Sudden RPM decrease in SWS 250 hp

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dave-j

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Location
Marblehead, MA
Toward the end of last season we were running wide open on our way back from Stelwagen and just before we got to the harbor the engine RPM suddenly dropped from 4500 to about 1000. So fast we were tossed forward.

Didn't stall or anything. I put it into neutral and shut it off for about 15 seconds, restarted it and it ran fine. It happened again the next weekend and then we pulled the boat for the season. I checked the Racor and it looked fine, no water. Also the internal water separator with the red ring was not showing water.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
 
Any audible alarms or anything at the time? Any blinking lights on the Yamaha gauges?

How many hours on the engine, and have you ever changed the low pressure fuel pumps or cleaned the VST screen?

-- Tom
 
Tom,

No alarms, high temp or otherwise. Has about 800 hours (it's a 2000 model year engine). I bought the boat in 2006. Have not changed anything or cleaned the VST screens.
 
With no alarms or buzzers I would bet a fuel problem. If you don't see fuel leaking in the water probably not the low pressure pumps. If it is intermittent probably not the high pressure pump. Cheapest place to start would be replace the VST screen with the new style and clean the VST tank.
 
Like Bill said.. if there aren't any alarms, it appears to be a fuel delivery problem. Either the LP pumps aren't able to supply enough fuel to keep up with the VST pump, or the VST pump screen is clogged.

Since you haven't done anything in a while, I would without hesitation replace the low speed pumps. If they haven't already failed, they will soon, and its a very easy project for short money to eliminate an easy problem.

The pumps are about $35-40 a piece and I think your engine has three of them. It will take about a half hour to swap them out, and all you need is a socket set - three 8mm bolts per pump (I think).

Cleaning out the VST tank and making sure the VST filter screen is clear is a straightforward project, and won't cost you anything but time and about $30 for a new VST tank gasket. Again, all you need is a good #2 screwdriver (9 screws) and a socket set (3 8mm bolts).

The other basic maintenance I would recommend would be to inspect and clean out the Oxygen Density Sensor and draw tube, replace the T-Stats and Pressure Relief valve. Again, no special tools required, just a 8mm socket. To test the O2 density sensor you will need a multi-meter and possibly a test harness.

For completeness sake, check/adjust the Throttle Position Sensor and make sure the oil control rod is properly adjusted. To test the TPS you will need a multi-meter, but can do the rest without any special tools.

Sounds like a lot, but trust me that these are all straightforward projects that anyone with even a little mechanical ability can do, and will probably cost you less than $200 in parts and 3 hours of your time.

These are all routine maintenance items, and should be done according to the maint. schedule in order to keep your engine happy. If you don't take care of them now, they will catch up with you and cause much larger and $$$ problems down the road.

I sit on my arse all day on conference calls and powerpoint slides, and even I can do this stuff :)

-- Tom
 
Thanks Tom,

I will add this to my spring list. Still unsure how the low speed pumps would be involved if I was running flat out, but replacing sounds like a good idea anyway.

Dave
 
Dave,

They are low pressure pumps, not low speed pumps - in other words they are used all the time, not just at low engine speeds, if thats what you meant.

Their job is to keep the big VST cannister filled with fuel, so that the VST pump can keep a steady stream of fuel going into the fuel rail and injectors.

If the low pressure pumps are leaking or otherwise not working (they are a simple mechanical pump that work off of the pressure of the engine) they won't be able to keep up with the VST pump and the engine will act like it is running out of fuel.

Once the engine RPMs drop off, or speed is reduced, the LP pumps get a chance to catch back up and fill the VST tank again.

One way to check for this problem is to try pumping the fuel bulb when RPMs drop off. This forces fuel into the VST, bypassing the LP pumps.

I'm no mechanic, so I don't know for sure if the stuff I mentioned is whats causing your problem, but doing them anyways is highly recommended to prevent problems down the road. And luckily, they are still projects that the average guy can handle without any fancy tools.

-- Tom
 
This is way against the grain and I AM NO MECHANIC but I have read on many forums that people replace the low pressure pumps regularly. My last EFI engine had 3000+ hours and I never had a problem with a low pressure pump and I never replaced them. I also have read that people replace the 02 sensor. I clean it regularly but have never replaced one.

Tom,
Is this a northern thing when the boat sits not being used for long periods of time that causes the low pressure pumps to fail and need to be replaced so often?

Dave,
When you clean your 02 sensor I would think about upgrading with the smaller tube thing. Since your motor was introduced Yamaha has changed the tube with a smaller diameter and it seems to need less maintenance.
 
Capt Bill Welder":1gbympt6 said:
Tom,
Is this a northern thing when the boat sits not being used for long periods of time that causes the low pressure pumps to fail and need to be replaced so often?

Dave,

I have no idea. The way I look at it, my season is too short to hit these problems during prime fishing time. I'd rather perform the recommended maintenance and keep my engine running than find out what happens if I don't. My approach would probably change if I had to pay a mechanic to do this stuff, but as I said, these are easy projects for the weekend warrior.

-- Tom
 
Did you change the internal fuel filter? Just because the red ring isn't floating doesn't mean that the filter isn't completely clogged up. We had our DF200 do the same thing, turns out the captain had "changed the fuel filters" by changing the Racor, not the internal filter in the motor. Changed that, no more problems.
 
Classic symptoms of a clogged VST filter. It could be other things, but my money is on that.

Same exact thing happened to my Ox66.
 
Try running it off a 6-gal tank. That will tell you if the problem is in the engine or the fuel system.
 
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