Help! Port engine troubleshooting.

[MOA_Chaser]

Once the engine starts up, it's flawless. Runs great. Once I shut it down, it's a crap shoot on whether it will start again. If it's a hard start, it takes forever to get it to fire up. If it does fire up, I can shut it down and restart it over and over again.

The plugs are virtually new, probably a half dozen or so trips on them. I changed them after getting it out of storage for the season.

 

[Boat Crazy]

Looking back at your first post, have you pulled any covers for the electronics on the rear of engine compartment for the port engine? There may be moisture in it causing the problem.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Looking back at your first post, have you pulled any covers for the electronics on the rear of engine compartment for the port engine? There may be moisture in it causing the problem.

I haven't. On the rear wall of the engine compartment? I have since completely dried out the boat... fans in all four corners, left engine hatch open, etc and it's been stored indoors since but it wouldn't hurt to check that too. I was experiencing some hard starts before we took on water, though.

 

[itsdgm]

Here's what I would try.

Swapping cleanout switch connections. Swap ignition switch connections. Swap out lanyard switch connections. Swap coils from one engine to the other.

Also, have you inspected the fuse blocks and cdi boxes? It's possible that there's moisture in there.

 

[Boat Crazy]

I think your boat has round caps that unscrew to get to fuses. See if they have moisture in them. I am not sure if the rest is a totally sealed unit or if they can be opened up. If there is no moisture in the fuse area, I suspect everything else would be moisture free also.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

OK I'll check all that at lunchtime... I am going to start swapping stuff from side to side, but I usually only get a day or two on the water per week, so it will probably take me to the end of the season to cycle through all the possibilities.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Hmm, thinking about buying the YDS software and cable. That should let me know if an injector or other expensive component is the culprit, wouldn't it?

 

[MOA_Chaser]

OK so over lunch I pulled the lanyard switch and swapped the connectors. I saw some posts on the other board that talked about the internal connectors getting corroded if you leave the lanyard attached all the time, which I do. I also pulled the fuse caps on the electronic boxes and there is no sign of moisture in there. I didn't yank the box and open it because it was too much to get into over my lunch break. I also added a can of SeaFoam to let it start circulating through the gas in the tank... I need to get another can in it before I run it, though.

Unfortunately the port engine has been well-behaved since this morning, so I can't figure out anything for sure yet.

 

[biglar155]

...Would it be a good approximation to allow all the oil to settle for several hours, then match the oil level in the problem engine with the oil level in the engine I'm not having trouble with? (The problem engine does show a higher level than the other engine.)...

I'm gonna say a big Negative on that.

When I changed my oil this spring I did a little experimenting with the whole oil level thing:

First, I parked the boat on a "level" surface. With both engines cold, I had one showing the oil level just above the Low mark. The other engine barely had oil on the stick. (I'll admit it was only the "logic" process that prevented me from adding oil before starting: The last time at the lake I checked it and it was fine. The engine hasn't run since then. There is no oil in the bottom of the boat. Therefore the proper level must be in the engine.)

After warming them up on the hose, both engines showed oil slightly below the Full mark. (This is the same reading I get when I'm out on the water.)

Also, I'm able to suck significantly more oil out of one engine than the other. I believe I've seen other MR-1 owners report this as well.

So there is definitely something goofy with the way the oil lays when the engines are cold and it is not consistent between the two. So a comparison between the two is meaningless.