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Electrical Problems


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2004 Wakesetter 23 LSV Hammerhead 380

Has anyone heard of, or had, any problems with the Hammerhead and electrical components. I have had 2 ECM's replaced in the last 2 weeks. The Indmar service center can find no obvious cause for the failures and they can find no grounding issues or no reasons for power surges. On both occassions the ECM flashed a "code 51" and upon further inspection there was no power to the fuel pump and I think the injector pump.

To give you all a better understanding of what has happened, here is the boat history with me.

I bought the boat in October 149hours. Put 2 hours on it then. The boat ran fine.

Into storage with winterization and a tune up at the Malibu dealer.

Out in March and dewinterized at the dealer.

I installed a Heatercraft heater.

Took the boat out in March put 2 hours on it. boat ran fine, just a little cold.(140 degrees)

I replaced the thermostat with a Mercury Marine 160.

Took it out again. ran for 1.5 hours and it missed approx. 4 times in that time and each time it missed the dash alarm beeped once. The tep gauge showed slightly above 160 all other gauges were normal. As I was idling to put it back on the trailer the rpm idled at 1000 and then kept trying to go back down to 625ish, beeping each time it went down. It then completely died.

Into the closest, Idmar recommended, service center (the Malibu dealer was hours away). They checked the codes and found a "code 51" on the ECM and no power to the fuel pump and I think the injector pump. They checked all the grounds and found no problems and nothing to indicate a power surge.

They replaced the ECM. Ran it on the trailer for 45 min. and out on a calm lake for 1 hour. Ran fine and flashed no codes.

I took it out on the lake, idled until it warmed to 160. Ran it for less than 5 min at 3000 rpm and it died. Towed in and back to the same service center.

ECM read "Code 51" and no power to the fuel pump and injector pump. They found a bad battery (putting out only 150 amps) and a loose alternator belt. No ground issues and no current spikes.

ECM replaced. They lake tested it for 3 hours on a choppy lake and it ran fine and threw no codes. Only thing mentioned was that the dash alarm beeped occassionally.

I bring it home. Run it up to temp on the driveway and within 10 minutes the idle rpm starts to fluctuate between 600 and 800 with a couple of spikes to 900. After the last spike to 900 the dash alarm beeps 4 times. I then turn the boat off, as this is what happen just before the ECM failed the first time.

So here it sit. I know this is a complicated issue and that the problem will not be diagnosed and solved here. I will be contacting Malibu on Monday and taking it to a Malibu dealership ASAP. I am just wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences or can provide any insight so that I can get this problem solved sooner.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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The ECU sets code 51 (or 52) if it detects a failure of it's internal calibration circuits, which controls fuel delivery, ignition, engine overspeed, idle speed and other values unique to your engine. If it happens twice, replaceing the ECU is the proper repair. I would try to contact Indmar instead of Malibu. They would most likely have more insight about the reasons this code is setting if the cause is external to the ECU.

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The ECU sets code 51 (or 52) if it detects a failure of it's internal calibration circuits, which controls fuel delivery, ignition, engine overspeed, idle speed and other values unique to your engine. If it happens twice, replaceing the ECU is the proper repair. I would try to contact Indmar instead of Malibu. They would most likely have more insight about the reasons this code is setting if the cause is external to the ECU.

Thanks for the explaination of what happens when a "code 51" is flashed. I do know that the service center I took the boat to was in contact a number of times with Indmar and I believe they thought the problem was solved. I was thinks about this some more today. It appears that my problems started after I changed the thermostat and the engine was running hotter. Is it possible that an increase in engine temperature could cause the ECM to think that the engine is overheating and consequently shut the engine down and then flash a "code 51"? Also, when the ECM flashes a code 51 does it erase any previous codes that may have been set just prior to that one?

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The ECU can store multable codes, up to 6 I believe. It will then start overwriting over the oldest code. High temp will not set a code just sound the alarm and reduce your RPM's down to around 2000-2500. Code are set by failures of components on the engine, and wiring problems such as shorts or opens inherent to those components wired to the ECU.

Edited by electricjohn
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The ECU can store multable codes, up to 6 I believe. It will then start overwriting over the oldest code. High temp will not set a code just sound the alarm and reduce your RPM's down to around 2000-2500. Code are set by failures of components on the engine, and wiring problems such as shorts or opens inherent to those components wired to the ECU.

