Evinrude FICHT RAM 90 HP engine - 2001 - Help!!

[Tomtom]

Hi Guys,

I am new here because I am at my wits end; I live in East Africa where there are NO Evinrude qualified mechanics, dealers etc - so please bear with me as I am having to work my way through all of this...

I bought two Evinrude FICHT RAM 90 HP engine - 2001 -E90 FSLSIF serial no. G 04900587 from a fishing lodge where the engines were used only in Fresh water; I put one on my boat and have the other for spares.

I have put about 200 hours on the one engine in salt water.

I have now had an Engine warning light come on ...
I have tested there is no water in the fuel. The engine sounded like it was missing and will not rev above 3500, it used to go to 5250.

I replaced all the plugs yesterday and one coil - and the problem went away for 5 minutes and the engine ran great - back to 5250 and no missing. I used the boat today, warning alarm came back at sea and 3 brand new plugs are now all black and powdery and one is oily.

There is some unburnt oil in the butterfly valves.

The plug going to one cylinder felt cooler than the others when I took the leads off and touched it. This was the oily plug.

I switched the throttle position sensor with the one from the "spare engine" and had no effect on the Engine Check light/warning which was kicking in the minute the engine started.

I switched both the coils out today and for now the warning alarm has gone away and the engine ran and sounded fine for ten minutes... at which point I called it a day and had a beer.

This is the second time I have switched the coil and it seemed to fix the problem - but it returned fairly quickly last time... will time tell or am I missing something bigger here?

Any ideas what I need to be looking at?
Does any of this sound familiar?

[baddog1016]

The poor running might be the S.L.O.W. brought on by another issue.

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+ See Figure 166 and Chart 2 Trouble Codes-FlCHT Motors
READING CODES
Certain electrical equipment such as stereos and communication radios can interfere with the electronic FlCHT Fuel lniection (FFI) system. To be certain there i s no interference, shut th'ese devices off when troubleshooting. If a check engine light illuminates immediately after installing or re-rigging an existing accessory, reroute the accessory wiring to prevent interference.
When the electronic engine control system detects a problem with one of its circuits, the EMM will activate the Check Enqine liaht found in the gauge pack and sound the warning horn. As a result ofhost faults, the EMM will ianore the circuit sianal and enter a fail-safe mode desianed to keepstheLoatandmotorfro& becomingstranded.Duringfail-sie operation the EMM will provide a fixed substitute value for the faulty circuit. During fail-safe operation the engine will run, but usually with reduced performance (power and economy).
In most cases, once a malfunctionceases (has been fixed or the circuit signal returns to something within the anticipatednormal range), the warnina svstem and enaine operation will return to normal. Thouah in some cases engine speed may have to be reduced to idle or the motor-must be shut off and restarted for normal operationto occur.
The gauge Check Engine light is not only used as a warning, but it can also used to read the diagnostic trouble codes.
Acodeisnormallydisplayedbyusingshortflashesofthech eckengine light. The manufacturer has diagnostic software for FlCHT engines that can also be used to retrieve codes and other stored EMM operational data. If available, a diagnostic connector is located in the engine harness to allow theconnectionwiththecomputercableadapterthatisused withthe diagnostic software. Follow the instructions that come with the software pack to use the diagnostic connector.
Once diagnostic mode is entered, the engine cannot be started.
Proceed as follows to display stored codes using the Check Engine light: 1. If the engine is running, shut the engine off using the ignition key
switch.
2. Removethetopenginecoverforaccess.
5. For75-175hpV4andV6motors,unboltandremovetheThrottle Position (TP) sensor from the flywheel cover. Manually move the TP sensor to the fullest limit of high-end travel in order to simulate WOT operation.
6. On ALL motors, use a rubber band, clip or piece of wire to hold the throttle cam or the TP sensor in the WOT position.
7. Turn the ignition switch to on in order to power up the EMM (the switch must remain on throughout the test with the emergency stop clip (if used) in position. Wait at least 10 seconds and watch for the codes to display on the Check Engine light.
If theTP sensor or throttle cam is moved from the maximum limit before 10 seconds have p***ed, the EMM will NOT go into diagnostic mode and you'll have to start over from the beginning.
8. AnytroublecodespresentwillbeginflashingontheCheckE ngine LED. Count the flashing to determine the code(s).If more than one is present, each code will flash until all stored codes have displayed, then there will be long pause (several seconds), during which the Check Engine light will remain lit, After the pause, the codes will loop and being displaying again.This will continue until you exit the diagnostic mode or erase the trouble codes.
Interpret codes by counting the flashes.There will be a short pause between digits of the 2-digit code. A longer pause indicates the start of a different number.
MANUALLY TE CLEARING CODES
+ See Figure 166
The EvinrudeIJohnson diagnostic software can be also used to manually clear codes, but if the software is not available, a manual procedure can be conducted to erase all codes.
1. Enter diagnostic mode and allow the codes to begin displaying.For details, please refer to Reading Codes, in this section.
2. Whileindiagnosticmove,returntheTPsensororthethrott lecamto the low-end limit of its travel, simulating idle operation. The Check Engine light should come on and remain lit, wait 5 seconds or more, then move the sensor or cam again to the WOT throttle position (the Check Engine light should extinguish).Return the sensor or throttle cam AGAIN to the idle position (the Check Engine light should come on again). Repeat this step 4 more times, cycling the sensor or cam completely from stop-to-stop (from WOT to IDLE) and waiting at least 5 seconds at idle each time.
3, After returning the sensor or throttle cam to the low-end limit for the 5thtime,theCheckEnginelightshouldremainonuntilthes ensoris reattached to the engine or the throttle link is reattached. At that time, the light should go OUT if there are no hard codes present. If there are hard codes, the light will turn back on (but keep in mind that some hard codes will not show until the motor is run again).
4, Turn the ignition keyswitch off, erasing all service codes.
The manual codes erase procedure CANNOT be performed using the remote control handle as it will NOT move the sensor through its full range of travel.

