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Motor shut down........

BigKahuna

BigKahuna

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Beautiful day on Lake Norman and my wife and I just left our slip and we decided to go north towards the state park to check out a friends million dollar rental home. Never made it. We were in the main channel and my wife was going about 30-35 and we heard an alarm beep and the motor instantly shut down. WTH?!? We weren't gone 5 minutes! Okay first thing I thought of was maybe the impeller went and the engine overheated because the water couldn't be pushed through. So we thought we'd wait a few minutes let it cool start it right up and try to make it home. Cranked but wouldn't start. Our engine has the Guardian system. It'll shut off if the water temp is too high, low oil pressure, low drive lube, and low voltage. It's to protect the engine from major damage. We were in about 80 feet of water and didn't feel like throwing the anchor and 160 feet of rope out so we just drifted a bit. 


To make a long story short we were about to call a BoatUS towboat when a deputy from the Catawba Co. water unit pulls up. He towed us to the closest public ramp and then took me back to my slip so I could get my boat trailer. When I got to the ramp he was there waiting w/my wife making sure she was okay. We'll be writing a letter of commendation to his Sherriff and probably throw a gift card or two and in there for him. Job well done! Never broke down on the water before so that was an experience for us.......


We put the boat on the trailer and took it to our mechanic. Any ideas on why it would shut down at 30-35 mph?!?!? He has an idea but he's going to give it a thorough check over.........
 
It's that gremlin from the marina that puts thoughts in your head about upgrading to that boat on the showroom floor.
 
Had a very similar issue a few years ago on a runabout with I/O.  Had to get a tow to ramp and trailer it to dealer.  Turned out to be simple -- wire plug to electric fuel pump came loose.  Hopefully yours is something simple also.
 
Don't have an I/O but engines need three things, fuel, fire and cooling water. 


No fuel, no run


no fire no run


overheated, no run


Do you have a temp guage? You would think if it overheated it would start after it cooled down unless you need a water pump. 


Assuming nothing broke-connecting rod, etc.-I'm betting fuel or ignition.
 
I think your wife sabotaged it so she could get that new Benny she has been looking at!  Or it could be the fliga ma bob.
 
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When I leave my canal sometimes i get a beep.  It's from the grass and seaweed getting into the in take.  I just take my dock brush and raise the motor to remove the junk over the in take holes.   Once that is done i start it right up and never have the problem for the rest of the day.   Hopefully yours is that easy.  
 
Hijack -


Spar-toon, can you get under the Mcgregor rd bridge with your boat?
 
Yes you can Lakeliving.   Been doing it all summer.   It's about 5' from the water to the bridge.  Just lower the bimini all the way down and you should clear by 6" - 12".   If you have tall seats you may have to tilt those back a bit but i don't have to do so.   The bridge is the exact same size as the bridge that goes from Portage to Little Portage lake. 
 
Lakeliving, that should read "Hello Jack," , not Hijack. First of all, you don't have a space between Hi and Jack, and secondly, it shows no respect to Jack by using lower case on his name. :D
 
I was just letting everyone know I was about to hijack the thread! I could have held everyone hostage but I didn't!
 
I had to mess with you a bit. ;)
 
So what's the word Big Kahuna?? Are you back up and running?? Summer is wasting away!!! Hopefully you're too busy on the water to respond!
 
adkboater said:
So what's the word Big Kahuna?? Are you back up and running?? Summer is wasting away!!! Hopefully you're too busy on the water to respond!
Click to expand...

Our boat mechanic has been getting ready for a boat show so he's been kind of busy but he did call tonight telling me that he found the cause of the abrupt shutdown of our motor...............Can you believe that this episode was caused by a bad shorted out..........."Tachometer"!!! The tach is attached to the coil. The coil sends the fire or spark to the distributor/wires/spark plugs to start the engine and keep it running. The shorted out tach prevented the coil from making a spark resulting in low or no voltage then the engine guardian system shut the engine down instantly. This explains why my wife couldn't get the engine started after we stopped.......He disconnected the tach wire from the coil and the engine started right up!


So now I'm trying to locate a matching Teleflex Bennington tachometer. Part #64971. 


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Tachometer? We don't need no stinkin' tachometer!
 
You're quick!!! Yup saw that one! Called  greatlakeskipper direct tonight but they were already closed. They also have just the tach available. I'll call them first thing tomorrow.........Thx!
 
You can't beat a good mechanic. I still remember when a local shop told me the carbs weren't "carburating" on my jet ski and wanted $750. Turns out it was the fuel pumps and I had it running in 15 minutes. 
 
Glad to hear your back on track to get on the water! Sometimes it's the strangest stuff things that stop you dead!!
 
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