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Siezed? 1998 Chap Sig 27 7.4 EFI / Alram, turned off, then clunk then whirring.

BillyMTKA

New member
Siezed? 1998 Chap Sig 27 7.4 EFI / Alram, turned off, then clunk then whirring.
Hi All,

Was running along fine on plane (30 mph) and a constant alarm sounded prompting me to stop immediately and turn off engine. Temp was about 210. I waited for a while (10 minutes) and it started with no alarm. As soon as it went in gear the alarm went off so I shut it off again. Waited about twenty minutes and turned the key and only got a "clunk" sound. We were drifting towards shore so tried again in about another ten minutes and now there is just a "whirring" from the starter.

Can't help but expect the worst here. Siezed engine and spun something with the starter. I would think the alarm should go off before any damage would happen to the engine. Could have happened when I tried to restart I guess.

Any suggestions on the steps I should take to confirm this besides calling my mechanic? I've had this boat for 5 years and it has always been professionally maintained and have never had a problem with the engine.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 
Check all of the belts. Check the oil level. If it is normal then remove the spark plugs and see if it turns over. If water comes out of the plug holes then the engine was hydrolocked. If the oil level is higher than full or the dipstick has a milky sludge on it then water is in the block. Call your mechanic ASAP.
 
Thanks so much for the suggestions. All of the belts look good and the oil on the dip stick appears to be clear. However the engine actually does not turn over. The starter just "whines", "whirrs" almost as if it is not engaging with the flywheel. There is no click just a constant "whirr" when the key is turned. I did notice that the positive wire to the starter is kind of loose. And last week I had an issue with the solenoid on my trim down (could hear the click but had to jump from red to blue to get it to go back down).

It seems like it could be electrical but I cannot explain the high temp (running 210 as opposed to 180) or the alarm. I also cannot imagine how the 454 would sieze after running only slightly hot for no more that a few minutes or how something catastrophic could have happened to either the flywheel teeth or the starter motor as a result.

I guess it's just anxiety at this point and I'm at the mercy of my mechanic after recently having distal bicep surgery on my right arm and only having limited access to tools :(

Thanks again.
 
exactly how fast you stopped will determine if you got water up the exaust and hydrolocked, now trying to start it will break the bendix drive in the starter. pull the spark plugs first to check for any water.
 
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