Help-advice-rough start ‘16 190 FSH

[PoppyG]

I thought I’d stop and ask the experts before going down an expensive rabbit hole. Got boat out for summer a few weeks ago and discovered I had a combo of issues. When I winterized I filled tank with fresh fuel, added Stabil marine and garaged with battery chargers. In spring, I found that my battery terminals loose and not fully charged enough for that cold start I always dread. Pulled battery and charged till chargers said it was full. It turned the mother over and ran a little rough in driveway but warmed up and seemed fine. Took it to water for a test run and was running fine till I got rpm’s up, raised bow and then plained out... and that’s when the problems started. A couple of coughs and it died. Trolling motored back to ramp and had no luck restarting.
Found some great advice here and pulled sending unit and drained gas tank once back in garage. A full tank of treated gas (pump gas with E)... the screen on the fuel pick up looked clean but I sprayed with some seafoam, wiped off, drained and let dry for 2 days in shop. Fuel looked and smelled ok that I drained. Pulled fuel line and got any fuel out with a little seafoam spray spraying back toward tank end and let dry. I wiped tank clean with towels and put 5 fresh gallons of ethanol free 92 octane back in tank to try again.
It fired right up but idled terribly. I was going to warm up and try a little seafoam in intake but it only idled roughly for about 10 minutes before dying. I’m paranoid about it dying while running on water hose so I’m nervous about trying again.

HERE IS MY QUESTION- after it died I got a voltage warning and then tach stoped in weird places when it died. It’s turning over but really fickle. Is there any chance that I still have a battery issue?? I’m pulling battery and taking for a second opinion now but my tester says 12.3V. Any suggestions before I go deeper?

Sorry such long post but hopeful the experts can advise. Also, any advice on seafoam cleaning? Any help is appreciated!

P.s. 50 hours on motor, oil changed last summer and looks good, haven’t yet pulled a spark plug, not getting any codes or warnings, I don’t fog in winterization, garaged, Hopefully I’ve given enough info.

 

[Dwrat]

time for new spark plugs and most likely a new battery.

 

[ToddW850]

Double check your battery connections. I've heard loose cable connections could cause some of these symptoms. Next I'd go with spark plugs like @Dwrat mentioned.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I bet it is simply a weak battery connection causing it to die. I also found that mine needed annual spark plug changes at the beginning of each season, otherwise it would run rough and not get full rpm. Also, I wouldn't be too paranoid about running it on the hose and having it die. The hose will not instantly start filling the engine. You have a bit of time to get to the spigot and turn off the water before the water box fills, etc..

 

[ToddW850]

@PoppyG any luck?

 

[Gym]

@PoppyG Starting your boat is the hardest chore for your battery. Before buying a new battery pop the battery out of one of your vehicles to try. I agree with a previous poster spark plugs are a good bet.

 

[Dean P]

I thought I’d stop and ask the experts before going down an expensive rabbit hole. Got boat out for summer a few weeks ago and discovered I had a combo of issues. When I winterized I filled tank with fresh fuel, added Stabil marine and garaged with battery chargers. In spring, I found that my battery terminals loose and not fully charged enough for that cold start I always dread. Pulled battery and charged till chargers said it was full. It turned the mother over and ran a little rough in driveway but warmed up and seemed fine. Took it to water for a test run and was running fine till I got rpm’s up, raised bow and then plained out... and that’s when the problems started. A couple of coughs and it died. Trolling motored back to ramp and had no luck restarting.
Found some great advice here and pulled sending unit and drained gas tank once back in garage. A full tank of treated gas (pump gas with E)... the screen on the fuel pick up looked clean but I sprayed with some seafoam, wiped off, drained and let dry for 2 days in shop. Fuel looked and smelled ok that I drained. Pulled fuel line and got any fuel out with a little seafoam spray spraying back toward tank end and let dry. I wiped tank clean with towels and put 5 fresh gallons of ethanol free 92 octane back in tank to try again.
It fired right up but idled terribly. I was going to warm up and try a little seafoam in intake but it only idled roughly for about 10 minutes before dying. I’m paranoid about it dying while running on water hose so I’m nervous about trying again.

