New Boat Owner - Check Engine light has me Paranoid!

[Jeebus]

First off, i have to say thank you to the people on this forum who post regularly and answer regularly, i have already searched and found answers to all sorts of questions i had on here when i was starting to look at these boats.

So, i purchased my first boat this spring. 2014 AR190, it is very clean with under 20 hours on it. I did not get to see it running upon purchase, due to the weather, but at the price i paid with it also having 3 years of warranty left, i just could not pass it up.

Im new to boats, but not new to power sports at all as i build custom vehicles and offroad vehicles for a living. Before my first voyage out on friday, i took my state online boaters saftey course, since i had not been on a boat since highschool, then i did the basics, i bought a new battery and installed it, checked to make sure all functions worked properly, and everything held water, motor started right up and i ran it around the lake somewhat cautiously for a couple hours great, i got some wide open throttle time in and i also got some dock practice in, which is what i really needed. I did receive a speed communication error several times, but actually checked this site while on the water that day, and saw the paddle wheel to check and indeed mine is a bit sloppy, so i chalked it up to that, and ordered the parts to fix it.

I decided that since all went well friday, that i would go out saturday with my wife now that i was a bit more comfortable on it. Get out and everything went fine for the first while, we make our way around the lake checking out the scenery, we stop for a while to fish and eat some lunch, and after an hour of sitting or so, we fire the engine back on to try a new spot, and about 5min into the trip we get a check engine light and beeping.... no engine power loss at all, and everything else works fine. so i dismiss it, and it has the flashing AL in the corner of the gauge still. We shut the boat down, and fire it back up, and the check engine light and AL are gone, so we procede to ride again, and about 5 min again, the check engine light comes on again.... this happens the rest of the day, it does not go away for any sustained period of time. I tried checking for weeds in the intake area through the cleanout hole, and didnt really get anything.

So, we decide to leave the lake after another couple hours of just hanging out. when i pull the boat, i can visibly see weeds on the bottom side of the boat... not a lot of them, but there there.....

Is that what was causing my Check Engine light? or is there something else i should be looking at? i checked my manual, and it just says to check engine. I have the warranty on this boat, but honestly, its a 3 hour drive each way to a servicing dealer, and i want to avoid taking it down there until possibly the end of the year. is there any way to see if there is a trouble code of sorts being triggered with this check engine light?

Thanks for the help! and sorry for the novel!

 

[haknslash]

Sounds like you maybe had some weeds possibly blocking the cooling system intake screen which is just past the impeller. You cannot get access to this area from the cleanout port. If you look at the pump from the rear you will see a small white plastic piece that has a bunch of holes in it. That is what feeds the cooling for the engine since it is high thrust past the impeller. Anything that blocks that area will block or slow cooling flow and you will often get an over temp alarm. Did you happen to notice if it said engine over temp on the display? Since you said you saw weeds hanging down its possible some clumped up in the pump cover the cooling intake and filter.

YDIS software and cable will read codes http://www.brpdiagnostics.com/yamahaydspwcdiagnostic/

 

[captras]

Go to this site

At about the 6 minute mark it talks about this screen/filter and how to clean it.

 

[Jeebus]

Sorry guys, I should have been more clear about this part. It was only the check engine light that came on repeatedly, at no time did the engine over temp warning flash, and I always had a solid good stream of water out the side of the boat. And there is was never a loss in power at any time, if I didn't hear the warning buzzer thing, I may not have even noticed the check engine dash warning while cruising.

Another question that I'm kind of curious to.... what should the voltage read on my dash while the boat is running? I'm used to 12v systems with alternators showing over 14v while running. Mine stayed steady at 12.3 to 12.4 volts while running.

And about the weeds... the amount of weeds was very very small. It was less then 5-6 individual tines. And they we're hanging in the water intake area once I pulled the boat.

Thanks again for the help and info!

 

[haknslash]

Should be seeing 14.x volts while running and 12.x or so with engine off. Since you said this is a new battery did you double check after the alarm to see if any of the battery connections came loose? These boats are finicky with voltage and showing 12.x while running seems low to me and a likely place to look into.

