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2000 Volvo Penta 5.7 GSI ECM Question

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striper26

New member
Hey fella, Im brand new to the boating world, well I have been on boats for most of my life but I have just been given a 2000 sea swirl striper with a Volvo Penta 5.7 GSI. My question or should I say first of many questions is how do you tell if the ECM is bad? part #3856916..... Im not 100% sure if it is my culprit but would like to know as I think this part is $1500..... When I turn the key to the on position i hear a small noise from the ECM area of the motor but when I turn the key to fire. nothing happens. Im wondering if its a starter? starter solenoid? or ECM? any help or info in this matter would be great... thanks dustin
 
striper26 said:
An additional question for this same motor, where is the neutral safety switch located?
Click to expand...

Neutral Safety Switch is usually located in the throttle control assembly. Typically removal of the assembly is necessary and it is a small plunger type switch. It could easily shift within the assembly and stop making contact and engine would not turn over.
 
ok, so i pulled the risers and manifolds.. they had little wear or build up inside so i cleaned and painted them. the starter was a little bit of a pain to remove but i managed. when i went to wire the starter i ran into a problem. the large wire from battery and the large wire out of the harness i hooked up to the large terminal on the starter. they have constant power. of the remaining two wires that come out of the harness one goes to something I'm unsure of on the side of the block while the remaining wire "yellow with a red strip "goes to one of 2 remaining terminals on the starter solenoid ... how ever here is my problem... i believe this wire should send power from the key... i put a test light on this wire and when the key is bumped into the start position i get no light...is my thinking correct? should this wire light up upon key activation? any info or help..
thanx dustin
 
how ever here is my problem... i believe this wire should send power from the key... i put a test light on this wire and when the key is bumped into the start position i get no light...is my thinking correct? should this wire light up upon key activation?
Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... The yellow/ red wire is the exciter wire,...

Power from the key switch goes through the neutral switch in the controller to a relay or slave solenoid at the motor, 'n from there to the starter,.....

Start at the key switch, 'n follow to power to where ever it stops,....
 
ok. so I worked my way from the key back, turns out that the neutral safety switch was not resetting itself into the correct neutral position or recess in the controller itself. The cause of this problem i believe has to do with he shift cable. The throttle cable seems to operate normally. The shift cable barely moves maybe an 1/8 of an inch tops when the control is moved back and forth.. does anyone have any pointers for repair or replacing the shift cable?
 
Dustin, first and foremost........ use the P of E (process of elimination) when trouble-shooting anything.
This means that you will be testing/checking ONE item ONLY at a time ...... and will NOT be moving on to the next item until you have either found or eliminated the previous suspect item.
Try this, and you will do much better when you trouble-shoot.

The alternative is to keep throwing parts and labor ($$$$) at the issue until you eventually and accidentally stumble on to it.



striper26 said:
ok, so i pulled the risers and manifolds.. they had little wear or build up inside so i cleaned and painted them.

the starter was a little bit of a pain to remove but i managed. when i went to wire the starter i ran into a problem.

the large wire from battery
That would be the "common" cable (larger than a wire) that comes from the rear of the MBSS (main battery selector switch).

and the large wire out of the harness i hooked up to the large terminal on the starter.
That would be your helm power circuit.

they have constant power.
Is this boat not equipped with an MBSS??
The MBSS will allow you to "select" between the two battery banks, and will also allow you to shut down all 12 vdc.
You DO NOT want to see constant power here. You will want to have a means of cutting power when you leave the boat unattended.

if the remaining two wires that come out of the harness one goes to something I'm unsure of on the side of the block while the remaining wire "yellow with a red strip "goes to one of 2 remaining terminals on the starter solenoid
The yellow/red stripe is the "S" terminal circuit. It runs from the "S" terminal of the key switch to the "S" terminal of the starter motor's solenoid.
When the key switch is turned to "start", this circuit energizes the starter motor's solenoid. (see below)

... however here is my problem... i believe this wire should send power from the key...
Yes.... when in "Start Position" it will be energized.
The power will reach the solenoid ONLY when the Neutral Safety switch is "closed".

i put a test light on this wire and when the key is bumped into the start position i get no light... is my thinking correct?
Again...... go back and check continuity at the neutral safety switch.
When the key is held in the "start" position, you will see power in at the N/S/S, and will see power out only if the N/S/S is closed.

