Starboard Check Engine Light Troubleshooting

[Edward]

Fellow Yammie Jetboaters,

Could use a little bit of help. Last couple days, got the boat all prepped...cleaned, oil levels checked & engines confirmed running okay....my normal routine before starting a season. All signs looked good, headed to lake with crew (lake ray hubbard tx), popped in down ramp, started engines, checked pee holes...all good..lauched, docked, picked up wife/kiddos. Head out, get outside no wake, throttle up.....25 seconds later...check engine starboard with the beeping in connext.....throttle down, check pee hole which is good....check engine compartment...looks good...shut everyone down...switch off batteries....wait a minute, restart and the same. start to move a bit to see if any more symptoms pop up...none...no cavitation, nothing irregular....try to shut it all down again, start up and still the same. decide to leave engine at idle while limp back on other engine about 4k rpm and then notice no water out of pee hole...throttle down and wait about 45 seconds...still no water from starboard pee hole...shut it down completely to be safe and limp back, load up and head home.

This morning I hooked up to flush the engine, started right up and water coming from all expected holes, meaning, pee hole & t-stat hole and exhaust port. Water temp not hot on pee hole but pretty hot on t-stat..measured around 140 degrees. Went into sys screen on connext and no visible error code there or on test screen...ran same procedure on port engine and exact same results....after tests checked under starboard side impeller to see the screen where water comes in and can't really find it so a bit confused there...do I need to take anything apart to see that? All signs right now look fine...no cavitation...no overtemp...i'm stumped.

So now I'm thinking low voltage battery issue...i have not completely disconnected the batteries yet. I do trickle charge when not in use and I am still on original batteries which my boat is 2015 ar240....so...maybe sympton of batteries going? I'm going to have them tested at autozone to see how they hold a load.

Aside from that, what else should I be testing/looking at?

Thanks!

Ed

 

[MidnightRider]

All my check engine alarms have been from start and/or stopping sequences.

Start induced:
1) Hit the key before the connext has booted up fully.
2)Key slips in hand when starting so it only turns over briefly and doesn't start. Both these sequences have given me check engine alarms.

Stop induced:
Turn off the batteries too quickly after stoping the engines. I think it has something to do with the post shutdown computer communication across various systems getting interrupted.

To clear these codes I start both engines, usually the alarm resounds, then shut down both engines with the key. DO NOT turn off the batteries right away though, WAIT a minute or so, then shut both batteries down. Now wait 10-15 min before turning the batteries back on - restart the engines.

The key here is, when you are attempting to reset the codes, that you don't turn off the batteries too quickly or you may be kicking off another check engine code in the process of clearing the first one.

I will admit that some of the pieces of the causes and solutions outlined above may be red herrings but its based on my observations of 3 different times of this happening and I stick to it cause its proved successful to me on more than one occasion.

 

[W3bexec]

I will admit that some of the pieces of the causes and solutions outlined above may be red herrings but its based on my observations of 3 different times of this happening and I stick to it cause its proved successful to me on more than one occasion.

I think you are onto something here. It's like if you do anything start/stop related too fast you hit a finicky threshold of some sort. One issue that happens to me every time we go out is a check engine alarm for starboard engine communication. Usually lasts about 2 seconds after starting then goes away.

 

[Edward]

I haven't done/changed my startup/shutdown sequence at all...just disconnected the batteries and taking them in to get tested. I'm sitting at 4 years on these bats so my just buy new ones as well to completely knock out that possibility.

My startup routine is always the same at the ramp.

Arrive at ramp & park. Turn on batts. Turn on blower. Remove tie downs. Secure plugs. Secure cleanouts............x....y.....z.....back down ramp, wife to driver seat, climb into boat, turn on port...wait 5 to 10 seconds....turn on starboard....look for pee hole water.....check engine bay for water.....all good then unfasten boat, signal to wife to give final backdown/push and off to the dock.

That's the highlights but it's always the same cause it's served well.

I'll post what i find out about batteries and when i get either new or existing hooked back on and running to see if error returns.

 

[Edward]

Autozone tested both batteries......both failed their tests. Hunting for new batteries.

Any recommendations for batteries?

 

[Edward]

Bummed. New batteries installed....error again without any code. Guess at this point to the dealer I go.

 

[Edward]

Problem resolved. Talked to tech at dealer and he said they would have to clear the code if it was due to low voltage from the batteries. Took it, they hooked up the computer, cleared the codes and checked both engines running for any signs of anything from the computer and all looked good. Came home, just to be safe ran both engines on water hose to flush for 10 minutes each and no problems. Looks like weekend boating life will continue.

 

[Benno]

All my check engine alarms have been from start and/or stopping sequences.

Start induced:
1) Hit the key before the connext has booted up fully.
2)Key slips in hand when starting so it only turns over briefly and doesn't start. Both these sequences have given me check engine alarms.

Stop induced:
Turn off the batteries too quickly after stoping the engines. I think it has something to do with the post shutdown computer communication across various systems getting interrupted.

To clear these codes I start both engines, usually the alarm resounds, then shut down both engines with the key. DO NOT turn off the batteries right away though, WAIT a minute or so, then shut both batteries down. Now wait 10-15 min before turning the batteries back on - restart the engines.

The key here is, when you are attempting to reset the codes, that you don't turn off the batteries too quickly or you may be kicking off another check engine code in the process of clearing the first one.

I will admit that some of the pieces of the causes and solutions outlined above may be red herrings but its based on my observations of 3 different times of this happening and I stick to it cause its proved successful to me on more than one occasion.

Hello. I’m very new with the boats as I’ve only just purchased my first boat. on reading your post, how are you getting these codes. Please let me know. Thanks

 

[Merlion]

All my check engine alarms have been from start and/or stopping sequences.

Start induced:
1) Hit the key before the connext has booted up fully.
2)Key slips in hand when starting so it only turns over briefly and doesn't start. Both these sequences have given me check engine alarms.

Stop induced:
Turn off the batteries too quickly after stoping the engines. I think it has something to do with the post shutdown computer communication across various systems getting interrupted.

To clear these codes I start both engines, usually the alarm resounds, then shut down both engines with the key. DO NOT turn off the batteries right away though, WAIT a minute or so, then shut both batteries down. Now wait 10-15 min before turning the batteries back on - restart the engines.

The key here is, when you are attempting to reset the codes, that you don't turn off the batteries too quickly or you may be kicking off another check engine code in the process of clearing the first one.

I will admit that some of the pieces of the causes and solutions outlined above may be red herrings but its based on my observations of 3 different times of this happening and I stick to it cause its proved successful to me on more than one occasion.

Thanks for this, was having a check engine light issue that was not getting resolved no matter what I did. This sequence took care if it ?