Beware Of Stuck Corsa Capt Call
 

A while back Baja Daze was wondering why one side if his transom had more exhaust soot than the other. I mentioned the possibility that one of his Capt Call flappers might stick in the closed position sometimes without his knowledge. I mentioned this because I have the exact problem with one of mine. The work-around for me is to always start the engines with the flappers closed then flip them open after the engine is running. They always open properly this way.

Go to the link shown below and click on the thumbnail picture of the H2X. Take a close look at his exhaust. I'll bet the owner of this boat sometimes wonders why the left side of his transom has more exhaust soot than the right side.


http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/4/4/34671144.htm

Wow...It's pretty obvious looking at that picture.

Indeed, my port side almost always has more soot than the starboard side. People have told me that it's a trait inherint to the 496's and the way the plumbing works, but this might be a reason another valid reason.

Before heading out I usually have the hatch open to do the routine fluids checks and sniff test and I always pay particular attention to the solenoids operation when I turn the key.

If I visually witness the solenoids moving from closed to open, is there still something internally that you can't see not opening?

Thanks 29!

Here's a portion of the pic 29outlaw was referring to in his post.

Man is that water pretty!

I would like to be there right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

On my 36 they stay open all the time. And you have to hit the switch to close them?

Took a little getting use to after having two boats where you had to hit the swith to open them.

Hey BD,

If you see yours open and stay open from outside you should be OK. My "stuck" one makes the typical "clicking" sound, goes to the open position, then instantly snaps back to the closed position. In other words, it opens but won't stay open (only sometimes though). Sometimes it will stay open fine.

With the engines running however, no problems at all. They always open and stay open

In terms of soot - when I run on the hose I notice less water coming out of the port side pipes than coming out of the starboard pipes. This is reverse of what you stated - go figure :confused:

Usually if the electric solenoid sticks even due to a mecanical problem the solenoid will burn up after a while. The smell really bad. Replacement is about $60. I ordered from Corsa.

29 Outlaw,

Not the opposite, We have the same condition: I said I have more soot on the Port side. When on the hose, I get more water out of the starboard than the port just like yours. I attribute more soot to less water.

And yes, I can watch the flaps open and stay open. :cool: :)

29outlaw,

One more curiosity of mine: When you run yours on the hose, I assume you have the hose fittings in the engine compartment like mine does. When running the engines on the hose, do you also have water coming out of the lower unit water pickups?

And what are your typical temps when running after a few minutes?

Looks like this:
[Thanks Dock;)]

Trnsom soot
 

From what i've noticed on all 3 of my bajas and for that matter all mercruisers in general is after a hard run at WOT one side of the thru hull exhaust steams (generally the starboard side). The other side runs cooler for some reason. Maybe that could have something to do with it ??:confused: :confused: :confused:

Thanks garshev.
On 496's, it seems it's the other way around. I get the steam/soot on the port side. This is also the side with less water flow. It has something to do with the new closed-cooling plumbing.

I was just wondering if these selenoids sticking can cause any problems to your engine? I dont have any type of silent choice on my H2X, but I have alot of friends that do... I have noticed my friends 35' Fountains sticking before. After a long cruise when I come off plane I have steam coming from my starboard side exhaust for a few seconds like garshev had said? I read an answer to this from Powerboats Teague on Tech that said it was normal due to the way the water is routed through the engine or exhaust?

Come to think of it, you're probably right but I was looking at it backwards.

WOW - imagine that

A case of less = more

BD - I run mine on the hose with the earmuffs on the drives. I also get tons of water coming out by the drive

Get rid of all that bull **** and switch to CMI Dry Exhaust. You'll love it. :cool:

Bob,

I keep hearing that from others boaters. I think Tank has said the same. But doesn't it hurt your ears after a full day of running?

Mark

I would do it but I would also need an ECU re-cal. Whipple reports lean conditions on 496's when switching exhaust without performing an ECU re-cal.

No Dock it's music to my ears. :cool:

The wife says get rid of the mufflers. Hell I might as well get rid of it all.

I just saw a dry setup that was pretty cool. The water exited inside the exhaust but was not a seperate tube. It is hard to explain. I believe CMI made the unit.

Guess this would not be that hard to do.

Do you get hassled by the law any Bob?

Thanks 29outlaw!...appreciate the info.

Dry exhaust would be great, but $. And believe it or not, I like having the captain's call...there are times when it is only appropriate to quiet things down a little.

:cool:

29/BD - thanks for the info. I too, have noticed my HO's steaming and having less water flow on the port sides. This was inherent with the older 454 mags also. It must be a merc "thing";)

No hassles where I boat ( knock on wood )MD. NJ.But I would check your local laws, is does sound sweet. I like how the wife says get rid of the mufflers, you got to love that!!!

You gotta love the collective information here. Sometimes, you just need that extra confirmation from others that everything is okay...When I first noticed the occurrance, I got nervous thinking something is wrong. But it seems to be common to all of them. :cool:

I don't know how anyone with ears would not know that one of their diverters wasn't opening. I had that happen on my 454 Mag MPI when I forgot to re-connect the plug to the diverter after some maintenance. It was obvious when I hit the switch that only one side was opening. It makes the motor sound like a 1 cylinder lawn mower engine.

When you have twin engines, the sound difference between 3 out of 4 being open and 4 out of 4 being open is not that great.

Yes, I understand that with twins. But the guy in the ad had a single-engine H2X.