More bloody troubles, this is now looking worse than Ficht, you've been
warned.

crabby posted 03-01-2006 10:13 AM ET (US) Profile for crabby Send
Email to crabby Just a word of warning to all the ETEC owners out the

If the motor is idling in neutral and for some reason the idle gets too
high for too long (I was just told 2500 rpms for 30 seconds but I could
be off on the specifics) the motor will enter a shutdown mode that needs
to be reset by software.

This just happened to me. The temps here are in the mid-20's F and I was
warming the engine up while loading the boat. As it hadn't been used for
a week or so I had kicked up the idle a little to help it start/warm up.
And just as I went to back the idle down a little she shut down on me
and would crank but show a "check engine" lamp. I find it pretty nasty
that I now need to wait for the dealer to send someone to reset the
computer.

The reason for the shutdown is to cope with a possible runaway condition
should fuel leak into the crankcase (according to my dealer).

If there is anyone here (Seahorse maybe?) that knows how to accomplish
this reset without dealer intervention I would appreciate some suggestions.

---pm

then of course the dealers can fleece him again??

& it seems we still have the Ficht spark plug ripoff, no wonder there is
no BS the dealers won't tell to sell:-)

crabby posted 03-01-2006 05:13 PM ET (US) Profile for crabby Send
Email to crabby Rob,

It could have been that, or it is possible that the neutral switch in my
control box (21 years old) was a little funky and the EMM thought
something was up, or...???

Overall it is not that big of a deal other than it is something to be
aware of. My dealer also mentioned to me over the phone that he will
investigate whether there have been any updates to the firmware that
would allow for an operator error of this nature and a quick field fix.

Fourdfish:

Thanks for the offer, hopefully I can hook up with the dealer on Friday
and get it reset. One way or another I will be back in business shortly.

Buckda:

Search out my posts from last August. Technically the plugs are
warrantee items but good luck on that. The more you use the motor at low
speeds the faster you will burn out the plugs (due to more frequent
firing). Plugs cost about $5-6 each and not every one will work for you
as they need to be indexed properly (so purchase extras, I needed 6 to
get three that worked). And you need to remove the lower shrouds to get
to the bottom plug (be very careful not to crack the plastic around the
captive nuts on the shrouds when reassembling things).

crabby posted 03-02-2006 01:51 PM ET (US) Profile for crabby Send
Email to crabby Sparkplugs in ETECs

At lower speeds the plugs get fired several times per power stroke (to
help get a full burn). As the engine speed increases the number of
firings per cycle drops. The more you keep the motor below the power
band the faster the plugs will "wear". They did this with the FICHTs
also, but supposedely they have toned it down a bit for the ETECs.

After almost a year of service and around 135 hours my motor ran rough
at idle and was hard starting. On inspection the plugs looked as if they
were burning nicely but the electrode gap was very wide and showed signs
of "wear". Changed the plugs and all was well again.

I don't use the fuel conditioner but may give it a shot; I use the
xd-100 oil. A set of plugs per season is not so bad anyhow. Last winter
my boat was iced in and it was pressed into duty as an ice eater for the
rest of my "fleet" (ran the boat/motor in gear while tied up to the
houseboat and kept the ice broken up that way, did this periodically
through Jan and Feb), so maybe using it under those circumstances the
plugs didn't fair well (but still carried me through to August). During
the rest of the year when I'm not iced in most of my running time is
done at cruising speeds and above, I don't troll while fishing.
Buckda