Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Engine Revving Normal?


Recommended Posts

All....picked up new 03 VLX last week and am getting acclimated to the difference between all my old boats (direct drives) with the V-drive VLX. So question, I notice when I put it in neutral, that for a brief moment it will rev, like maybe up to about 1100 rpm and then back down again to normal pretty quickly. So if I'm driving the boat onto the trailer, and going in and out of gear somewhat quickly, I'll get a little clunk putting it in gear if I don't have time to wait for the engine rpm to drop back down. Is this a normal characteristic of a V-drive? If not, what does it indicate, and how would I rectify it?

Secondly, what additional maintenance comes with a V-drive that I wouldn't have been doing with my direct drive?

Love the boat...drives great...great wake. Just want to make sure I understand the differences correctly.

Link to comment

The 03's had a problem with the ECM doing exactly what you are describing. Malibu warrantied the problem. Your boat must have slipped through the warranty. I would call your dealer, Malibu, and/or Indmar.

Link to comment

The 03's had a problem with the ECM doing exactly what you are describing. Malibu warrantied the problem. Your boat must have slipped through the warranty. I would call your dealer, Malibu, and/or Indmar.

Hmm...wonder if this is going to be a case of "you're not the original owner so the warranty doesn't apply" type thing. Thanks for your help. Will contact the dealer.

Link to comment

Hmm...wonder if this is going to be a case of "you're not the original owner so the warranty doesn't apply" type thing. Thanks for your help. Will contact the dealer.

No, original owner or not, it will be a case of "your warranty ran out 5 years ago". Depending on your relationship, your dealer may cut you a deal though. Good Luck.

Link to comment

No, original owner or not, it will be a case of "your warranty ran out 5 years ago". Depending on your relationship, your dealer may cut you a deal though. Good Luck.

Just got off the phone with Indmar...claim they know nothing about it, and also said due to the time, even if it was a warranty issue I'd be out of luck. O for 1 so far.

Link to comment

The issue here is called idle flare, it was added to prevent the boat from stalling out when shifting, but they overdid it as you're experiencing now.

Fix will be to have the dealer re-flash the ECM to the most current software. Should be pretty cheap to get fixed.

Link to comment

The issue here is called idle flare, it was added to prevent the boat from stalling out when shifting, but they overdid it as you're experiencing now.

Fix will be to have the dealer re-flash the ECM to the most current software. Should be pretty cheap to get fixed.

Good info...thanks!

Link to comment

The only extra maintenance you're looking at with a V-drive is changing the V-drive fluid, no biggee.

But, while you're down there, I'd check that the bolts holding the output flange on the V-drive to the drive shaft are all...

1) There

and...

2) Tight

Link to comment

Yeah...what Chris said. I had same issue w/ "idle flare". Brought boat to dealer and (in the parking lot) they hooked up a laptop and reflashed/ downloaded the latest software version for my boat. It took about 15 minutes, and solved problem.

Link to comment

The only extra maintenance you're looking at with a V-drive is changing the V-drive fluid, no biggee.

But, while you're down there, I'd check that the bolts holding the output flange on the V-drive to the drive shaft are all...

1) There

and...

2) Tight

Thanks...I noticed there is not a transmission manual on the Specs page. I'll have to see if I can find one online somewhere. Seems simple enough though! Annually change the fluid? Will probably put 100 - 150 hours on the boat in the year.

Link to comment

Yeah...what Chris said. I had same issue w/ "idle flare". Brought boat to dealer and (in the parking lot) they hooked up a laptop and reflashed/ downloaded the latest software version for my boat. It took about 15 minutes, and solved problem.

Good to know. I have contacted the dealer to arrange for this. Glad it's a simple process. Software upgrade is probably the cheapest thing you can do to a boat.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...