2005 Sea Ray 220 Select, 5.0 MPI overheating problem, help... new owner

jackson rezab

New Member
May 27, 2018
2
Boat Info
2005 Sea Ray 220 Select
Engines
5.0 MPI w/ Bravo III drive
Whats up thread, I bought this 2005 Sea Ray 220Select w/ 5.0 MPI w/Bravo III outdrive last year from a family friend, awesome boat for the first summer, I had a cobalt dealer (nearest location) do the winterization of the boat because I am unskilled and wanted a professional to do it. Upon getting the boat ready for the Summer season, I went to start the boat with muffs attached to the stern drive and I immediately got engine lights on the digital gauge, the gauges read the following. 0.2 h20 psi , 14V ,(bat:eek:k tmp:eek:k psi:eek:k) , 147 F (after cooling down for 30 minutes due to spiking at 210) , 0.3 Oil psi...

I got a good feeling that these levels are off and need oil, or other things. the nearest sea ray dealer is two weeks out from seeing it, so I'm trying to get out on the water soon!

I know I am new to this, so please be gentle in the comments haha!
Thank you for all your help!
 
I went to start the boat with muffs attached to the stern drive and I immediately got engine lights on the digital gauge, the gauges read the following. 0.2 h20 psi , 14V ,(bat:eek:k tmp:eek:k psi:eek:k) , 147 F (after cooling down for 30 minutes due to spiking at 210) , 0.3 Oil psi...

This does not make sense. Please re-word. It sounds like when you first started up you got the "OK-OK-OK". That's good. But the water pressure should be higher once running - could be a sensor issue, worn impeller/housing or blockage. HOWEVER, and this is where it gets even more confusing, it's not clear if you got 147* right away (would not be normal) or you got 210* right away. You also mentioned that you only had .3 oil psi, but you got the "OK" for oil psi, as well. Again, please expand with more accurate description.

By the way, did you trim the drive down to run it?

Are you capable/comfortable doing diagnosis and repairs? If not, it might be more efficient to just take it to the shop - any local dealer that works on Mercruisers will suffice - it does not have to be a Sea Ray dealer. It would be nice if the dealership was familiar with Smartcraft, though.
 
This does not make sense. Please re-word. It sounds like when you first started up you got the "OK-OK-OK". That's good. But the water pressure should be higher once running - could be a sensor issue, worn impeller/housing or blockage. HOWEVER, and this is where it gets even more confusing, it's not clear if you got 147* right away (would not be normal) or you got 210* right away. You also mentioned that you only had .3 oil psi, but you got the "OK" for oil psi, as well. Again, please expand with more accurate description.

By the way, did you trim the drive down to run it?

Are you capable/comfortable doing diagnosis and repairs? If not, it might be more efficient to just take it to the shop - any local dealer that works on Mercruisers will suffice - it does not have to be a Sea Ray dealer. It would be nice if the dealership was familiar with Smartcraft, though.

Ok. Steps I took in order
-attach ear muffs to stern drive
-attach battery source to battery due to dead battery (jumper cables to my truck)
-boat has 1/4 tank of fuel
-turn key and started boat
-boat started no problem
-after a couple seconds of running a large beep occurs and repeats constantly, gauge says ‘check engine’
-I scroll through the menu settings and it reads what I stated above (not making that up, I’m confused as well)
-started to adjust the muffs on stern drive thinking it was water pressure issue
-louder beep occurs and remains on, (one continuous beep)
-gauge says “overheating” temperature reads 210
-turn engine off, let rest for 15 minutes
-come back and check oil dip stick directly from engine, levels reads ‘ok’
- temperature now reads 147
-started boat again and the constant beeping (check engine) occurs, no overheating beep.
-signed up club sea ray in hopes of a finding solution. No sure if it just needs to be put in the water and stern fully submerged in water

And, no the stern was up while doing all this, is that a significant difference in performance?
 
Keeping the stern drive up can/will damage internal things with the engine running.

What you wrote in your first post about "OK" is confusing - it looks like you are saying (although I'm not sure why there's a smiley there) that the Battery, Engine Temperature and Oil Pressure are all reporting "OK".

How much water pressure do you have and what is your flow rate in GPM coming out of the hose? The latter can easily be checked by filling a known-sized container in X amount of seconds and converting to 1 minute (pressure would simply require a pressure gauge available from any hardware store). Do you have the hose on full bore? If water flow is good and you are overheating, then the first thing to look at is the impeller. Where was the boat used prior to you?

Try again with the drive down.
 
Last edited:
Whats up thread, I bought this 2005 Sea Ray 220Select w/ 5.0 MPI w/Bravo III outdrive last year from a family friend, awesome boat for the first summer, I had a cobalt dealer (nearest location) do the winterization of the boat because I am unskilled and wanted a professional to do it. Upon getting the boat ready for the Summer season, I went to start the boat with muffs attached to the stern drive and I immediately got engine lights on the digital gauge, the gauges read the following. 0.2 h20 psi , 14V ,(bat:eek:k tmp:eek:k psi:eek:k) , 147 F (after cooling down for 30 minutes due to spiking at 210) , 0.3 Oil psi...

I got a good feeling that these levels are off and need oil, or other things. the nearest sea ray dealer is two weeks out from seeing it, so I'm trying to get out on the water soon!

I know I am new to this, so please be gentle in the comments haha!
Thank you for all your help!
Check the raw water pump impeller
 
There is a little hole on the front of the drive. It is the water pick for the speedometer. You must cover up that hole. Use Duct Tape to cover it. I run a piece from the front to the back of the drive. Once I covered up that hole I never had another problem.
Good Luck
 
Jackson,

All good advice above. One of the easiest ways to confirm water flow through the stern drive and engine is to simply watch for water exiting the lower portion of the transom assembly. It generally takes about 10 seconds or so once you turn on the water and start the engine. If nothing is coming out, there is a restriction or an impeller problem. Also, if the Cobalt dealer is close, reputable and MerCruiser trained. I wouldn’t hesitate to use their services rather than there SR dealer.

Good luck.
 
Anytime the engine is running the drive shaft spins. Running the engine with the drive up puts the u-joints at an extreme angle and will cause severe damage. When was the last time the raw water impeller was replaced? It should be replaced every 2-3 years.
 

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