake zone while I put my hat in the center compartment. It started up right away, but I decided to stay around the ramp. Stalling is generally a warning of things to come. So, I ran it for about 15 minutes without issue. Then, it stalled again with it in gear and me giving it no throttle. It started right away, but as I started running again....it sputtered around 3500 rpm's and died. It started up again, and I idled to the ramp, tied off while idling, shut it off to get the trailer, and when I went to start it, it didn't turn over and I couldn't use any of my trim options. I had to use a jump pack to tilt the motor up to trailer the boat with the T/M.

When it sputters, the low oil light flashes, and then dead if it won't restart. Any thoughts or suggestions? I used a IR thermometer to scan the motor, and the block appeared to b around 135 degrees. The tilt trim pump was around 110, and the rest of the engine was around 100. I'm really grasping at straws and the fishing season is almost over and so far, I've been dealing with this from the start in April.

I would appreciate any help. I've searched on here and online with little info to guide me.

Eric

[SkeeterJohn]

Is it possible the fuel pump is sketchy and causing a lack of fuel flow. Doesn't hurt to have another set of eye's go over it but it sounds like you've looked at a lot already. When it stalls does it just die or surge? Although, your last comment about it not turning over points to electrical but hey perhaps it's 2 issues

[CJ1]

Check main power wires where they bend the most in the harness along with the connections. I will actually use a load tester for the wires to find a bad spot. the no crank and tilt trim point to a power issue from the battery to the engine AND don't rule out a battery issue. CJ

[Warpath]

When it's at idle, it just dies. When under load, it sputters and then kicks out. It's sputtered once or twice and then kept going under load, but it usually dies. When it dies under load, it sometimes starts, but usually wont. Thanks for the response.

[Warpath]

Is it possible the fuel pump is sketchy and causing a lack of fuel flow. Doesn't hurt to have another set of eye's go over it but it sounds like you've looked at a lot already. When it stalls does it just die or surge? Although, your last comment about it not turning over points to electrical but hey perhaps it's 2 issues

I've asked the same thing but they're pretty convinced it's a power issue. I changed the battery originally, as my Optima was 4.5 years old and the Advanced Auto said it was dead. I should of taken it to my NAPA guy. I rally trust him. Maybe I'll pull the new Battery Plus battery I bought and have it tested there to assure it isn't that I have a power draw eating batteries somewhere before I take it back to the marina.

[Warpath]

Yea, the last time it was in the shop they traced the lines from the console to the engine and found no issues, except for the corrosion at the motor. They fixed that free of charge, but it didn't make any difference. It stalled and died the next time on the water, just like it has all year.

[SkeeterJohn]

Is it possible the fuel pump is sketchy and causing a lack of fuel flow. Doesn't hurt to have another set of eye's go over it but it sounds like you've looked at a lot already. When it stalls does it just die or surge? Although, your last comment about it not turning over points to electrical but hey perhaps it's 2 issues

I recall I had an issue on my last boat with a kink in the positive cable going to the motor between the boat and motor. Whenever I'd trim to a specific spot it would kill the engine, and it wasn't obvious the first time it happened
It probably wouldn't hurt to pull them back to the boat and visually inspect them as I bet he's tired of trying to figure it out.

[LanierFX]

Warpath,

I responded to one of your earlier posts…..but SkeeterJohn nailed it on the head. I had identical issues and certain trim/turning positions either caused the motor to work or not. Also, sometimes when you (or a mechanic) is in there messing around, they might push the wire back into (or out of) position. My battery cable was busted on the inside but looked perfect on the outside and would test fine with a multimeter.

[CJ1]

hummm, see post 3. Also a load tester will find a bad spot real quick. CJ

[Warpath]

So, thanks for the responses but this marry-go-round is still spinning. It went from Freedom in Wheelersburg to Freedom in Saint Mary's where it sat for almost a month and no one looked at it. I decided to go get it as I found a local guy who was willing to look it over. I had hoped he would let me take him to the lake and run on it, but that never happened. I talked to him yesterday and he basically thinks the motor is on the verge of dying. He wants me to check compression and possibly the fuel pump. He thinks I should just slap a new or used motor on it. I'd consider it but I don't want to waste 10 to 20 grand when it could be something simple that we've overlooked. But, we're still in the same place we were when I started this post. I have since made an appointment at Widea's in northern Kentucky, but the season is quickly slipping away.

Does anyone know of any other local guys in the southwest Ohio area that work on HPDI's? I have a hard time believing the motor is about to blow. I take really good care of it (oil, fuel stabilizer, ethanol free gas, lower unit oil, etc). I just can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it, and apparently even skilled mechanics can't either. Thanks for all your responses. It's been sitting since the end of July and I was on vacation with my kids, so...life got in the way.

Warpath,

I responded to one of your earlier posts…..but SkeeterJohn nailed it on the head. I had identical issues and certain trim/turning positions either caused the motor to work or not. Also, sometimes when you (or a mechanic) is in there messing around, they might push the wire back into (or out of) position. My battery cable was busted on the inside but looked perfect on the outside and would test fine with a multimeter.

[Warpath]

More info to report...

So, I went to test compression this past weekend. It wouldn't start at all, not even a click when I turned the key. I had to run cables from my truck to the starter directly to get it to start. So, I might have a bad starter. It seems pretty simple to change though. I imagine it has nothing to do with my other issues. The battery load tested fine at my local NAPA. I really trust those guys.

Once I got it started, compression was pretty good across 5 of the 6 cylinders. all between 120 and 130, except the lowest port side cylinder. It tested at 115 mostly, and hit 120 occasionally. 125 is normal, so how far out of range is bad for a Yamaha 175 HPDI? When I had the gauge hooked up to that cylinder, it made a ticking or whistling sound that I did not notice on the other cylinders. The plug from that cylinder was also the most fouled, tho I didn't think it was terrible.

Thanks!

[yam911]

115 in that model is not particularly low. It is well above Yamaha's specification.

A whistling sound to me would be indicative of a pressure leak.

[cwilt]

Dude, running wires from your truck to starter it IS NOT indicative of a bad starter! Solenoid maybe. You really need to figure out your electrical issue. From you original post...it seems like you problem gets progressively worse throughout the day. Make sure your battery is being charged by the motor. Check electrical connections, with a load light or load meter. If you you don't have the tools, the knowhow or a manual...let a professional work it. If you can't find someone locally you might have to start branching out.

[Warpath]

115 in that model is not particularly low. It is well above Yamaha's specification.

A whistling sound to me would be indicative of a pressure leak.

Thanks, like I said, it goes to another dealer on wednesday next week. I just wanted to give them some info to get started with.

[Warpath]

Dude, running wires from your truck to starter it IS NOT indicative of a bad starter! Solenoid maybe. You really need to figure out your electrical issue. From you original post...it seems like you problem gets progressively worse throughout the day. Make sure your battery is being charged by the motor. Check electrical connections, with a load light or load meter. If you you don't have the tools, the knowhow or a manual...let a professional work it. If you can't find someone locally you might have to start branching out.

OK. I was just following the advice of my NAPA guy to get it started so I could check the compression. Freedom Outdoors checked the main connections, but I'm not sure they did a load test. It's going to another dealer this comning week. I'll pass it a long to them. It's honestly beyond my capability. Thanks for the info.