Starboard engine issue

[Wiremanmike]

2006 Ar230HO. I have noticed a few small issues creeping up on the starboard engine. Couple of seasons ago no wake mode wouldnt work consistently.Switched the switches around and problem still only affected starboard engine. After winter storage problem seemed to work itself out. I have used the boat alot this season and I am noticing things a little more. The engine has always sounded a little louder than the port engine but never ran any different. The first time out this year(after changing oil and plugs) it was very difficult to start but once started it seemed to run fine. Besides the sound I have noticed that it smokes a little(hard to notice without looking intently at the water behind the boat while under way) and takes a little longer to start. This weekend the no wake mode was back to working only half the time and this morning the engine started, idled roughly, then died. I started it back up, gave it some gas and it stayed running throughout the day bit still idled a little rough. Any ideas on what may be behind this?

 

[itsdgm]

Any idea how old the fuel is? Check the spark plugs. While you're there, check the compression and replace the plugs.

Edit. Probably not the fuel if you've run several times this year. But smoke could indicate bad rings or valves possibly fouling the plugs.

 

[Port0222]

Any lights on the dash? That would trip the no wake mode from starting.

 

[Wiremanmike]

No lights on the dash. Been through several tanks of gas. I was cleaning it off tonight and also noticed this soot around the exhaust. Port side doesn't have it. I will pull the plugs and replace them again. I dont know how to check compression. What should I look for when I pull the plugs?

 

[Bruce]

Have you checked the oil level and the air filter? Excess oil in the engine could clog the air filter causing running issues. It also could cause the soot. But the soot is not unusual.

 

[Wiremanmike]

Checked the oil level before I went out and it was just above low when cold. I will check the air filter tonight. Thanks

 

[Wiremanmike]

Air filter is clean. Here is pic of spark plugs

 

[Wiremanmike]

Compression test results were
1- 158
2- 150
3-160
4- 156

 

[Wiremanmike]

Put it all back together with new plugs, started it up, it idled rough and died. Started it up again, did same thing. Third time I gave it gas once it started and then the idle jumped up to a steady 1800 for about a minute then got rough and died. Other engine idles at 1800 smoothly. Any ideas?

 

[itsdgm]

Do you have YDS software? You could run a side by side comparison between the data on the two engines.

What I would do:
Look at YDS on both engines and compare
Check voltage output with the engine running to see if it's a stator issue
Start swapping parts from one engine to the other (since it's a free way to diagnose).
1. I'd start with the coils
2. Fuel Pumps
3. ECU's
4. Rectifiers

Good luck, keep us posted.

Btw: I'm not sure what the exact compression should be, but those compression numbers seem a bit low. But that could simply be the gauge since the numbers are similar. But you could compare them to the unaffected engine just to be sure. I could be wrong about what a normal psi should be off the top of my head.

 

[buckbuck]

Watch the timing advance with the YDS and see if it fluctuates a lot at idle. It could be the throttle position sensor going bad.

 

[Wiremanmike]

I actually ordered the YDS last Monday but its not expected to be here till the 11th. Ive read you have to have a laptop running XP or older, is that true?

 

[buckbuck]

I have not had any success running on anything other than XP. However, there are guys smarter than I that have been able to get it to run in compatibility mode.

 

[Brandon_SC]

@Wiremanmike I personally installed it on Windows 10 Education version a week ago. It installed and performed with no issues.

 

[itsdgm]

I've ran it on windows 10 also