[Tomtom]

*** - this is interesting. So it is possible for me to get all the codes without a computer and software?

So simply by having the TP sensor held wide open and turning the key, the EMM knows to go into diagnostic mode?

[baddog1016]

Yes, you can get the codes without a computer. I'm sorry the instructions are as jumbled as they are, I copied and pasted from an on-line manual I bought. It looks a lot easier on your 90 horse than my 225.
The page with the code listing really jumbled so if you tell me the code I will tell you what it is.

[Tomtom]

thanks - I will let you know how I get on

[Tomtom]

So I changed the coils and had 3 days trouble free boating - and then took it out and stored it for a few weeks - put boat back in today - it started great but as soon as I click it in gear or lift throttle lever it dies...

Any ideas??

Also when I flushed it I noticed water coming from here (see pic) ... Is this normal?...

[Tomtom]

also - i took off the mount bracket lower cover - the part with 4 bolts that you see the water coming out from under - to have a look. I poked around a bit with a screwdriver cleaning some crud off - could I have accidentally caused something that is causing this cut off?

[Tomtom]

Have the codes - thanks for the tip...

I have an Evinrude - FICHT RAM 90 HP engine - 2001 -E90 FSLSIF serial no. G 04900587...
which has been giving me problems - and I feel like I am going round in circles with this - as it will run fine for a while and then throw some new curve ball at me....

I have managed to pull the codes using the Engine Check light and the throttle position sensor (as the diagnostics) and would really appreciate some ideas as to where to start.

Please no "haha Evinrude jokes" ... they are nearly as tedious as this engine and if I could afford a brand new Yamaha right now I would do that too... but in the meantime I would really appreciate some ideas...

Codes:

16 - Crank sensor mis-adjustment or damage (I have tested the sensor resistance and it is 150 (within limits) ... but the tip looks a bit worn ... like it has been abraded slightly...

26 - Battery Voltage below expected range

34 - Oil Injector Open Circuit ( this has come up before and I rebuilt the oil lift pump) . There is oil in the butterfly valves...

47 - AT Sensor Circuit Malfunction

48 - AT Sensor below Expected Range

83 - Ignition Coil No 3 Open Primary...

Codes 16 and 34 are Priority Level A

Code 26 is priority B

Code 47, 48 and 83 are Priority Level C...

Some Recent History

Engine would beep and Engine Warning light would come on - it would then refuse to run at high RPM. Would always start.

I also put new plugs and these blackened very fast (within a few hours). One plug was oily. I changed the coils again (with old ones as I didn't have new ones) and this seemed to fix the problem. I used the boat trouble free for 3 days.


I stored the boat for 3 weeks and put it back in the water expecting all to be well (as well as one can feel with this engine!) and it started right up - but cuts out when put in gear. It also cuts out when I lift the throttle lever on the control box. If I can get it past this point where the rpm starts to drop it will rev higher.

The batteries are getting on - but the engine cranks fine and I have two batteries - so other than that coming up as a code, I am fairly happy they are ok. But wouldn't it be nice if all these issues stemmed from poor batteries or something that simple?

It would have been the first thing that I would consider changing except that they are Priority Level B - with Crank sensor (16) and (34) priority level A.

Cleared Codes

I cleared the stored codes and rechecked and I got a code 11....

Until I cranked the engine and retested the codes and I got the same set come up again....

Can anyone suggest where I go with this....

I have an identical engine that I can butcher for parts (except the Crank Sensor)....

I have in the past switched everything from the wiring loom, to the PDP, to the EMM (I know you can only move them with the injectors).

Boat has a new high pressure pump...

Its doing my head in....