New 250 Select EX, Frequent Sea Tow Customer

2

250_money_pit

New Member
Mar 25, 2007
65
Pensacola / Destin Florida
Looking to see if anyone may have had any ideas for a problem I am experiencing with my 2008 250 SelectEX. It has the 6.2L Mercruiser with DTS. Its the DTS I am starting to wonder about. The boat has 13 hours on it and it has already left me stranded twice. In fact, I am now on a first name basis with the local Sea Tow guys. In both situations, the boat died on me while idling through a no wake zone - running about 1200 rpm. Once it died, it just wouldn't re-start. Acted like it wasn't getting fuel. When I got it back to MMAX, it cranked right up and ran just fine for them. They also took it out on a sea trial for about an hour and could not get it to fail. So I took the boat out again today, it it stalled and died under the same operating conditions - crusing in another no-wake zone. The starter is turning, and I can hear the fuel pump engaging when I turn the key. It's just not firing up as if it is not getting any fuel. I have heard that the DTS system is rather un-tolerant of imperfect power fluctuations. Anyone have a similiar circumstances ?
 
Long shot on this one, but I think I read another post about the fuel pump (or filter or something) getting overheated, and this shuts it down. Don't know for sure; just guessing here on a weak memory.

Esteban
 
It sounds like you have a bad IAC (Idle Air Controller). We have had several threads on this subject before, but I believe if you read this thread it covers everything pretty thoroughly. http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4864&highlight=controller

I keep a spare IAC on my boat but if you are ever in a pinch you can get the engine restarted even with the bad IAC. Read gerryb's posting for one way you can do this. Also, on conventional shifters, you can press the center button on the shifter which allows you to stay in neutral and advance the throttle (this may be different with the DTS controls which I am not familiar with). If you advance the throttle half way between idle and flat out the engine will start. Just don't return it to idle or it will die out. Next, rev the engine and return the throttle to the idle position to engage the shift lever and immediately put the boat in forward and accelerate. You need to do all of this very quickly so the engine doesn't die. When you get to your dock you have to expect the engine will die again as soon as you return to idle.

Hope this helps.

Dave
 
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yeah, that IAC valve gets very hot. Just for giggles, after about an hour run I touched the IAC valve motor and it was SUPER hot. no wonder those things fail about every 100 hours.
 
When the IAC goes bad doesn't it trip the engine alarm? Something like 2 beeps every minute or so??
 
It's supposed to, but I've had one starting to go bad and it never tripped the alarm. It died a couple of times at idle but the alarm never went off until about 2 weeks later.
 
Do DTS engines have an IAC? There should be no need of an idle speed motor if the throttle is digitally controlled. My Sea Ray does not have an electronic throttle, but my PWC does. There's no idle speed controller on it as the same stepper that drives the throttle controls the idle. The PWC has a Bosch EFI system, which uses the same components, including the digital throttles, that are used on many cars, such as Audi. I doubt Merc uses two controllers for the throttle, one for the main blade and one for idle, since Merc tends to pinches pennies.

See if you can get the dealer to spend some time with you in no-wake zones, or if you can get your hands on an engine code reader for an extended period of time.

Best regards,
Frank C.
 
The symptoms you describe are just like those that occur with the Cool-Fuel 3 failure.......if the engine is hot and has run for a while when it dies and your engine is too new. The problem there is that corrosion blocks the passage of cooling water thru the fuel cooler and the fuel gets too hot.

So you have the background, here is that thread:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5277&highlight=Heads+up+Kool+Fuel

While your engine may be too new to have a corrosion blocking the fuel cooler, you could have an obstruction that is allowing the fuel to get too hot.

Also, hey Frank...........nice to see you here!
 
fc3 said:
Do DTS engines have an IAC? Best regards,
Frank C.
Click to expand...

Frank

I talked to one of the senior techs at our dealership today and he said that DTS equipped motors still have an IAC.

It's nice to see you back on the board. We could really use your expert help around here that's for sure.:grin:

Dave
 
Now I am getting annoyed. The service departmernt called and said that a manual fuel shutoff in the engine compartment was positioned shut. The mechanic said that he opened it and it ran just fine. First of all, I did not shut off the fuel because I don't even know where the valve is. If i ever come to some kind of positive resolution, I'll post it. For now, I guess I should get Sea Tow in my phone's speed dial.
 
It's hard to say whether the repairs they did will solve your problem or not.

You might want to consider buying a spare IAC because that is a fairly common failure. Get the gasket too. It's about $100 but well worth the "insurance" of not getting stranded on the water. All you need is an allen wrench and about 10 minutes time on the water to change it out. If this does turn out to be the problem, be sure to get a "free replacement" under warranty and tell your dealer you may bill them for your labor for solving their problem.:smt043
 
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