I just had my new to me Fountain out for its shakedown run. It is no longer under warranty and time for this year is running out rapidly so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The starboard engine only runs up to 3200 rpm and the rev limiter kicks in. Shortly after that (1-5 seconds), the port side bilge pump flashes on and off. Seriously!

My wild idea was to remove the power feed from the switch to the pump. The engine then ran to 4000 or so. The indicator light still lit up saying the automatic bilge switch was working. Next I disconnected the starboard side pump from the switch in the same manner. All seemed to be fixed which indicated a short in the pump wires somewhere.

I then stopped the boat to pick up some passengers and it went right back to the original 3200 rpm.

I traced the pump wires as far as I could see and there doesn't seem to be any place where the wires are pinched.

HOW CAN THESE TWO THINGS BE RELATED? The pumps do not seem to be grounded directly to the engine.

Could this possibly be a SmartCraft thing? It has Monster gages.

Anybody got any ideas???

Thanks, Fountainclimber

Fountainclimber
I Don't Know That This Will Help You But One Of The Most Common Problems With This Engine I've Seen Has Been Fuel Press Regulators And Fuel Pumps That Do Not Work Properly And If You Use The Merc Computer It Does Not Give You A Fault It Actually Just Gives You A Psi Reading That Has To Be Within The Factory Spec Or It Will Cut Out Like Your Saying.check The Filter At The Rear By The Cam Position Sensor.good Luck Laz Mesa

The only way I can think of that they can be related is battery. Check your battery's and make sure one has not dropped cells. Also make sure your cables are tight & clean. I had this problem with the battery and whenever I hit the trim switch the engine almost died.

Roby

Lazaro is right and it needs to be pointed out that whenever a port EFI system loses fuel pressure it act's just like an ignition problem. You will think it is a rev limiter or a bad ignition. There is no power surge, it just cuts out.

Roby

Also check the shift switch. If the ecu thinks the engine is in neutral it activates a rev limit and it won't give a fault. The switch is mounted on the shift cable bracket.

I'll go check these out right now. Darned sun goes down at 6:00 already.

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F

And the answer is:

I cleaned all the ground wires and poked around at the neutral saftey switch. Mercury Racing also said it was probably the switch as it is programmed to limit rpm to 3100 if it thinks it is neutral.

Since I did everything at once, I am not sure which was the cause but it is working fine now.

Thanks Everybody!

F

Just unplug the shift switch this is a quick way to find out if it is working Because that circuit is considered a normally open circuit. Basically the ecu will run off the in gear program. Also check the efi harness in the back stbd side where the fuses are. The harness will come under the mercathode that is mounted on the back of the even bank cylinder head. I have had the harness wear thru, from the mercathode bracket, and ground out the ignition on wire, and cause all kinds of problems like you are talking about. You may think you figured it out but all you did is move the wires enough so they are not grounded out.