 

[Jeebus]

Yea, I'm gonna walk down this road first, since it's the most comfortable for me. I'm gonna pull the battery and throw a good charge on it, then check the output at the stator.

 

[Jeebus]

Okay.... so i think i got somewhere on this, or at least know im in the right area of concern.

I was talking about the trip we took on the water saturday, with my wife, VS the trip i took by myself the day before, and what differences there were.... While both times, i do recall seeing roughly 12.x volts on the dash while the boat was running...... the only difference between the days trips, were that on saturday, with my wife, we had the radio on... and the warning started after the first time i turned that on, and left it on for the day while fishing.

So, with that said.... would low, say 12.x voltage cause the check engine to sound? or would it sound the batt voltage warning only?

I have my battery out right now, and putting a good charge on it and im going to start it up here in a bit and see if my voltage still stays 12.x volts while running this time.

 

[Jeebus]

Well, I charged my battery long and good today. And still while running, I only have 12.x volts on the dash.

Is it safe to say I have a charging system issue?

Any recommendations?

 

[haknslash]

You should see anywhere from 13.x-14.x volts when the motor is running. That means your stator is working. Sounds like you have a charging issue and could be related to your check engine light I suspect.

 

[Jeebus]

Well, shoot.

Any place i can find a good service manual for a 2014 AR190? Not even sure if a stator install is something i would want to tackle myself really, but i just had to be down for a few weeks at the dealer, and have the long trip ontop of that.

 

[haknslash]

Sent you a message

 

[Irvs]

Sent you a message

Can you send me that info too? I'm running into the same issue. Played the stereo too long that my voltage dropped to 12.2vdc where it remained the whole time while returning to the dock. Got engine check lights....twice.

 

[Ilmmct]

@captras gread video. I am been a consumer/subscriber of your YouTube contributions for a while ... good to put a JB username to your much appreciated content!

 

[haknslash]

@captras gread video. I am been a consumer/subscriber of your YouTube contributions for a while ... good to put a JB username to your much appreciated content!

Captras isn't Rob . That would be @wallacerb

 

[Ilmmct]

Oops thanks for clarifying ... thanks @wallacerb !

 

[wallacerb]

Anytime bro, if you have any issues let me know....

 

[Jeebus]

So i wanted to update this post with what has happened since i made this post 2 months ago...

After some basic trouble shooting, i figured it was time to get the dealer involved, since i have 3 more years of warranty left. I dropped it off and told them about my speed communication error, and about my issue with the battery not charging at all.

They said it would be a 2 week wait before they could look at it. So, at the 3 week mark, i called in to get an update, and they said they fixed the speed communication error, but the charging issue was a very very big problem that involved removing the motor, and replacing the stator, and wiring harnesses and computers.... and they were awaiting a approval from yamaha. Week after week after week goes by and they still tell me there waiting for yamaha approval for the warranty claim... more weeks, more weeks, then the 4th of july weekend comes and goes and they still dont have an answer from yamaha.

So here I am, with a 2 year old yamaha AR190, that will not be used at all this year because im still just waiting for yamaha approval on the warranty claim.... i will pretty much waste a year of my warranty sitting at the dealer its looking like. Even after the warranty is approved, the shop is telling me its 2-3 week job to complete.

Pretty dissappointed at this point in my ownership.

 

[haknslash]

Sorry to hear that Jeebus. Have you tried contacting Mother Yamaha or YES warranty directly?

 

[Jeebus]

I actually called Yamaha friday. Waited through their grueling hold process, explaining my question/concern to several customer support people, all which transferred me to a new person who could better assist me... then finally i get transferred to what im told is a Warranty Claim support agent, thinking I might actually get somewhere.... and it goes to voice mail, and i did not get a return call back.

 

[Eric Ballard]

I know you are no where near me, but try calling Chatlee Marine Monday and asking for the General Manager, I forget his name. He is really nice and helped me recently with getting a new engine from Yamaha. He has a direct contact he can call and get some info for you I bet. He never game me the contact name, but was always willing to call 'his guy' and get me info. 919.775.7259 http://www.chatleeboats.com

I dont know for sure the Yamaha guys knows anything about the warranty stuff, but it may be a good place to try.