Check Engine Warning

[corpusmalibuguy]

Hey guys,

I am new to the forum, but just recently purchased a malibu VRIDe. Anyway, to make a long story short, I recently had the 50 hour checkup done, and the next day I dropped it in the water, and after about three hours of wakeboarding, I was cruising over to grab some lunch when my engine began to sputter, and my check engine warning came on. I shut it down and could not get it started again. I had someone tow me to a dock, and after sitting for awhile it started. I limped it back to the boat ramp and it seemed fine at low rpm's, but as soon as I give it any significant throttle it does the same thing. I got it off the water, and with a hose hooked up to it I started it a couple of times and let it run for a few minutes. No warning. Next day I go to try it again, and now the check engine warning comes on everytime I start it up. I have checked the fuel filter and all my connections. Then I thought perhaps bad fuel....I even thought that maybe the water intake was clogged due to alot of grass in the water, but that seems to be clear. I was just wondering if there were any suggestions. I would like to check the tranny cooler screen, but have no idea where it is or how to check it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Chaabo]

Bring her back to the dealer!

[Chaabo]

Oh, and: Welcome to the site!!

[corpusmalibuguy]

The only problem being that the dealer is in austin. I am in corpus. I was just wondering if there were any quick fixes that I hadn't thought of that would save me a trip.

[JohnDoe]

can you describe the check engine warning you're getting? Do you mean the auditory alarm, the Vdrive oil pressure indicator which lights up red, or neither?

Most importantly, what do your gauges read? What is out of the ordinary?

[JohnDoe]

I'm guessing that you're overheating which will allow the engine to run, but not very well as it shust down 4 cylinders. Follow the path of water through your engine and check each connection for leaks, blockages, etc. Check the clamshell underneath for something weird, and the impeller as a last resort.

[corpusmalibuguy]

I thought the same thing, but the only thing I am getting is the lcd 'check engine' warning on my dash. All gauges are 'in the green'. VDRive light is not coming on. Temperature is ok. Oil pressure seems a tad bit higher than usual but nothing significant.

[HoustonPerson]

corpusmalibuguy

Check and double check everything you can.

1. Fan belt, look for burnt rubber from the belt on the pulleys and parts on the front of the engine.

2. Do you have "flush pro" or "fake a lake" or other method to run for 15 min at 2,000 rpm? To confirm all gauges are stable? (pull out that silver button by the throttle so the prop does not spin). The engine temp should be "pegged' at about 160 degrees. When you do run the water in the engine do so a full speed (the water at full speed - NOT the engine).

3. Check the oil level 1. Engine, 2. Tranny, and the 3. V Drive...............the V drive light under the throttle should be on, at idle, in the driveway test, it should only go out when under way on the water..................if it is out all the time, it is disconnected at the back of the little red bulb, take out the two screws by the bulb and re-attach the two wires.

It does sound like your computer is going into protection mode to protect it from over heating..............you should be looking for the gauge going "high" when it begins to "sputter" AND maybe a lot of smoke or lots of steam coming out of the exhaust.

Edited July 4, 2005 by HoustonPerson

[HoustonPerson]

additional note on the fan belt,,,,,,,,,,,it has to be super tight. At higher RPMs there is a lot of pressure on the the water pump, and if the belt is not tight enough they will and can slip (so that the water pump is not turning fast enough), which is a common cause of overheating.

Edited July 4, 2005 by HoustonPerson

[Ronnie]

It sounds like you have set a "Code" in the computer and you will need to have it cleared if you are not having any problems with it now. If your still having the problem with it running correctly, head up I-35 and get it checked out. There are a lot of things that can make it run like that, fuel problems, spark problems, sensor problems etc. I would think if I was your dealer and I thought that you kept trying to get it to run right after the check engine light came on knowing the engine was not right and destroyed the motor, it would be hard to get it replaced under warranty.

I don't understand why there is not a dealer in San Antonio, too close to Austin?

You might ask your dealer if there is a certified Indmar Tech in your area. There are a ton of boats in your area surely there is one somewhere close.

[corpusmalibuguy]

Thanks for all of the replies. Update....took the boat to CTWS in Austin, and the verdict is a faulty computer reading. I am trying to get them to overnight the new computer that is needed so that I can have the boat this weekend. I have already lost 4 weekends of wakeboarding due to problems with the boat and I have only had it 3 months. I don't think that is too much to ask. do you? We'll see what happens.

[Peacock]

Thanks for all of the replies.  Update....took the boat to CTWS in Austin, and the verdict is a faulty computer reading.  I am trying to get them to overnight the new computer that is needed so that I can have the boat this weekend.  I have already lost 4 weekends of wakeboarding due to problems with the boat and I have only had it 3 months.  I don't think that is too much to ask.  do you?  We'll see what happens.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, sh***t happens. I'm sure your dealer will help get you on the water as soon as possible. I've had a few issues and found the dealer to be more than willing to help in any way. Let us know how is goes! (belated welcome to site)

[Web]

Just curious...did you notice the tach at all? Was was it bouncing a couple hunderd rpm of real or did it look normal and stable.?

