Engine Overheating Warning - Cleanout Plug Issue?

[FSH220Now!]

Hi all, just wanted to pick your brains. Took my boat out this weekend. My nephew put the plugs in - he's done it many times. All was well - got up to 21 mph with a couple of rough waves. Nothing major. Didn't feel or hear any cavitation. About 4 miles out I get an engine temp warning so I shut it down and started digging through things. Water was coming out of both ports at the normal rate, so I knew that wasn't an issue. I decided to go through start-up on each engine because it shouldn't be both. Turned out to be the starboard engine. Limped back to the dock on the Port engine (no error) - kept it under 4mph. Started checking everything I could. At the last moment I went to pull the plugs and one was completely out.

Went through start-up after recycling the battery switches and the issue was gone. So my questions are:

1. If damage was done where would I need to inspect to verify?
2. If there are issues is the connext system smart enough to see those issues? Meaning I should see new or the same warnings going forward?
3. The engines run a little rough but they've never purred like kittens even when new.
4. I'm heading down today to check the cleanout plugs to make sure that the plug isn't bad in some way and not a mistake in installation.
5. Anything else I should be checking - or should I just pull it out and take it to the dealer for an inspection?

As always thanks for anyone that responds!

 

[AJROY]

Good day,

Based on your description of the events, I suspect that your access port cap was not properly inserted and locked. This would cause a reduction of the water pressure/flow in the jet pump, which may be the cause for a lack of water flow to keep the engine running cool enough.

Assuming that the pump is free of debris and that water is flowing nicely out of your cooling water pilot outlets (pissers), you should be in good shape.

If you experienced heat-related steam or smoke coming from that engine, I would take the boat to the shop for inspection.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Hi all, just wanted to pick your brains. Took my boat out this weekend. My nephew put the plugs in - he's done it many times. All was well - got up to 21 mph with a couple of rough waves. Nothing major. Didn't feel or hear any cavitation. About 4 miles out I get an engine temp warning so I shut it down and started digging through things. Water was coming out of both ports at the normal rate, so I knew that wasn't an issue. I decided to go through start-up on each engine because it shouldn't be both. Turned out to be the starboard engine. Limped back to the dock on the Port engine (no error) - kept it under 4mph. Started checking everything I could. At the last moment I went to pull the plugs and one was completely out.

Went through start-up after recycling the battery switches and the issue was gone. So my questions are:

1. If damage was done where would I need to inspect to verify?
2. If there are issues is the connext system smart enough to see those issues? Meaning I should see new or the same warnings going forward?
3. The engines run a little rough but they've never purred like kittens even when new.
4. I'm heading down today to check the cleanout plugs to make sure that the plug isn't bad in some way and not a mistake in installation.
5. Anything else I should be checking - or should I just pull it out and take it to the dealer for an inspection?

As always thanks for anyone that responds!

If you heeded the engine overheat alarm then you should be fine.

Sounds like your nephew just didn’t get the plug turned enough to lock it down. Install the pugs yourself and go run it.

 

[FSH220Now!]

Good day,

Based on your description of the events, I suspect that your access port cap was not properly inserted and locked. This would cause a reduction of the water pressure/flow in the jet pump, which may be the cause for a lack of water flow to keep the engine running cool enough.

Assuming that the pump is free of debris and that water is flowing nicely out of your cooling water pilot outlets (pissers), you should be in good shape.

If you experienced heat-related steam or smoke coming from that engine, I would take the boat to the shop for inspection.

Thanks for the response! Yeah my next step is to take it out for a test run to verify everything is good.

 

[drewkaree]

Hi all, just wanted to pick your brains. Took my boat out this weekend. My nephew put the plugs in - he's done it many times. All was well - got up to 21 mph with a couple of rough waves. Nothing major. Didn't feel or hear any cavitation. About 4 miles out I get an engine temp warning so I shut it down and started digging through things. Water was coming out of both ports at the normal rate, so I knew that wasn't an issue. I decided to go through start-up on each engine because it shouldn't be both. Turned out to be the starboard engine. Limped back to the dock on the Port engine (no error) - kept it under 4mph. Started checking everything I could. At the last moment I went to pull the plugs and one was completely out.