HERE IS MY QUESTION- after it died I got a voltage warning and then tach stoped in weird places when it died. It’s turning over but really fickle. Is there any chance that I still have a battery issue?? I’m pulling battery and taking for a second opinion now but my tester says 12.3V. Any suggestions before I go deeper?

Sorry such long post but hopeful the experts can advise. Also, any advice on seafoam cleaning? Any help is appreciated!

P.s. 50 hours on motor, oil changed last summer and looks good, haven’t yet pulled a spark plug, not getting any codes or warnings, I don’t fog in winterization, garaged, Hopefully I’ve given enough info.

Do you have dual batteries? May want to consider this as a CYA thing.

 

[PoppyG]

Not good! In the pic is the #4 plug on top and #3 on bottom for comparison. Did my timing belt slip? My heart sank when I pulled that destroyed plug out.

 

[PoppyG]

@PoppyG any luck?

Only bad luck. I think my timing belt may have slipped

 

[Dwrat]

Install new plugs every year and move on.

 

[tdonoughue]

That would be very unusual in a '16. How many hours do you have on it?

At any rate, I would replace the plugs and see how she runs. If still rough, then yes, you need to look some more. If it is apparently fixed, it may have been a faulty plug that failed and the end fell off (making a mess). I can't see from the pic--is the electrode just mashed down in there, or did it come off. Worst case is if the timing is off you kill another plug almost immediately and then you know the issue.

If it came off, it is likely in the cylinder and will need to be retrieved (which means pulling the head, I think). That would be a mess.

 

[buckbuck]

I don't know guys. I think that indicates an enormous problem and I would not spin that motor at all until I am sure it was safe.
@veedubtek do you have any insight?

 

[PoppyG]

That would be very unusual in a '16. How many hours do you have on it?

At any rate, I would replace the plugs and see how she runs. If still rough, then yes, you need to look some more. If it is apparently fixed, it may have been a faulty plug that failed and the end fell off (making a mess). I can't see from the pic--is the electrode just mashed down in there, or did it come off. Worst case is if the timing is off you kill another plug almost immediately and then you know the issue.

If it came off, it is likely in the cylinder and will need to be retrieved (which means pulling the head, I think). That would be a mess.

48 hours. I’m taking into dealer Monday. I have the Yamaha extended warranty, but I’m still frustrated this happened. I’m not turning that motor again. I feel like 48 hours on a garage kept boat with some bad gas should not cause catastrophic failure. It was literally running on a shake down cruise and in my driveway. This is ridiculous if I have a catastrophic failure.
Please tell me if I’m wrong, but I’ve done everything I could to avoid having this kind of issue on a 3 year old boat with less than 50 hours. I’m really frustrated and I really need some advice on dealing with the Yamaha dealer.

Am I crazy to think this is unacceptable on a boat with under 50 hours? Should I expect Yamaha to do the right thing?

 

[tdonoughue]

No, 48 hours and a 3 year boat should not at all have these issues. Take it on in...

 

[Dwrat]

FYI, I know in my experience, spark plugs are not covered under warranty.
So you may well end up with a repair bill.

 

[swatski]

Timing chain broke?
Damn.
Those are interference engines...

The good news, if that is the case, they would likely swap the engine.
The curious thing is - what is the production day - there is a stamp in top of the block. After 6 or 7/15 prod date should have new TC.

--

 

[tdonoughue]

Didn't even think it would run if the chain broke... Plus I would expect all the plugs to be toast then, no?

At any rate, good thing you have YES, but bad thing for your boating season.

 

[Danielmailin]

This is not a broken chain, an engine cannot run without the timing chain. Broken spark plugs are usually a result of severe engine detonation or a very lean mixture that may result in piston damage.