MarkD
Member
Boat is a new 2008 185 sport with 4.3 and Alpha1 drive & 50 hrs. Last weekend was out cruising with my 2 young children running at 3000 rpm (for maybe 4 hours prior) when tachometer dropped to ~2000 and then came back up to 3K. Thought it was nothing then it started doing it again and again, until i wasnt able to keep the boat running and would just die. Finally I was not able to restart at all. In fact when I turned the key, the starter/engine wouldnt even crank. Dead. I checked all fuses (under the dash also). Sadly, I had to use my Sea Tow member ship to get towed into my dock. That would be $750 without it. Ouch!!
I brought back to dealer (who I wont name as yet) and left it, since it is under warranty. They called me back stating that I had tripped a circuit breaker on top of the engine (This is the one next to the carb. I could have sworn I check that too. But since its a relatively new design I wasnt too familiar with it. They said a yellow lever popped out. Also, they mentioned they took apart the dash and found a loose wire. Later the mechanic said it was the NAV light wire. I told them I was skeptical about that being the issue and they said that was all it should be. In fact, they didnt bother to test (in the water) after fixing. I know that since the boat/trailer was in the exact same spot I left it. Turns out, I put back in the water this weekend and went out again. I maybe, got 1/4 mile down the water (idling, doing 1000 rpm) when I heard the same noise and the tachometer would randomly drop RPM. This time it didnt die completely and I was able to get back to the dock and put on the trailer. FWIW, it doesnt "seem" to occur when the engine is cold, again this is only a brief observation. I could be mistaken.
My thoughts are that this isnt a fuel issue. It seems electrical in nature, especially since they found a loose wire and the circuit breaker popped. I had also replaced week old fuel with new (from the local gas station) 3 days prior, so that should eliminate a fuel source. I should also note that my horn died and popped a fuse. The dealer stated that it had water in there and they were replacing it, but would send to me when part arrived. It hasnt shipped yet, so nothing was changed there. Other than that, the boat has performed flawlessly over the last 50 hours. NOT 1 Problem.
Anybody have any ideas as to what it might be, or how I should approach the dealer. Would a call to SR Cust service be in order. I dont want this to happen again, especially since I am always taking my kids and their friend out on rides! Thanks!
I brought back to dealer (who I wont name as yet) and left it, since it is under warranty. They called me back stating that I had tripped a circuit breaker on top of the engine (This is the one next to the carb. I could have sworn I check that too. But since its a relatively new design I wasnt too familiar with it. They said a yellow lever popped out. Also, they mentioned they took apart the dash and found a loose wire. Later the mechanic said it was the NAV light wire. I told them I was skeptical about that being the issue and they said that was all it should be. In fact, they didnt bother to test (in the water) after fixing. I know that since the boat/trailer was in the exact same spot I left it. Turns out, I put back in the water this weekend and went out again. I maybe, got 1/4 mile down the water (idling, doing 1000 rpm) when I heard the same noise and the tachometer would randomly drop RPM. This time it didnt die completely and I was able to get back to the dock and put on the trailer. FWIW, it doesnt "seem" to occur when the engine is cold, again this is only a brief observation. I could be mistaken.
My thoughts are that this isnt a fuel issue. It seems electrical in nature, especially since they found a loose wire and the circuit breaker popped. I had also replaced week old fuel with new (from the local gas station) 3 days prior, so that should eliminate a fuel source. I should also note that my horn died and popped a fuse. The dealer stated that it had water in there and they were replacing it, but would send to me when part arrived. It hasnt shipped yet, so nothing was changed there. Other than that, the boat has performed flawlessly over the last 50 hours. NOT 1 Problem.
Anybody have any ideas as to what it might be, or how I should approach the dealer. Would a call to SR Cust service be in order. I dont want this to happen again, especially since I am always taking my kids and their friend out on rides! Thanks!
