Check Engine Alarm

[ragman]

2012 R27 with Yanmar. Put in the water for the first time this year. Engine started fine, ran at idle for about 15 - 20 minutes at the dock. Ran at about 1600RPM for a mile or so until we were out of no wake zone and into Narragansett Bay. Then increased to 1800RPM, within a minute engine felt like it was skipping, the check engine alarm came on. I shut it down, dropped the hook and restarted. It started right back up but within a few seconds it did the same thing. Oil pressure and temp were fine. Repeated a couple more times, of course got the same result. Checked the fuel filter, no water or sediment in the bowl if the seperator.

We set the dinghy for a hip tow and got back to the dock. Diesel mechanics here are backed up for weeks.

I searched the forum looking for what faults might be included under the broad category if Check Engine. I suspect that it is a fuel system issue; fuel system pump(s), injectors?

My plan is to pull the paper fuel filter, but given how clean the fuel looked I doubt the engine is being starved because of a clogged fuel filter.

Any thoughts on what to check next.

Thanks
Wayne

 

[Brian B]

I had a 4by2 150, same block that you have. There is a strainer on the end of the fuel pick up tube in the fuel tank. If that gets clogged the engine will starve for fuel. Folks have removed that strainer and let the filters do their job.
The electric fuel pump is behind the ECU see viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12717&hilit=yanmar+fuel+pump
There is also a fuel pump relay inside the ECU cover. The engine starts so I doubt it’s the relay.
I’m from RI, have you called Niemiec Marine in New Bedford MA, they are a Yanmar dealer and have mobile service.
I had false check engine alarms but not with the engine running rough.

 

[Hydraulicjump]

I had this same engine on my 2011 27. I also had this same power loss with exactly the same symptoms, albeit on an ebb king tide just off Alcatraz Island in a January storm. It ended up being a whiteknuckle Coast Guard rescue minutes before going on the rocks. This is why I smile and am very polite every time they board me for inspections. Quite possibly they saved my life. They most certainly saved my boat!

I pulled the fuel line and removed the strainer. Then replaced the fuel filters. And it seemed to be fine. But I was having issues with the random low oil pressure alarm and other weirdness that was part of the sketchy ECU. That was replaced by Yanmar. So to this date I cannot definitively say that it was pulling the strainer and replacing the fuel filters, but I am hopeful it was the primary cause of the problem. Still, all my engine gremlins went away once they replaced and calibrated the ECU.

You will find lots of strings on this Yanmar issue.

Good luck!

 

[knotflying]

Sounds like what others said. See if you can get the exact code to define the problem further. There is a button sequence to press on the yanmar display to get the codes. Unfortunately I do not remember the sequence.

 

[ragman]

Thanks to the group. It appears to be the screen on the pickup tube. It was coated in black crud; not much but enough to severely limit flow.

 

[knotflying]

throw it away, it is not needed.

 

[Brian B]

Curious if you have used a fuel additive every time you add fuel to the boat?

 

[knotflying]

Curious if you have used a fuel additive every time you add fuel to the boat?

On Brian's question, I have used FPPF Diesel fuel additive religiously, as recommended by the Yanmar tech, since I bought the boat and never had a problem in 10 years. Albeit, I used the boat a lot at an average of 158 hours per year.

 

[Boatdreamer]

I’m wondering how difficult it is to remove the screen from the fuel pickup and should I use Teflon tape when reassembling the fittings? I’d rather do a job like this at the dock than out on the river with a storm coming or in rough conditions! Thanks in advance!

Tim and Donna
Gratitude