So if it flashed a code before the 51, that code should still be in the ECM, as long as there were not more than 6 codes prior to the 51.

Any thoughts as to why the rpm would be constant as it was warming up and then fluctuate up and down between the 600 and 900 once it reached 160 degrees. Unfortunately I did not notice what the rpm was as it was warming up. I would assume that it was running faster than what it would be when it was at warm idle.

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Not sure if your ECM is an MEFI 4 or MEFI 5. On the 4, the ECM gets its RPM reference from the distributor. On the 5, from a crankshaft position sensor. Maybe that could be the source of your problem with the fluctuating RPM's, but it could be many other things. Remember the code 51 also takes into the formula of idle speed since your ECM controls the idle air control motor (it's not really a motor though).

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Do you have the old stat? If so, put it back in & see if you still get the same problem. There's no worries with it running a little colder than it should, at least as far as testing purposes go. I'd try that if for no other reason than to eliminate that from the equation.

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I spoke to Darren at Malibu today. He was very helpfull and was going to get in contact with Larry at Idmar and then get back to me. Darren suggested that a fault in the temperature sensor in the manifold may cause the engine rpm to spike as the motor warms up. Does anyone know what the resistance on the temperature sensor should be at 60 degrees? I tested mine and it was 4.6 ohms on the sensor with 2 wires on the top of the manifold and 1.3 ohms at the 1 wire sensor at the water pump.

I will replace the thermostat and see how the boat runs when it stays cold, just to confirm if it is a rising temperature issue or not.

It appears that I have a MEFI 4 in my boat as there are two sensors connected to the bottom of the distributor.

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Here is a quick update.

I changed the thermostat and the temputature sensor yesterday. I ran the boat for 45 min in the driveway and it ran great. While it was running we were checking the sensor wires and when the wires for the coil were moved the engine almost stalled.

Upon checking the connections we found that the brown wire was not making contact properly. Minor adjustment to the contacts and the problem was solved. The boat ran great.

Took the boat out today for a water test. Ran perfectly and idle, under power and even during acceleration. When we put the boat under a heavy load in began to miss, as if the boat was going to stall. I checked the engine and found that the coil wire that connects to the distributor was loose. I tightened it, but the engine still missed under heavy load.

I spoke to the guys at Malibu and after explaining this to them they asked if the coil on my boat had a black or shiny mounting plate. I told them a shiny one. They then idicated that this was a high output coil and that the coil, distributor and maybe the ECM would have to be replaced. They stated that this coil was the incorrect one for this engine and that they have had some problems in the past with this issue. They also indicated that this coil may be the route of all the problems. I will be in contact with Indar tomorrow to clarify this issue with them.

The engine is still running so I am hoping that I will not have to replace the ECM again.

However, I was wondering is anyone else has had or heard of the HO coil problem with the HH engines before?

Thanks in advance.

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If you are still interested, the temp sensor for the computer, the two wire one, should read about 3000 ohms at 60* and about 500 at 160*. The single wire sensor is for the dash gauge. Don't know the values for that one.

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Thanks for the numbers. When I replaced the temp sensor I tested both the new and the old one. The new one read correctly and the old one was way out. so definately a bad temp sensor.

My new coil and distributor are on order and will be here Monday. hopefully into the boat then and a lake test on tuesday without any more problems. Summer is here next week and the kids are out of school on Thursday. I don't think my wife will last very long with the kids out of school and no boat to keep them occupied........Hoping for the best.

Thanks again for your help and the info. Once again the crew has an answer. I will post how it all turns out.

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We had a similar problem with our '07 Wakesetter. It has a 340 Monsoon and when we got up above 40mph we got a "engine fault" error message. The dealer thought that it was the ECM or the injector harness had a short, but what it ended up being is the harmonic balancer was loose. No problems at all now....you might want to ask your dealer to check that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

PROBLEMS SOLVED.

Just a quick update. Had the boat out on the lake this weekend and it ran perfectly. It appears that the coil was the problem all along. It appears that the coil with the polished bracket has been a problem in some of the HH motors in the early production runs. The coil was changed later in production.

Thank you to everyone for all your help. Thumbup.gif

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