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Question about 200hp

Proline22

New member
I have a 2004 BF200A. It had 42 hours on it when I purchased it in December 2009. It has about 100 hours on it now. My problem is it has begun running rough at a fast idle (trolling speed). At idle, it runs fairly smooth. At high speed it runs great with no change in performance from when I bought it.

Now for a little additional history that may or may not have any bearing on the diagnosis. During the winter after I purchased the boat and the following summer it ran great in all temperatures and conditions. At the end of that summer the boat sat for about a month and a half. Around thanksgiving I took it out and had to crank it several times before it started. When it did star, the alarm buzzer went off so I turned off the motor and restarted it, and it ran great all day with no problems. I took it out about a week later and had to crank it more than usual but when it started it ran great. I took it out just before Christmas and had to crank it numerous times before it would start... It was very cold that day. Throughout the remainder of the winter and last summer it started fine.

Again this fall the boat sat for about a month. When I took it out after thanksgiving it started ok but the alarm went off again. Turned it off and restarted and everything seemed ok. Now the last few times I have taken it out it seems to be running rougher, primarily at a fast idle. At high speed it runs great. I haven't had it out this year when it has been really cold.

Now for the questions.
1. Any idea what the alarms may have been about?
2. Any ideas what might be causing the rough running and how should I address the problem.
3. Any ideas about the hard starting when it is really cold?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Chris
 
Have you taken a look at your spark plugs? There may be a clue there. You may want to try cleaning them or use a new set and save the old ones for spares. NGK is the way to go.
These things have an assembly called a VST.

It contains a float and needle valve like a carburetor. If you put the boat away with fuel sitting in there, it might be causing you some issues. There are a couple of people here that know way more about it than me but I would say you might want to learn how to service and clean the VST and it's filters or pay to have it done.

For now though you could try draining any liquid from the VST tank and then running a "rich" dose of Sea Foam gas treatment through a few gallons of gas to see if might clean up.

Not sure about the alarm. Were there any lights associated with it when is sounded? Was it steady or "beeping"? Those are questions the other guys will ask.
 
Yes - when alarm goes of, what type alarm - short beeps, longer beeps, or continuous? And, what lights are on on your console switch. Hopefully you have a 4-light panel - green oil pressure light, red AGM (alternator) light, red overheat light, and red MIL (malfunction indicator light or ECM light). The combination of alarm type and lights will often lead you to the problem area.
 
Both times the alarm has gone off it has been a continuous beep until I turned the key off. There was no alarm after restarting. I do have the 4-light panel described, but I do not know what lit when the alarm was going off. Both times this has happened after the boat had been sitting (1 to 1.5 months) and was being started for the first time after the weather turned cold for the winter.


No, I have not changed or even looked at the spark plugs.


Chris
 
As JGMO suggested - first change the plugs.

There are three types of sounds from the buzzer/alarm:

Rapid short beeps - That signals water in your fuel-water seperator.
Longer beeps - on 1 second, off 1 second. That indicates a problem with your fuel injection or alternator.
Continuous alarm - that's low oil pressure or overheat.

To pinpoint the problem further, you need to observe which lights on your key switch panel are on and which are off when the alarm is sounding.

There is a second level of diagnostic codes you can get by shunting the red service connector under your on-board electronics cover. But let's go to that step after you change the plugs and see if the alarm comes back on. If it does, then be sure to closely observe which lights on your control panel are on, and which are off.
 
My first thought was low oil pressure and your explanation of the continuous alarm seems to agree with that. It seems plausible that it could have been low oil pressure when first started, since the oil could have drained down into the pan after sitting. Combine that with the cold day (thick oil) and it may have been slow to build pressure. I'm definately not a mechanic... does this seem logical?
 
That's logical. If it is a low oil pressure situation, the green light on your panel will not come on. However, once the oil pressure is built up, the alarm should stop and the green light should be on.

That does not explain the rough idle, however. That could be the plugs. If you are anywhere near a dealer (which you should be in Virginia Beach), then I would certainly arrange to have them hook up the HDS computer and see what error codes you are getting.
 
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