dane174
New Member
- Aug 18, 2014
- 13
- Boat Info
- 1996 330 Sundancer Sport Cruiser
- Engines
- Twin 7.4 Mercruiser w/Bravo II Drives
Need Advice
I've got a 2001 260 with a 6.2 MPI Bravo 3 with about 300 hours on her. I bought it 3 years ago and found that it intermittantly surged at idle only in neutral with no load and would stop surging if it was shut down and restarted. Otherwise it ran perfectly The problem became more frequent so I brought it to my marina mechanic to be analyzed on their computer. They said that all sensors tested fine and they would continue to try to find the problem and check with the regional Merc techs. I called frequently to check and they said they were looking into it. I finally sat down with them to ask what was the problem. I was shocked to find that they had replaced the fuel filter, plugs, coil, distrubutor cap, rotor, ignition module, IAC valve, throttle position indicator, MAP sensor and had found no improvement. They had, however, run the bill up to over $3000, including 27 hours labor! I told them that the symptoms that I described didn't indicate a mechanical problem, as they could be reset with a restart. They said that in hindsight, that appeared to be the case. They said that it could be the ECU (computer) but they hate to buy one for several thousand dollars as it could not be returned.. We asked what the Merc tech said and they hadn't contacted them yet. When we asked them to do so they found that our ECU had a serial number matching a batch that needed to be reprogrammed. Relief finally. They sent it in, and my reprogrammed ECU changed idle behavior but didn't correct it completely. The tech sent them another ECU to try and initially it seemed to solve the issue, but sadly, the surging returned on the next test run. It is now mid November, almost 3 months after we initially brought the boat to them for a minor idle problem, and they had to winterize the boat for almost 500 dollars since it gets cold here in Minnesota. They now think that the problem could stem from a poor connection in the wiring harness, causing poor communication between the sensors, controllers, and the ECU. I haven't got an updated estimate including the ECU testing but this is looking like a bottomless pit with no end in sight. Does anyone have any ideas about the cause of my idle surge, and does anyone have any advice on how to negotiate my way out of this major bill that has not yet fixed my problem.
I've got a 2001 260 with a 6.2 MPI Bravo 3 with about 300 hours on her. I bought it 3 years ago and found that it intermittantly surged at idle only in neutral with no load and would stop surging if it was shut down and restarted. Otherwise it ran perfectly The problem became more frequent so I brought it to my marina mechanic to be analyzed on their computer. They said that all sensors tested fine and they would continue to try to find the problem and check with the regional Merc techs. I called frequently to check and they said they were looking into it. I finally sat down with them to ask what was the problem. I was shocked to find that they had replaced the fuel filter, plugs, coil, distrubutor cap, rotor, ignition module, IAC valve, throttle position indicator, MAP sensor and had found no improvement. They had, however, run the bill up to over $3000, including 27 hours labor! I told them that the symptoms that I described didn't indicate a mechanical problem, as they could be reset with a restart. They said that in hindsight, that appeared to be the case. They said that it could be the ECU (computer) but they hate to buy one for several thousand dollars as it could not be returned.. We asked what the Merc tech said and they hadn't contacted them yet. When we asked them to do so they found that our ECU had a serial number matching a batch that needed to be reprogrammed. Relief finally. They sent it in, and my reprogrammed ECU changed idle behavior but didn't correct it completely. The tech sent them another ECU to try and initially it seemed to solve the issue, but sadly, the surging returned on the next test run. It is now mid November, almost 3 months after we initially brought the boat to them for a minor idle problem, and they had to winterize the boat for almost 500 dollars since it gets cold here in Minnesota. They now think that the problem could stem from a poor connection in the wiring harness, causing poor communication between the sensors, controllers, and the ECU. I haven't got an updated estimate including the ECU testing but this is looking like a bottomless pit with no end in sight. Does anyone have any ideas about the cause of my idle surge, and does anyone have any advice on how to negotiate my way out of this major bill that has not yet fixed my problem.