2002 Evinrude 115 Ficht E115FPLSNF - Died and will not restart

[CableGuy1978]

Hello,
I’ve been running this motor all summer with no issues. Easy starts, great acceleration, and lots of power. However I took it on a 30 mile overnight trip which she ran like a dream. It started and made 2/3 of the trip back with no issues, but then it suddenly without warning died while running on plane. Afterward it would turn over no problem but would not fire up. There were no dashboard indicators for cooling, oil, etc. My fuel tank and oil reservoir is full as well.

Just looking for sone direction on how to begin tracking down the issue. I am waiting on a diagnostic cable to arrive, and have the repair manual for it as well.

Is there anything I can check or try in the mean time while waiting for diagnostic cable?

Can I run diagnostics if the engine won’t start?

Hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.

Thanks very much!

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Hello,
I’ve been running this motor all summer with no issues. Easy starts, great acceleration, and lots of power. However I took it on a 30 mile overnight trip which she ran like a dream. It started and made 2/3 of the trip back with no issues, but then it suddenly without warning died while running on plane. Afterward it would turn over no problem but would not fire up. There were no dashboard indicators for cooling, oil, etc. My fuel tank and oil reservoir is full as well.

Just looking for sone direction on how to begin tracking down the issue. I am waiting on a diagnostic cable to arrive, and have the repair manual for it as well.

Is there anything I can check or try in the mean time while waiting for diagnostic cable?

Can I run diagnostics if the engine won’t start?

Hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.

Thanks very much!

Start by doing a compression check and then checking for spark.

My hunch is you lost spark for some reason.

 

[Crosbyman]

see your PM

 

[Crosbyman]

with key ON if fuse not blown the EMM should connect to EV diagnostics...at least you can see if any active faults are detected.

check for lights on the EMM /ECU

 

[Crosbyman]

if you get to connect to the EMM here is a typical report auto generated by the diagnostic SW I use (5.1) . the SW will autolog the injector coeficients automatically for safe keeping .

current faults will be listed as well as older stuff... some will STOP the engine until reset.

my report shows tons of code 38 NO OIL corrected by a new oil pump and SW years ago...
my 17 year old engine still runs perfectly ...no many hours of course for 17 years .

code 38s were usually cleared in the morning with a WINTERIZE to flush air bubbles which is why I logged so many winterize codes

I run xd100, EV 2+4D, Carbon Guard, EV ENGINE cleaner regularly .Engine sleeps 6 months a year at freezing temps, tank fully fulled with ethanol free gas .

should you ever need to swap in a new injector there is an excellent utube on HOW TO.....

 

[CableGuy1978]

if you get to connect to the EMM here is a typical report auto generated by the diagnostic SW I use (5.1) . the SW will autolog the injector coeficients automatically for safe keeping .

current faults will be listed as well as older stuff... some will STOP the engine until reset.

my report shows tons of code 38 NO OIL corrected by a new oil pump and SW years ago...
my 17 year old engine still runs perfectly ...no many hours of course for 17 years .

code 38s were usually cleared in the morning with a WINTERIZE to flush air bubbles which is why I logged so many winterize codes

I run xd100, EV 2+4D, Carbon Guard, EV ENGINE cleaner regularly .Engine sleeps 6 months a year at freezing temps, tank fully fulled with ethanol free gas .

should you ever need to swap in a new injector there is an excellent utube on HOW TO.....

My cable finally arrived today and I was able to get hooked up. The software generated a report which I attached here. When the software first started it popped up an error window that I had to click past which said Invalid Injector Type for cylinders 1, 3, 4.

As far as engine faults, I’m assuming those 198’s are engine hours that the fault occurred at. With current engine hours at 242, it appears those faults happened awhile ago. Not sure if I’m reading that correctly. The fuel injector error message I’m curious about.

This sort of thing is all new ground for me, so I’m very grateful for your time thus far.

Thanks again

 

[Crosbyman]

you have no current faults so don't worry to much about the past ... code 38s
were a know issue but all seems ok now.

on the ETEC owners site which will not address questions on FICHT you have great search engine to help out.

you are back to basics fuel delivery , ignition (sparks), electrical (PDP issues). Read the book on the START ASSIST CIRCUIT to understand and the start up process. section 4.19)

during cranking you should see a 40 v build up on the big fat capacitor. Injectors need it !!!
as well as ignition coils

motor needs fuel so start so check everything associated with fuel. your VST is a critical place to start looking into ( ETEC VST have small conical filters part#7 on the injector return line which some books dont show !!!) if you inspect or remove the VST use EXTREME CARE on the VST fuel barbs which can snap off ...big$$$$$ to replace

