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!

2007 VLX Misfire issues


Recommended Posts

Hello all, 

I have a 2007 VLX that has been giving me hell! Two weeks after purchase I had misfire issues which turned out to be a clogged fuel filter and tons of trash in the tank. After a full tank, fuel pump and new fuel filter I was back up and running strong to 50plus hours. I let the boat sit for maybe 5-6weeks (I made the mistake of using 87 ethanol fuel during this time) and took it out for labor weekend. 

The misfire returned on cylinder 5, 10 seconds after throttling up, thus putting it into limp mode with a 2800 RPM max. I checked fuel filter, it was clean. I assumed it was dead gas due to the ethanol and 6 week exposure. I added 3 cans of Seam Foam and 3 cans octane booster to a full tank. It temporarily fixed it. I could go an hour or so before a misfire detection. Turn the key off once misfire was detected and I could go for another hour. Burned the fuel down to 1/12th tank and put it up for two weeks thinking the problem was gone with the fuel.....

Two weeks later I fill the boat up with fresh gas and put it back in the water. Same thing occurs this time but on cylinder 6. Same limp mode status and such. Now I think I must have had water in the last little bit of fuel. So I drain 45 gallons of gas out the best I could without pulling the fuel pump and add 10 gallons of ethanol free 89. Take the boat back out for a quick test and now my misfire's have moved to cylinder 7. 

Final straw, I pull the fuel pump, drain the fuel, found a little trash in the tank so I spit shine the tank and then clean it out with denatured alcohol. Clean all the gas lines, clean the fuel pump, clean the cap and rotor. Put the boat back in the water, let the boat warm up and within 10 seconds of throttling it up......MISFIRE!!! Only this time it sounds a little worse. Get the boat back to the dock. Turn it off, start it back up and a huge puff of white smoke out of the exhaust and what appears to be a 10ft wide sheen of gas on the water. Quickly turn the boat off in sweats thinking the head gasket let loose. Crank it up once more and a puff of white smoke appears and gas bubbles up to the top in another 10ft wide area. I'm going to do a compression test next and new plugs & wires. 

 

Anyone have any input as to what could be wrong? Sensors to check, ECU issues, blown motor? I have no clue besides taking it to a mechanic. 

 

Thanks 

 

Link to comment
On October 9, 2016 at 0:33 PM, skurfer said:

Change the cap and rotor first they are notorious for going bad.... Need to know what codes it is throwing.

Misfire codes were Misfire detected on 5,6,7. All at different times, never more than one cylinder at a time. 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, racer808 said:

Sounds like a new cap, rotor & plugs should get you back up & running 

I'm going to try that first. Just a little suspect due to the amount of fuel coming out of the exhaust. 

Link to comment
32 minutes ago, Blyon70 said:

I'm going to try that first. Just a little suspect due to the amount of fuel coming out of the exhaust. 

If your cylinders are not firing correctly it can't burn off the fuel.  When you check your oil do you smell fuel on it?  Your symptoms are exactly what our nissan was doing, cyllinders were misfiring & it was just bad coils

Edited by racer808
Link to comment

Sounds like Bakes is the best place to purchase this stuff from. Should I replace the plug wires while I'm at it? Anything else to replace or check with a typical tune up? 

Link to comment

Authentic Indmar parts are the best. Don't know the condition of your plug wires but do them to be safe. We have had brand new boats with bad HVS caps....

Edited by skurfer
Link to comment
  • 5 weeks later...

Update:

Changed the cap and rotor and installed new plugs. Cranked the boat on land. Sounded like it was running fine at idle and zero white smoke is coming out of the exhaust. I examined the water coming from the exhaust and it had a little gas sheen in it as well as the water on the pavement. I then proceeded to run the boat at 2000 rpm. Take another look at the exhaust and white smoke or steam (no milky oil) , I can't tell, is billowing out of the exhaust. I then quickly bring the boat back to idle. At idle there is still white smoke coming from the exhaust. Below is a link to a video.   

What is the issue? I'm done messing with it myself. 

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3uHCIjWbbdOYnpuVDE0aUVHRGc

Edited by Blyon70
video link
Link to comment
59 minutes ago, Blyon70 said:

Oil looks fine. No milky looking oil. 

Sounded good in the video, are there any concerns other than the white smoke?

have you checked the fuel pressure with a gauge ?

