Santiago - 11-3-2018 at 04:42 PM
2005 50 HP Etec
Last trip the engine started normally but the tach (Faria system check) needle wildly swung around and the lights would flicker. At full throttle
engine ran normally and the tach would move to clearly wrong positions; trolled for an hour and pulled into a shallow cove for lunch, turned the
engine off. 30 minutes later it would not crank and the tilt/trim would not work; all accessories worked.
We were in 2' of water so I jumped in and walked around to the motor; the trim switch on the motor would not work. I wiggled the cables/wiring and
the trim switch work. Motor started and we hightailed it back to the ramp - the tach was not working at all, sat on zero.
Next day the motor would not crank and tilt was dead, accessories working. Had power to the negative side of the starter and the positive side of the
relay where the battery cables are attached.
I decided to check the fuse and the fuse holder seemed a little loose, not really connected tightly where it snaps to the side of the plastic cover of
the flywheel. When I turned the holder to the side so I could pull the fuse, the fuse fell out of it's own weight. I retrieved the fuse and it was
good, put it back it and everything worked fine. Unclipped the fuse holder, turned it upside down and gave it a few hard shakes - fuse staid in, did
not shake out. Ran the boat all over the lake and tach was normal, motor fine.
How or why would a fuse work its way out of the holder and would a barely-in fuse cause the tach to wildly swing around the light to flicker?
I've posted this on an E-tec board, monitored by mechanics, as it may be something unique to this engine. The fuse is a 10amp blade type, not in-line
glass.
caj13 - 11-3-2018 at 08:50 PM
vibration is my best guess. remember those old electric football games in the 6os that moved guys by vibrating the playing field.
possible the fuse wasnt originally fully inserted. yeah the fuse vibrating in the holder, as the ends of the blades worked their way out were
causing rapid "on off" of current flow
[Edited on 11-4-2018 by caj13]
woody with a view - 11-4-2018 at 07:04 AM
Wouldnt you see signs of arcing if it was that loose? Ive heard similar gremlin type stories that turned out to be a bad ground. Check them all.
Edit: spell check
[Edited on 11-4-2018 by woody with a view]
ncampion - 11-4-2018 at 02:23 PM
Do you have a wiring diagram? What does that fuse protect? May be unrelated, but possible vibration caused it to disengage or become intermittent.
Unlikely that it would cause everything except acc. to go dead. I agree with woody, first check all battery wiring including grounds. E-techs are
highly electronic, hope you can find the problem. It's usually something simple (hopefully).