[Boomer]

Corpusguy, welcome to the site. I would bet that once you get this fixed, you'll (hopefully) be fine from then on. These boats are very reliable, but nothing is 100%, thinks do happen from time to time.

Kind of a pain for you to drive so far, but hey, that's the price for living down on the coast, so don't complain.

Where do you guys ride down there? I'm from the Victoria area, and we used to go down to the beach (Port-A mainly) all the time.

[corpusmalibuguy]

Ok, update number two....and again, thanks to everyone for their input, I appreciate all the help. I took the boat into the shop, and they said they were getting a low voltage reading somewhere. They ran a whole bunch of tests and determined that the ecm was bad. After replacing the ecm, I dropped it in the lake the day I got it back...first startup.....check engine warning(all gauges normal). Warning goes out, and does not come back on. We were able to wakeboard successfully without the warning for about three hours. Next day I take the boat out to the lake again....as soon as i drop it in the water, i notice that the engine seems like it is misfiring. The boat just seemed sluggish. Anyway, I had no check engine warning, so we wakeboarded for about 40 minutes. On about the 8th pass I push up the throttle to get my rider out of the water, and my rpm's drop down into what seems to me is this protection mode that I am becoming so familiar with, and my check engine warning comes on. Now the warning won't go out and I have to limp back to the boat ramp and put it up on the trailer. I checked every single electrical connection for corrosion along with every single spark plug. All oil levels are good. Done for the day. Needless to say, now I have to drive back up to Austin for the second time in a week and put it back in the shop. So lets recount;

three months of ownership........

speedometer inop from day one

ballast tank elbow fitting breaks in half filling my bilge with water

perfect pass servo motor replacement

alternator rebuild(that malibu still has not reimbursed me for after over a month)

starter replacement(good catch by the mechanic at CTWS while working on ecm)

check engine warning that won't go away

ecm replacement

5 weekends of no wakeboarding out of 12 that I have owned this boat.

Sorry, but I am a little frustrated this morning. Nothing that a drive to Austin can't fix though.

[corpusmalibuguy]

Boomer,

Sorry I forgot.....I spend about half of my time at Lake Mathis, and half down in the ski basin in the intracoastal. Not so sure I am going to be dropping it in the ski basin anymore though. that salt is pretty tough. I also spend a fair amount of time up at lake austin as well. especially now that i am up there all the time.

[WakeGirl]

I didn't see it mentioned, out of curiosity what engine are we talking about here?

[corpusmalibuguy]

05 VDrive, so the indmar engine....basically a chevy 350.

And to respond to Web's reply, the tach seemed to be solid the entire time. The only time it fluxed was on my way back in to the boat ramp it seemed to go in and out of the protection mode a couple of times and the rpm surged up and then back down to 2000 rpm. I wouldn't really call it a flux though. It was a definite surge of about 1000 rpm or so.

[Web]

Your symptoms are sounding slightly similar to a nag of a problem I had last summer. Kept me outta the water a lot. With mine, I would notice the tach bouncing around but the actual RPM was not. Then finally the boat sputtered and felt like limp mode, but it was not with mine. The fix was a new IC module. But it did not last. After the fix, the same problem came back after about 5 hrs of use on the motor.

I wont bore you with the whole mess, but the final fix was replacing the ECM, IC module and the distributor all the the same time. And per Indmar that was key to the fix, all three components replaced at the same time. My prob does not sound exact to yours but very similar. Have your dealer get with Indmar and the factory to sort this out. That might be your fix.

[corpusmalibuguy]

Just to give everyone a final update. I just got my boat back from the dealer. I now have a brand new engine in my three month old boat. The dealer could not figure out what the problem was, so he talked to malibu and indmar and all three were stumped. They were getting a code that led them to believe that two of the fuel injectors on one side were not working, and one on the other side was not working as well. Indmar said this was impossible due to the way it is hard wired. To make a long story short, indmar said that the only other option was to replace the entire engine, so they did. For all those in central texas area that take their boats to Central Texas Watersports, they did a fantastic job getting the problem solved and done so in a timely manner. Highly recommend their maintenance department, especially Kenny(the service manager). They let me borrow a used wakesetter for the weekend that I was up there so that I would at least have a boat to use, and made sure everything was shipped ASAP to expedite the process. Also, I can't say enough about Indmar and Malibu for standing behind their products. Anyway, I got a boat that runs like the day I bought it.....finally.

[Ronnie]

That's great to hear, glad CTWS stood up for you. Now go play.

[Malibudude]

Definately good news!!

[Web]

Sounds like your dealer really took care business. And letting you borrow a boat on top of that. Thats coool.

[HoustonPerson]

Hey that is great service! Glad it is resolved. Boats are very funny animals, it is strange how things will just not work at times - and no one can figure out why. Fortunately, the dealer will solve the problem and that is good. Good luck with the new boat.