Went through start-up after recycling the battery switches and the issue was gone. So my questions are:

1. If damage was done where would I need to inspect to verify?
2. If there are issues is the connext system smart enough to see those issues? Meaning I should see new or the same warnings going forward?
3. The engines run a little rough but they've never purred like kittens even when new.
4. I'm heading down today to check the cleanout plugs to make sure that the plug isn't bad in some way and not a mistake in installation.
5. Anything else I should be checking - or should I just pull it out and take it to the dealer for an inspection?

As always thanks for anyone that responds!

Not sure where you would inspect, other than to run it and see how it acts. The connext system is simply giving warnings based on sensor inputs. if the plug wasn't the issue, then it will pop up again if whatever else you checked wasn't the resolution to the problem. It's a generic code for you, but I'm not sure if there are more specific codes tied to it that would be read by a code reader. It still may not give you specifics (just like a car that throws P-codes - it could be many things, you run down the list and troubleshoot step by step).

Now that it's sat for a bit, run it to see if it's behaving in the fashion you'd say was typical beforehand. If you're at all concerned, taking it to a dealer isn't a bad idea, but I suspect you'll find it to be back to normal, and you'll be REAAAALLLLLLLY listening for things for the next 2-3 outings just to give yourself peace of mind.

 

[Daren and Heather]

I think you’ll be fine. You heeded the warning and shut off the engine. Similar thing happened to me last weekend. Cruising around, get the warning beep, says my port engine is overheating. I shut it off, discovered that there were a lot of weeds in it, waited 20 min and the warning light went away and boats been fine ever since. Hopefully they put those warnings at a temp well below the point of actual engine damage.

 

[FSH220Now!]

What I'd like to see is an actual temp reading - I hate dummy gauges. Is there a way to add to the boat or are we sorta stuck since Yamaha doesn't do NEMA - at least not in my year boat.

Edit: I love this forum. I just did a quick look and someone has already done this and it's pretty simple.

 

[Daren and Heather]

When mine overheated I couldn’t find anything in the system to show me the temp. I’m a 2020

 

[1WetBoat]

Similar happened to me when I left my plugs out. I always go thru my checklist but this day my head was in the clouds and i left the plugs out and also forgot to take out the doohickey's I stick in the pissers to prevent insects and wasps from building nests.

I launched and had trouble backing off the trailer but thought the trailer was just higher out of the water. Finally went underway in a no wake zone and I got the dreaded overheat alarm on one engine almost right away. I shut both off, checked some stuff and then restarted and pulled back into the dock. After looking around I realized both mistakes and corrected them. No issues afterwards once I put the plugs back in.

 

[Daren and Heather]

Been there, done that too. I hate it when I forget to take the transom straps off when launching. "Why isn't the boat moving??" LOL. Whole trailer is floating. Super embarrassing, it's happened twice in 4 years to me.

I've NEVER FORGOT the drain plug though! knock on wood

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Any news? @FSH220Now!

 

[FSH220Now!]

So thanks all for the responses. As all predicted shutting down and limping back was the right option. I took it out yesterday after inspecting the engine compartment and the drive. Nothing visible. There where some grass on the grate? but nothing blocking. Up on plane, no issues. Will spend more time running thru my list and will verify the plugs myself in the future. Thanks for the support!

 

[madtom]

What I'd like to see is an actual temp reading - I hate dummy gauges. Is there a way to add to the boat or are we sorta stuck since Yamaha doesn't do NEMA - at least not in my year boat.

Edit: I love this forum. I just did a quick look and someone has already done this and it's pretty simple.

So.....same thought process..... I got tired of the check engine light without a real temperature gauge to tell me if it is a real problem.........Added real temp gauges from trailtech with inline 22mm fittings from thermostat outlet on each engine. Got tired of the weed alarm that stays on for 5 engine cycles after you clear the weeds but the pisser has water flow..... Now I will know what the actual temp is and can monitor for issues vs a check engine light that doesn't really help. Self battery powered and last for a while (3-4 years on my bike). I added 48 and 72 inch extensions and ran cables thru flexible conduit up to dash area by running on top of fuel tank beside other cables. I can see the temps rise if there is a clog and know what is a normal temp

Only made hole in dash large enough for cable fitting and then sealed hole behind gauges with RTV. Painted red on right cable ends so I would hook correct gauges up for each engine. It comes with 2 sided 3M tape for mounting.


In normal operation engines run around 50 degrees warmer than the water temp.