misfire issue, thinking of hei and ditching the thunderbolt to get 1 more season

[turbocorrado]

got an intermittent misfire issue, thats becoming more and more prevalent. no loose grounds, no wiring issues, only is happening when gassing it from forward idle, once it starts it misfires badly no matter whats going on and the boat is essentially imobile. turning the boat off and back on a few times has been clearing it up for now. new fuel pump, fuel filter, cap, rotor, wires, plugs
i already know the control module has issues as it is setting off the coolant temp alarm anytime the boat tries to get on plane (its disconnected and is fine disconnected. new sensor and wiring is fine) im tired of putting money into this boat, were getting a new one after next season, so i need a cheap fix to get me till then. all my boating buddies and myself included, think an hei distributor setup is the cheapest easiest fix for my scenario

boat info 97 wellcraft eclipse - PO sunk it twice
4.3 mercury v6 - early thunderbolt 5 setup - NO knock sensors
2bbl carb with electric choke

 

[achris]

HEI is not marine rated. I don't see a 'strip and clean carb' in the list.

Chris..

 

[Bondo]

i already know the control module has issues as it is setting off the coolant temp alarm anytime the boat tries to get on plane (its disconnected and is fine disconnected. new sensor and wiring is fine)

Ayuh,.... I don't believe the T-Bolt V has a temp sensor,....

What "Control Module" are ya talkin' 'bout,..??

 

[turbocorrado]

HEI is not marine rated. I don't see a 'strip and clean carb' in the list.

Chris..

that was done last week with no change either, carb was done 2 years ago when i bought the boat, and when i took it apart last week it was clean as a whistle

at this point im not worried about marine rated, i just need it to get through next season and then im scraping the boat

 

[turbocorrado]

Ayuh,.... I don't believe the T-Bolt V has a temp sensor,....

What "Control Module" are ya talkin' 'bout,..??

the one on the exhaust manifold/riser, from what ive read i have a weird version of thunderbolt v that was only produced for 6 months to a year. its got no knock sensors, the distributor only has 3 wires coming off of it. this is my thread from a month or 2 ago trying to figure out the temp sensor
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...andomly-going-off-trying-to-track-down-source

 

[achris]

Bondo, TB-V has an input from the overtemperature switch. It also has alarm output on it. That way it can report the self diagnostics (beeps at key ON).

Turbo. I would definitely worry about the marine rating. A few stray fuel vapors and that boat will light up like Hiroshima. At worst you'll kill people, at best you'll take out everything around you. If you like I can put you in touch with a couple of guys who did exactly what you're suggesting. They talk to people from their wheelchairs. They were lucky, survived the blast but every bone in their lower legs were smashed.

But, it is your call. Good luck (and if you use non marine fuel and electrical parts, you're going to need it).

Btw. Where do you use your boat?

Chris......

 

[turbocorrado]

Bondo, TB-V has an input from the overtemperature switch. It also has alarm output on it. That way it can report the self diagnostics (beeps at key ON).

Turbo. I would definitely worry about the marine rating. A few stray fuel vapors and that boat will light up like Hiroshima. At worst you'll kill people, at best you'll take out everything around you. If you like I can put you in touch with a couple of guys who did exactly what you're suggesting. They talk to people from their wheelchairs. They were lucky, survived the blast but every bone in their lower legs were smashed.

But, it is your call. Good luck (and if you use non marine fuel and electrical parts, you're going to need it).

Btw. Where do you use your boat?

Chris......

i just found an 04 tahoe tracker that needs a motor, same motor thats in mine. so im working on possibly getting it and putting my motor in that which would be fantastic. and id be able to sell it at a decent profit after next season when we get the new boat

im tired of dumping money into my current boat and still having it be a pos at the end of the day which is why i was looking for a cheap temporary fix

i boat in the upper chesapeake area, bohemia river, c&d canal, elk river, etc


is there a marine rated option for a similar setup that will eliminate the control module?

 

[Fishermark]

If you are determined to replace the ignition system, I would suggest going with the Delco EST system. You can get one here for around $240. That includes the complete distributor and spark plug cables.

 

[harleyman1975]

I think Achris just wants to be far enough away from ground zero if it blows!

 

[achris]

I think Achris just wants to be far enough away from ground zero if it blows!

somebody knows me well.

 

[turbocorrado]

somebody knows me well.

:lol: im not going to do anything to sacrifice safety, my wife is 7 months preggo

how do you guys feel about the pertronix flame thrower marine distributor??

the guy with the tracker tahoe isnt responding to any messages so looks like that option is out

 

[achris]

:lol: im not going to do anything to sacrifice safety, ...

....at this point im not worried about marine rated...

Conflicting posts. So, do you care about saftey or not? Safest option is to repair what you have. If you think (and have confirmed) the ignition module as faulty, then replace it. Especially if you plan to transplant that engine into another boat. If you're unsure of the module, I'm sure you're friendly enough with the local Merc dealer to have him test it for you.

Chris.......

 

[turbocorrado]

Conflicting posts. So, do you care about saftey or not? Safest option is to repair what you have. If you think (and have confirmed) the ignition module as faulty, then replace it. Especially if you plan to transplant that engine into another boat. If you're unsure of the module, I'm sure you're friendly enough with the local Merc dealer to have him test it for you.

Chris.......

i care about safety, did not realize at the beginning that the auto distributors were this much of a hazard. the plan for swapping the engine did not include the electronics, was only swapping motors and using the newer boats electronics. the module is confirmed bad, and i wont be buying another one. this boat has well surpassed what i wanted to put into it (its what i get for listening to the wife when picking the damn thing) if i can get a complete setup for $200 like the delco est then il do that, last i checked my ignition module was ~$450

 

[turbocorrado]

the boat is slowly killing its self 1 part at a time, i dont want to spend $450 on a control module because i know something will die shortly after and the process will continue, and the way this boat treats me it will probably be a distributor failure a week after i replace the control module.. weve agreed to spend around $50k on our next boat after next season, so the less i spend on this boat in the mean time the better. its been sunk twice and the list of replacement parts in the 2 years ive had it is a bit ridiculous

 

[NHGuy]

So just get the low cost Delco EST, or sure the Pertronix marine stuff is fine too. If the POS is running next season you get to sell it instead of giving it away or scrapping it. And you get to boat for this season.

 

[turbocorrado]

So just get the low cost Delco EST, or sure the Pertronix marine stuff is fine too. If the POS is running next season you get to sell it instead of giving it away or scrapping it. And you get to boat for this season.

thank you, not sure how much we'll actually be boating next year as the baby will be like 7 months old at the start of the season, so dumping extra money just doesnt seem worth it, especially with this boats track record.