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I have a 1998 Ficht 150- and yes I’m aware of its history, I got it new in 03/98.
I’ve got the updates and have pampered it for 13 years- still fires up on the 1st cylinder up and ….(don’t want to jinx myself)- I’m happy its lasted this long-
A couple of nuisance topics though-
1) If you’re not supposed to put shims on the spark plugs to index them- without buying a couple of hundred- how can you get them in the index range of the pinned head? I swear I’ve got about 15 plugs that were all threaded identical- and all land 180deg from the pin. Do you keep buying plugs till they fit? Why not shim?
2) The past 2 or 3 years I’ve had a little hesitation in idle and low RPM- perhaps a misfire is a better word. The engine starts great- and runs fine- but there is an intermittent, non-cyclical misfire that increases frequency somewhat from 1k-2k into 3k and 4k. Above 4k I think it just gets drowned out in the high RPM range. I have no loss or RPM, and the power seems to be ok. The motor doesn’t run ‘rough’, but you can feel and see a bit of vibration in the boat. If I were to compare the ‘feel’ of it- think of an old farm tractor in idle- how it has a rhythm- and just once in a while an extra ‘pop’.
-But- a couple of outings ago- after taking a WOT lap or 2, then shutting down to beach- when I took off again there it seemed to be so rough at high rpm, 4k and above, that the motor had no guts (from a whole shot). I shut off the engine- pulled the hood- checked wires (?)- Started it up again- and it seemed to be ok for the rest of the outing (slight misfire was still present though). Since then I can tell that some ‘dynamic’ has changed at WOT- I still can jump on it from 1k to 55k and have power out of the hole and maintain the rpm- but I may be feeling that misfire at the top end now. (funny thing is the last 2 or 3 years the dash tack can get into 6200rpm if I let it-( I thought 5600 was top end)- ( I keep it to 5400)
Anyway- I’ve long suspected a fuel injector since I had it in for repair years ago and the mech touched and possibly rotated the screen- but I’ve also suspected the plug wires because some don’t ‘pop’ on the plug like they should. I replaced a wire tonight because it would grip the plug- and actually pushed itself off the plug (air pressure in the boot). Its spring clip was broken – I don’t like ‘making’ plug wires, but that’s all the local dealer had. Something else – the plug wire I took off had a busted spring clip on it- but the cable resistance was 21k ohms. What’s up with that?? The one I made and put in was 2ohms. I also found 2 plugs (1 with a shim and the one with suspect plug wire) both had a lot of carbon on them.
After the new wire- out for a ride. Started right up- WOT out of the hole, throttle up/down/goose it/punch it/ WOT for 5 miles…the misfire is there- ever so slightly, and there is a slight vibration or pulsing harmonic at WOT. But no loss of power or RPM, but you can tell that something’s different
I have the software for diagnostics- would I be correct is ***uming that if I can maintain the ‘misfire’ at 2krpm, and dropping the cylinder it goes away that its either that injector or plug wire? Or should I just replace the plug wires as well (others don’t grip and their resistance is high as well)
I know I’m limping on this motor. Mechanics and parts are huge $$$$ for this engine- and the motto has been- if it starts and runs- “don’t throw lots of $$$$ in it”, because if it goes in for major repair- it’s coming out a Merc.
thanks
Wayne
I’ve got the updates and have pampered it for 13 years- still fires up on the 1st cylinder up and ….(don’t want to jinx myself)- I’m happy its lasted this long-
A couple of nuisance topics though-
1) If you’re not supposed to put shims on the spark plugs to index them- without buying a couple of hundred- how can you get them in the index range of the pinned head? I swear I’ve got about 15 plugs that were all threaded identical- and all land 180deg from the pin. Do you keep buying plugs till they fit? Why not shim?
2) The past 2 or 3 years I’ve had a little hesitation in idle and low RPM- perhaps a misfire is a better word. The engine starts great- and runs fine- but there is an intermittent, non-cyclical misfire that increases frequency somewhat from 1k-2k into 3k and 4k. Above 4k I think it just gets drowned out in the high RPM range. I have no loss or RPM, and the power seems to be ok. The motor doesn’t run ‘rough’, but you can feel and see a bit of vibration in the boat. If I were to compare the ‘feel’ of it- think of an old farm tractor in idle- how it has a rhythm- and just once in a while an extra ‘pop’.
-But- a couple of outings ago- after taking a WOT lap or 2, then shutting down to beach- when I took off again there it seemed to be so rough at high rpm, 4k and above, that the motor had no guts (from a whole shot). I shut off the engine- pulled the hood- checked wires (?)- Started it up again- and it seemed to be ok for the rest of the outing (slight misfire was still present though). Since then I can tell that some ‘dynamic’ has changed at WOT- I still can jump on it from 1k to 55k and have power out of the hole and maintain the rpm- but I may be feeling that misfire at the top end now. (funny thing is the last 2 or 3 years the dash tack can get into 6200rpm if I let it-( I thought 5600 was top end)- ( I keep it to 5400)
Anyway- I’ve long suspected a fuel injector since I had it in for repair years ago and the mech touched and possibly rotated the screen- but I’ve also suspected the plug wires because some don’t ‘pop’ on the plug like they should. I replaced a wire tonight because it would grip the plug- and actually pushed itself off the plug (air pressure in the boot). Its spring clip was broken – I don’t like ‘making’ plug wires, but that’s all the local dealer had. Something else – the plug wire I took off had a busted spring clip on it- but the cable resistance was 21k ohms. What’s up with that?? The one I made and put in was 2ohms. I also found 2 plugs (1 with a shim and the one with suspect plug wire) both had a lot of carbon on them.
After the new wire- out for a ride. Started right up- WOT out of the hole, throttle up/down/goose it/punch it/ WOT for 5 miles…the misfire is there- ever so slightly, and there is a slight vibration or pulsing harmonic at WOT. But no loss of power or RPM, but you can tell that something’s different
I have the software for diagnostics- would I be correct is ***uming that if I can maintain the ‘misfire’ at 2krpm, and dropping the cylinder it goes away that its either that injector or plug wire? Or should I just replace the plug wires as well (others don’t grip and their resistance is high as well)
I know I’m limping on this motor. Mechanics and parts are huge $$$$ for this engine- and the motto has been- if it starts and runs- “don’t throw lots of $$$$ in it”, because if it goes in for major repair- it’s coming out a Merc.
thanks
Wayne
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