VST floats some times can get stuck and prevent fuel entry in the VST ...chek your model and inspect

the injectors need fuel so the High pressure pump must run up pressure . no faults are listed on the HP pump so hopefully it is running. just make certain it gets fuel from the VST.

make certain the VST gets fuel from the small lift pump which brings in fuel from the the tank
and check all filters incl thank pick up.

check for sparks of course. using an in line spark tester. do not test sparks in open air which can damage the EMM.

bad hoses on the injector side of the fuel filter can clog up injectors so you may want to check for real mushy hoses to see if injectors arwe spitting fuel removethe plug and properly ground it. insert a stip of paper in the cyl and try to start the engine... the strip should be wetted with fuel from the injectors ... if not well if fuel reaches the injectors they my be plugged up and need servicing . Mark their location DO NOT INTERCHANGE!!!

 

[Crosbyman]

see PDP story...of bad PDP

Re: FICHT RAM won't start (Danrude)​

The PDP is pretty easy to repair if you have decent soldering skills and some experience with soldering circuit boards. The socket for my trim tilt relay overheated causing the PDP on my 2001 Ficht 150 to go bad. I cracked it open and found the solder joint for the trim tilt socket got so hot the solder melted.
I resoldered it and added an internal jumper to take the stress off of the copper traces on the board that started to peel off the board from the heat damage. I sealed it back up with RTV and its been good for two + years.

 

[Crosbyman]

looks like 1000 rpm are needed to generate 40 volts on the capacitor

with just starting battery RPMS you probabaly wont reach 40 but you should see some upswing during cranking

 

[CableGuy1978]

looks like 1000 rpm are needed to generate 40 volts on the capacitor

with just starting battery RPMS you probabaly wont reach 40 but you should see some upswing during cranking

Thanks very much for all the info. I'm planning on getting into some trouble shooting this weekend. Hopefully I can sort out if there is a spark/fuel issue, but will let you know what I find anyway. The VST teardown seems pretty straight forward as well should I need to do that part too.

I'll likely start with a spark checker and then try your injector test with the paper.

Thank you again for helping me along so far!

 

[Crosbyman]

you can do the paper test but in essence that is a last resort to test for glogged injectors or simple lack of fuel distribution . The fuel must first reach the injectors and that....is all the result of the High pressure pump to do it's job.

check the HP pump operation first as well as the smaller lift pump as it is less likely that all injectors got plugged up at the same time.... unless the hp manifold line feeding the injectors got real mushy and disintegrated.

see video on basic injector cleaning

DIY injector cleaning?

Hi there, My E90 is running rough at lower rpm's, high rpm's running fine, so I intend to pull the injectors for cleaning. Unfortunately there are no companies known to me in Europe that do cleaning like fuelinjectorman, so I intend to do the cleaning myself. Any tips on how I get the best...

www.etecownersgroup.com

jmho...

 

[Crosbyman]

see possible conditions these are for a 75hp ETEC not FICHT but possible same issues to check ... FICHT runs at 40 volts ETEC are 55v system

 

[Crosbyman]

extra reading and info for you

Etec 150 Cyl#2

Hi Everyone, Ive owned 6 different etec and always had great performance and service. etec E150DPXISF Ser # 5273528 New / Reman Powerhead 100 hrs along with other new various parts, injectors, oil pump, flywheel, stator etc. I get a vibration at Idle, dont have full Power. Cyl No 2 is the...

www.etecownersgroup.com

see post 18 on this one ... just case your injectors are not firing

Etec 150 Cyl#2

Hi Everyone, Ive owned 6 different etec and always had great performance and service. etec E150DPXISF Ser # 5273528 New / Reman Powerhead 100 hrs along with other new various parts, injectors, oil pump, flywheel, stator etc. I get a vibration at Idle, dont have full Power. Cyl No 2 is the area...

www.etecownersgroup.com

 

[Crosbyman]

sorry missed the vst question...The VST teardown seems pretty straight forward as well should I need to do that part too ?.


Aside form a HP pump failure (thankfully you have no EMM fault codes)
the 2 mains issues with the VST imho anyway would be a water coil leak or a stuck inlet float valve stopping fuel from filling up the chamber.

the small VST cone on the HP return hose can plug thing s up to !!! the parts list does not show a cone filter on the 2002 115 hp Ficht neither did my ETEC 2005 manual but there sure was one.. I had to prove it to my mechanic

I do not know if this is a frequent issue mind you. The opposite seems more an occurance with the float letting pure fuel flowing out the vent and flooding the air inlet where only "vapours" should be.

Easy to check.... hand priming should push fuel via the lift pump then over to the VST. If pumping seems to go nowhere the inlet needle or float may be stuck. Assuming the lift pump is not causing any obstruction to fuel flow into the VST.