Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

[Joeynk]

I am new to this forum and I would like to thank everyong in advance for their assistance. I have a 2008 Four Winns Horizon 203 with a Volve 5.0 GXI engine. Yesterday, while boating, we were cruising at about 3200 RPMs when the engine just stopped. When I turned the key, the ignition seemed to be dead and the engine would not crank. I checked all the fuses and jiggled the wires, checked the battery connections and nothing changed. I did have power to the blower, bilge, Nav lights, etc but did not seem to have power to the gauges as the tach was stuck at 3000 RMPs (usually goes to zero when the boat is off). After about 15-20 minutes, I turned the key and the engine started and everything seemed to be working fine.

This same series of events happened two additional times while heading back to the marina after cruising for about 10 to 15 minutes. Each time, checked fuses and jiggled wires, then after may tries of turning the key, the engine started.

In the dock, had power to ignition and everything seems fine but do not want to get stuck on the lake again. Seems to be an intermittent issue after running the boat for a short period.

Any suggestions or common experiences?

Thanks.

Joey

 

[Don S]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

What's your full model number of your engine? The letter/s after the 5.0GXi ?

Did the trim/tilt work?
Did you check the fuses with a meter or test light or just look at them.
Are all the cables on the batteries clean and tight with a wrench? No wing nuts. This includes the ground cables.
Did you check the connection where the cables attach to the starter solenoid?

 

[NoExcuses]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

I something similar happen last year while cruising along the motor would just cut out, later in the day the boat would start again. There is a service bulletin from Volvo for GXi engines that says the fuse/relay box can go bad due to vibration. I swapped my boxes from one engine to other and the seemed to fix the problem so I went ahead and ordered two new boxes with the vibration isolators. I haven't any problems this year. But I wouldn't want to start dropping $200 on new boxes until you figured out the fault. Service bulletin is below.

http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/V... V01 Fuse Relay box replaced.pdf

 

[Joeynk]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

I something similar happen last year while cruising along the motor would just cut out, later in the day the boat would start again. There is a service bulletin from Volvo for GXi engines that says the fuse/relay box can go bad due to vibration. I swapped my boxes from one engine to other and the seemed to fix the problem so I went ahead and ordered two new boxes with the vibration isolators. I haven't any problems this year. But I wouldn't want to start dropping $200 on new boxes until you figured out the fault. Service bulletin is below.

http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/V... V01 Fuse Relay box replaced.pdf

Thanks for the service bulletin.

When your engine cut out, were you able to crank the engine or did nothing happen when you turned the key?

 

[Joeynk]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

What's your full model number of your engine? The letter/s after the 5.0GXi ?

Did the trim/tilt work?
Did you check the fuses with a meter or test light or just look at them.
Are all the cables on the batteries clean and tight with a wrench? No wing nuts. This includes the ground cables.
Did you check the connection where the cables attach to the starter solenoid?

Hi Don:

Engine - 5.0GXi/SX
From Memory - the trim did work
Just checked fuses by looking at them
Battery cables wrench tight
Did not check solenoid connection (not sure where this is located)

Thanks.

 

[Joeynk]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

Thanks for the service bulletin.

When your engine cut out, were you able to crank the engine or did nothing happen when you turned the key?

I checked the Model number on my engine and it is 3869399 which is outside the models on the service bulletin. Could it possible be a bad relay? How do I check the relays?
Thanks.
Joey

 

[NoExcuses]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

Thanks for the service bulletin.

When your engine cut out, were you able to crank the engine or did nothing happen when you turned the key?

I'm having a tough time remebering but I'm pretty sure it was nothing when I tried turning the key.

 

[NoExcuses]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

You should have spare relays in your fuse/relay box. You could try swapping.

 

[Joeynk]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. As it turns out, the problem seems to be with the Kill switch. I search through the forum and found a similar problem someone had posted several years ago. I had narrowed it down to the impeller or kill switch and it seems to be the kill switch and the boat is running fine now.

 

[MasterGoa]

Re: Volve 5.0 GXI dies at 3200 RPMs

Hi JoeyNK, glad to see your sorted that one out!

Can you be more specific on what you mean by kill switch?
The one near the key, or the battery off switch, usually at the back?

Regards.