NOTE: if you by-pass the Neutral Safety switch for testing...... make sure that this is a temporary arrangement.

should this wire light up upon key activation?
Yes...... but only when in "start" position.

any info or help..
thanx dustin
Click to expand...
 
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thanx for the info rick

yes all of the above have been done and are in tack. I replaced the starter motor because it was frozen or rusted solid. When checking the NSS that is how I found the shift cable problem not allowing the switch arm to rest in its proper position in the shift housing thus causing the starter to not get power. So in short all of the electrical side are functioning properly, key, to nss, to relay to starter.

My shift cable is not moving the shift mech in the out drive nor allowing the NSS to remain in the proper position. So I think I need to replace the cable and possible the control housing itself. But following your advise from above I will start with the shift cable to see if it will shift my drive and allow for the NSS to work correctly.

Hopefully this all makes sense, again thank you for you input
 
Your cable should be a 33C style.
At one end or the other, you will see the length code embossed into the outer jacket.
If the existing cable length is now correct, you should be able to replace it with one of the same length code.
 
striper26 said:
thanx for the info rick

yes all of the above have been done and are in tack. I replaced the starter motor because it was frozen or rusted solid. When checking the NSS that is how I found the shift cable problem not allowing the switch arm to rest in its proper position in the shift housing thus causing the starter to not get power. So in short all of the electrical side are functioning properly, key, to nss, to relay to starter.

My shift cable is not moving the shift mech in the out drive nor allowing the NSS to remain in the proper position. So I think I need to replace the cable and possible the control housing itself. But following your advise from above I will start with the shift cable to see if it will shift my drive and allow for the NSS to work correctly.

Hopefully this all makes sense, again thank you for you input
Click to expand...

Before you throw parts at this project....

FIRST... most single lever shift/throttle systems have a safety/mode control that in one position has the lever at the helm ONLY move the throttle linkage at the engine and not the shift at the drive.
In the OTHER position, the lever at the helm moves the shift cable during its first (approx) 45 degrees of movement and NOT the throttle at the engine. Further movement of the lever at the helm moves the throttle at the engine and not the shift at the drive.
If this mechanism does not work properly then ...no shift. Sometimes the innards of this mechanism fails.

Next thing to check... Dismount the shift control from the boat with the cables intact. Is the jacket of the shift cable securely clamped to the shifter housing. Since the throttle works, use that as a sample as to how the cable is to be clamped. Something a simple as a loose clamp screw will cause your problem!

You should note that due to this design, failure of movement of the shift @ the drive CANNOT be due to a bad cable if the mode control ( throttle only/throttle& shift) works AND the shift cable is properly clamped @ the shifter. A bad shift cable will most likely make it impossible to move the lever at the helm at all in the throttle&shift mode...
 
Capt, Bob, thank you for your input, all very valid, I disconnected the shift cable from the throttle housing and the mech itself almost instantly was able to shift into the proper position allowing the arm on the micro NSS to rest in its proper position. I bumped the key a voila. the starter fires as it should. I then pulled the cover off the out drive to inspect the shift linkage and cable. The cable seems to be frozen not allowing the shift control arm to move. Once I disconnected the shift cable from this end, voila the out drive was able to shift effortlessly by hand. So The cable itself is the culprit. I pulled the cable and Im not able to move it at all. Ordered a new cable part # CC17218. I was trying to upload pics that I have been taking along the way but Im having trouble. Once I receive the cable and instal Ill keep everyone posted as to my success or failure... thanks again for the input guys

Dustin
 
This site ( like most others) limits the size ( in Kbytes) of pix uploaded. Pix can most easily be resized by opening them in "paint" and resizing them by 50% and then uploading the resulting file. Every season, in the fall, while the boat is on land, I remove the back cover, shift the engine into FWD (engine OFF!!!), slip the little rubber collar off the cable jacket as far as it will go. I then clean the now extended inner shift rod ( the cable ends are rods) and the lube the rod generously with a waterproof grease. I shift from FWD to REV and then slide the rubber collar back onto the jacket. A few more shifts FWD to REV and its good to go for next spring. I usually leave the drive shifted into REV (cable retracted) for the winter. If I know I'm not going to use the boat for more than a week, I leave the drive in REV... again.. cable retracted.
 
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