Link to comment
5 hours ago, Blyon70 said:

Update:

Changed the cap and rotor and installed new plugs. Cranked the boat on land. Sounded like it was running fine at idle and zero white smoke is coming out of the exhaust. I examined the water coming from the exhaust and it had a little gas sheen in it as well as the water on the pavement. I then proceeded to run the boat at 2000 rpm. Take another look at the exhaust and white smoke or steam (no milky oil) , I can't tell, is billowing out of the exhaust. I then quickly bring the boat back to idle. At idle there is still white smoke coming from the exhaust. Below is a link to a video.   

What is the issue? I'm done messing with it myself. 

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3uHCIjWbbdOYnpuVDE0aUVHRGc

White smoke (steam) coming out of the exhaust is perfectly normal and expected.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 2 months later...

Update: Changed the cap & rotor, plugs & wires and changed the pcv valve. Boat had fresh gas in it, previously cleaned the pump and gas tank and has a new fuel filter in it. 

Took it out the other day and the ecu still detects a cylinder 7 misfire and places the boat into limp mode. It has the slight feeling of a misfire but I'm not 100% sure. The cylinder definitely isn't dead, otherwise I feel like the entire boat would be shaking.  I've done a hot and cold compression test on cylinder 7, still 180 PSI.
 

Any additional ideas before I spend hundreds of dollars at a mechanic? 

Link to comment

Misfire codes are caused by the crank position sensor relaying a velocity change in rpm to the ecm.  Things that can cause this are issues with: compression (cylinder or valve issues), ignition (spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor), ignition timing (or cam angle), injectors (stuck open or closed), fuel pressure, or drive train vibration (prop, shaft, alignment, or even loose Sea pump or bracket).  Some 06-07 models have issues with incorrect has cam angle.  It should be 705 deg (plus or minus 5 deg) at 1200 rpm.  Misfires are hard on the exhaust catalyst, you may want to check if they are still intact.  06-07 did not have any post cat sensors, so the ecm has no way to tell if the cats are working.  Misfires can be hard to find without a very methodical approach, good troubleshooting technique and the right test equipment.  Sometimes it's worth it to have a professional look at it.  Are there any indmar dealers in your area with a good reputation?

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
On February 6, 2017 at 11:18 AM, csleaver said:

Misfire codes are caused by the crank position sensor relaying a velocity change in rpm to the ecm.  Things that can cause this are issues with: compression (cylinder or valve issues), ignition (spark plugs, wires, cap, rotor), ignition timing (or cam angle), injectors (stuck open or closed), fuel pressure, or drive train vibration (prop, shaft, alignment, or even loose Sea pump or bracket).  Some 06-07 models have issues with incorrect has cam angle.  It should be 705 deg (plus or minus 5 deg) at 1200 rpm.  Misfires are hard on the exhaust catalyst, you may want to check if they are still intact.  06-07 did not have any post cat sensors, so the ecm has no way to tell if the cats are working.  Misfires can be hard to find without a very methodical approach, good troubleshooting technique and the right test equipment.  Sometimes it's worth it to have a professional look at it.  Are there any indmar dealers in your area with a good reputation?

I appreciate the information. I pulled the fuel rails and injectors today. They were dirty. Taking it for test run tomorrow to see if the problem is solved. 

How would I adjust or check the cam angle??

Link to comment

Update:

After pulling the rails and injectors and cleaning them, the cylinder 7 misfire code, SPN 65597 CM 0, is still present. I conducting a resistance test on all the injectors. They were all even around 12.2 ohms. However, the injector on cylinder 7 isn't pinging like the other injectors. I can hear and feel the other injectors working. This leads me to think it isn't getting the firing signal from the power side. Any ideas what this could be or how to fix it? 

Also, the spark plug on 7 still looks new. 

Brandon 

Edited by Blyon70
Link to comment
14 hours ago, Blyon70 said:

Update:

After pulling the rails and injectors and cleaning them, the cylinder 7 misfire code, SPN 65597 CM 0, is still present. I conducting a resistance test on all the injectors. They were all even around 12.2 ohms. However, the injector on cylinder 7 isn't pinging like the other injectors. I can hear and feel the other injectors working. This leads me to think it isn't getting the firing signal from the power side. Any ideas what this could be or how to fix it? 

Also, the spark plug on 7 still looks new. 

Brandon 

Have you tried swapping injectors between #7 an another cylinder to see if the problem follows the injector or stays with #7?

  • Like 2
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...