SX230 Resurrection

[Brad_Ct]

Finally got the new horn installed, my brother in law stopped over with his 9 yr. old son and he was able to get in behind the helm. Bad news is the cable ends that were supposed to get delivered today did not because the package was damaged and I had to reorder them.

 

[Brad_Ct]

The cable ends came in today so I installed those, (glad I ordered two, the other one was cracked also). Adjusted the gates and nozzles and tie wrapped everything back in place. Thinking that the weekend after Labor Day will be it’s maiden voyage.

 

[Brad_Ct]

Doesn’t show up great in the picture but the horizontal surfaces are very oxidized and I honestly did not think they would come back. I tried buffing the starboard side several weeks ago with no luck so yesterday I wet sanded, compounded, and waxed that side and to my amazement it actually is shinny.

 

[Brad_Ct]

Still have not gotten it in the water, was going to do it this past Sunday but the oil was high so I sucked some out and the port engine had water in it again. If you remember when I did the acid flush I somehow got water in the cylinders and it must be from that. Anyway I changed the oil a couple of times after work tonight and ordered some filters. We will be in Florida house hunting this weekend and summer is quickly coming to a end here so I’m not sure if it will get in the water this year.

 

[WREKS]

Not to worry. Winter is the best time to boat in Florida.

 

[Brad_Ct]

No progress to report but the boat is back in Florida where the whole story started. Some of you may remember the history of this boat that @veedubtek documented, it went from Florida to Michigan to Mississippi. He bought it off eBay and had it shipped to North Carolina then I bought it from him and had it shipped to Connecticut. Last week we shipped it back to Florida to what will be our new residence shortly.

 

[2kwik4u]

No progress to report but the boat is back in Florida where the whole story started. Some of you may remember the history of this boat that @veedubtek documented, it went from Florida to Michigan to Mississippi. He bought it off eBay and had it shipped to North Carolina then I bought it from him and had it shipped to Connecticut. Last week we shipped it back to Florida to what will be our new residence shortly.

Congrats on the move. Glad the boat is still moving along it's had quite the story to now!

 

[Brad_Ct]

This boat is going to drive me crazy, both engines ran fine when it left for Florida but still had a issue with the port engine getting water or gas in the oil. Tried to start it a couple weeks ago and the port engine would not start until I sprayed carb. cleaner into the intakes. Tried again yesterday and had the same issue so I changed the plugs (old ones were black from fuel), after that it started up but would die when I gas it some throttle.

 

[dgfreeze]

This boat is going to drive me crazy, both engines ran fine when it left for Florida but still had a issue with the port engine getting water or gas in the oil. Tried to start it a couple weeks ago and the port engine would not start until I sprayed carb. cleaner into the intakes. Tried again yesterday and had the same issue so I changed the plugs (old ones were black from fuel), after that it started up but would die when I gas it some throttle.

how old is the fuel? how long did you let it idle before throttling up? I'd also check the spark plugs after letting it run, see if any of them are wet with fuel. I haven't encountered it, but I've seen a fair amount of instances where moisture in the ECU will cause an injector to stick open. Potentially also how fuel could be getting into the oil... just a few thoughts...

 

[bronze_10]

how old is the fuel? how long did you let it idle before throttling up? I'd also check the spark plugs after letting it run, see if any of them are wet with fuel. I haven't encountered it, but I've seen a fair amount of instances where moisture in the ECU will cause an injector to stick open. Potentially also how fuel could be getting into the oil... just a few thoughts...

I had that very thing happen to me. But it still started fine. Just idled down and had gas in the water behind me.

 

[Brad_Ct]

I got back at this today and pumped all the two year old gas out of the tank and replaced it with 15 gallons of non ethanol and 1 1/2 cans of seafoam. Starboard engine started up but not the port, pulled the fuel line off the injector rail and turned engine over and got no gas from pump. I checked the voltage going to both pumps and I am only getting 8.79 volts, both batteries are reading 12.62 volts and if I jump from either battery to the pump it runs. Somehow I am getting a voltage drop, going to clean up the battery terminals tomorrow hopefully it’s something simple.

 

[WREKS]

@Brad_Ct Is the 8.79 volts the cranking voltage when you are starting the engines? If so, that is near the 9. 2 V spec for the Lighting coil, which is used for engine cranking. Some electrical specs Do you still have the milky oil problem?

 

[Brad_Ct]

@Brad_Ct Is the 8.79 volts the cranking voltage when you are starting the engines. If so, that is near the 9. 2 V spec for the Lighting coil, which is used for engine cranking. Some electrical specs Do you still have the milky oil problem?

Yes that is with the engine cranking, makes sense then that both pumps are getting the same voltage. I may have something wrong with the port fuel pump in that case. Like I stated it will run if I put direct battery voltage to it, I know there was some water in the gas and that could have affected the pump. Today I’m going to pull the fuel line off the injector rail and flush the pump by running it.

I still have the milky oil issue in the port engine and that is next on my list to look into.

 

[Brad_Ct]

@WREKS You are on to something, I double checked the voltages while cranking the engines at the fuel pumps and on the starboard pump I got 9.56 but only 7.59 on the port. The lower voltage is obviously why the pump will not run. I see there are ohms readings (0.54-0.66) for the coils that I will check tomorrow.

My question is could this be a problem with the voltage rectifier/regulator? The three green wires from the lighting coil appear from the wiring diagram go directly to it and then a red wire goes to the main/fuel pump relay I think. These wiring diagrams have to be the most confusing I have ever worked with. I guess I could also have a bad pump relay, just seems strange that I all of a sudden have this issue from it sitting.

 

[WREKS]

If the starboard cranks more easily than port that could explain voltage difference. I wonder if it is electrical? What about spraying some fogging oil in cylinders and cranking without plugs. A compression test may indicate past water intrusion into the cylinders. I would be trying to remove the port cylinder head. I know that is more than just a notion.

 

[WREKS]

@Brad_Ct Going back to electric. Corroded contacts in the fuel pump relay, or couplers?

 

[Brad_Ct]

@Brad_Ct Going back to electric. Corroded contacts in the fuel pump relay, or couplers?

I went through all the connectors and cleaned them with electrical contact cleaner and put dielectric grease on them.

Today the voltages at the pump started at 9.4 and dropped off to 8.2 while cranking the engine. I put a external 12 volt source to the pump and fired the engine and the voltage at the pump plug was 8.3 until I revved the engine at that point the voltage bounced all over the place, 14 to 8.2. I left it running at a high idle for a bit and it settled out around 12.4 even after dropping it down to idle. But then would not start again after shutting it off.

This is the engine that has had water in it and I’m now wondering if rust has built up on the coil or rotor/magneto.

 

[WREKS]

How long did you leave it running? @Cobra Jet Steering LLC has suggested mixing some automatic transmission with the oil to help absorb the water. When water was getting into the oil in my engine and I took it out of the boat to remove the head, the generator/stator coil was fine. No rust.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well I used dextron2 in the oil but you can't get that any more so if it keeps getting water in the oil it may need to be disassembled to find the issue. The big thing about water leaking into the oil is that when you are running on the hose you are putting more water in the oil. Even the Dextron 2 would not help if it is leaking in to the oil it only helps if you rolled a ski or sunk a boat and the engine was submerged or if you ran the engine on the hose and shut it off with the water running if that happens I can tell you how to clear it out fairly easily.

 

[Beachbummer]

Voltage at the pump should be the same as at the battery while not cranking. The relay, the contacts or the high voltage feed to the ECU is suspect in my understanding of how this works. How does the voltage at the battery look?