need help with 02 utopia 210

[boombee]

my 02 utopia with a mercury 210 is giving me problems. when i take it out it runs like a champ for a good 5 to 10min after that it looses power wont go past 1500-2000 rpms. if i shut it down for 10 min it starts up and runs fine for another 5 to 10 min then same thing. recently the fuel pump, stator, both switchboxes, and trigger were replaced had an issue with only one bank firing. that was fixed now this issue. is there a thermostat that could be causing these issues when the engine heats up? not sure if this boat has a limp mode or not like my seadoo gtx limited, i get no warning beeps when this happens. at any time i can shut off motor and restart with no issues, just seems like when the engine gets to temp it causes this issue. any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[Tim75]

I don't think you have a thermostat that would cause your issues. Don't think you have a "limp mode".

Do you have water coming out of the pee hole? Is it cool, warm or boiling?

Check fuel filters. Check fuel delivery from both pumps.

Is there any issue with the throttle cable opening throttle plates to WOT?

Check the kill wire. Black w/yellow stripe. On top of engine, aft of flywheel. Disconnect and test. If it's now OK, you likely have a chafe spot on that wire. Do you have throttle guardian? That can and does cause problems. When rpm drops, are all 6 plugs still firing?

Is the oil tank on top of the engine staying full?

 

[boombee]

hey tim thanks for the reply. i see you're in fort pierce im in port st. lucie. i never saw water from pee hole while in water but from hose i do have a little water coming out pee hole and that feels warm. the kill wire coming out the main harness does have a chafe spot. i did not see a throttle guardian, i looked behind the drivers dash just saw fuses no box. i have not checked the plugs while it was doing this issue. oil tank reservoir is full

 

[Tim75]

hey tim thanks for the reply. i see you're in fort pierce im in port st. lucie. i never saw water from pee hole while in water but from hose i do have a little water coming out pee hole and that feels warm. the kill wire coming out the main harness does have a chafe spot. i did not see a throttle guardian, i looked behind the drivers dash just saw fuses no box. i have not checked the plugs while it was doing this issue. oil tank reservoir is full

Starting to sound like the trigger coils under the flywheel, failing when hot.

Check the coils when cold. (There are 3 coils in one housing.) Connector is aft of flywheel, on top of engine on a bracket. 6 wires. Check the insulation, too. Merc had some crappy insulation for a while.

While you are on the water and it drops power, as quickly as you can, check the trigger again. If there is significant difference, you found the problem.

Triggers are available on ebay for about $125 for CDI brand (What I currently have) or $220 for Merc. Merc dealers should have it. Used on the 2.5L outboards.

Witht he proper tools, it's about 15 minutes to change the trigger.

 

[boombee]

stator, trigger, and switch boxes were replaced with brand new cdi electronic units. i just read over all three installation instructions from cdi and looked at the service manual wiring diagrams. i have the outside switch box wired to cylinders 1,3,5 and inner switch box to 2,4,6. after seeing wiring diagrams, the wiring diagram from service manual has 1,3,5 wired to the inner switch box and 2,4,6 wired to outer switch box. can that be my problem? would that matter? the trigger cdi instructions said to wire the black banded three wires to a specific switch box and yellow to a specific switch box, but the switch box instructions mentioned nothing about wiring to a specific bank.

 

[Tim75]

From service book-
wires w/ yellow sleeve must be connected to outer box. Outer box fires cyl's 2,4,6.

According to parts list, the 2 boxes are the same p/n. Would your connection style make a difference? Don't know. It seems that if your engine runs, it makes no difference. Make sure your ground wire to both boxes is clean & secure. Just because it doesn't wiggle, does not guarantee a good connection. Also from mounting plate to block.

When your engine loses power, can you identify if all plugs are still firing? Left side? Right side? Can you swap switch boxes? Does the problem swap accordingly? If yes, it seems you have a bad switch box.

I am surprised that your system seems more complex than my EFI system.

 

[boombee]

hey tim.. I noticed the efi motor has a diagnostic plug to hook up to computer.. dont see one on this 210 motor.. can a mechanic pull codes from this ecm? If so wheres the plug? Thanks

 

[Tim75]

I don't know if the 210 has the diagnostic connector.