More issues! Does anyone know where power to the helm comes from? - FIXED

aero3113

If you’re pump is running, maybe pull the fuel line off to see if fuel is reaching the pump. Do you have any inline filters? 

212rowboat

Your key switch... remove purple wire from port engine switch, place on starboard engine switch... leave yellow wire alone... 

Try it then. 

212rowboat

It won't let me edit above... there is an inline fuse under your dash that is likely blown of the 90a fuse was blown.  I think it's 10a but it may only be 5.. it powers the purple wire to your computer/ignition module... 

reneechris14

Can check fuel at the sharder valve on top the manifold. Just polk to see if there is pressure.

212rowboat

That 90a fuse didn't just decide to pop.  Something popped it.  Fuel pump? 

The ignition key not only fires the purple wire (ignition) but it tells the fuel pump to fire too at key on... you can put your hand on it and feel at key on if its running.  (Freddy Kruger arms or a helper)... 

LaRea

[EDIT:  disregard this comment!  I misunderstood the situation.  Sorry @bert_florida.]
Hey @bert_florida - I hope you learned a lot during this trip.  Mostly, do you now understand that you shouldn't take an unproven boat hundreds of miles from home into a vulnerable situation with limited knowledge of the issues you might encounter?  

Seems like you bit off more than you could chew with this trip.  Build up your knowledge of the boat and your skills.  Start small and then stretch your skills.  

bert_florida

OK got it all fixed, was something as simple as the coil to cap cable, replaced it and it starts. The cable was in very bad shape, I guess things happen all at once! I had changed cap, rotor and cables on startboard engine, but not on this one (out of laziness). Now I am changing it all.

@LaRea Thanks for your advice my friend, but I've been boating since I was 12, I had my first dinghy then in the coast of Venezuela, I have owned 45+ foot diesel boats, have traveled all up and down the Bahamas and even farther, I just have very limited knowledge of gas engines, specially these Chevy small blocks. BTW, I purchased this boat and put over 50 hours in the local area before we started this trip, NEVER an issue. I call this a case of bad luck, plain and simple, but thanks for your wonderful expert advice.

Bert

YYZRC

LaRea said:

Hey @bert_florida - I hope you learned a lot during this trip.  Mostly, do you now understand that you shouldn't take an unproven boat hundreds of miles from home into a vulnerable situation with limited knowledge of the issues you might encounter?  

Seems like you bit off more than you could chew with this trip.  Build up your knowledge of the boat and your skills.  Start small and then stretch your skills.  

A bit harsh. I don’t know if any 10+ year old boat is ever ‘proven’. Especially if you’re not the original owner. It sure is great to have a board like this to get help when needed, though!

LaRea

I badly misread the situation.  Sorry about that.  From the "urgent help" thread, I mistakenly concluded that you were one of the many new boaters we're seeing lately.  Hope you didn't take offense at my comment.  

Willhound

Happy you found the issue. It's usually something simple. The problem is there's so many "simple" things to check.

212rowboat

bert_florida said:

OK got it all fixed, was something as simple as the coil to cap cable, replaced it and it starts. The cable was in very bad shape, I guess things happen all at once! I had changed cap, rotor and cables on startboard engine, but not on this one (out of laziness). Now I am changing it all.

huh... i had this happen one eve coming home from a dinner at a place on the water.. about a three and a half cruise home using GPS track almost exclusively and never breaking probably 10mph... 

i docked and killed the engine- went to retrieve the truck and run the trailer down the ramp... said our goodbye's to our friends and told the wife to go ahead and get a ride from them- they'd drop her off as they passed the house.  

went to the boat, turned the key- and..... nothing.... just crank crank crank... i remember wishing i hadn't sent the wife away, as throwing rope and pulling the boat along the various angles of docks to get to the ramp alone was a pain in the bedonkeydonk. 

get up the next morning to wash everything and figure the issue- and found the coil-to-dizzy wire was straight up rotted... i've zero clue how that boat was running and running so well on those wires... the coil wire get's the worst of it and it will always (barring damage) be the first one to show signs of wear.  in this case, those wires weren't that old... i've never seen wires straight up rot before- but that was exactly what they did.  since, i've invested in 10+mm wires with nice thick shields... they 'looked' fine from the outside, but as soon as i pulled on the boot? they pulled apart and the filament was like a powder... never seen anything like that before or since. 

bert_florida

@212rowboat Sorry to hear, indeed it is one of those things we don't think about for sure. Mine was completely separated from its end, looked good because the boot was fine. Incredible how corrosion and vibration can beat these things up.

@LaRea Thanks for the apology, no worries. Indeed, no boat is proven, even if it is new, but specially a 10+ year old boat like @YYZRC said. I just don't have enough experience with these inboard/outboard motors, totally different than anything I've owned before, who would have known a simple cable was causing this.

Also, my previous issue a few days ago had to do with losing all power to the helm and it ended up being a dumb thermal fuse, but why in the world would those engineers from Rinker power everything off of a dumb thermal fuse on the starter block of an engine? That makes no sense, I have owned 7 boats in my life, I am not a kid, I am a very experienced boater, I have taken boats all over the place, as a kid I used to get lost at sea with a stupid 8' dinghy lol. My point is in all my years of boating I have never heard of ANY boat running off of a single thermal fuse. My Rinker FV 290's power relies on that one thermal fuse in the port engine, I am talking about ALL helm power including, but not limited to all cockpit lights, blower, chart plotter, gauges, trim tabs, ignition for both engines! So if that fuse goes, I can't even start my starboard engine even though the fuse is on my port engine. I can't even open my engine compartment because the motor is also tied to that fuse. What in the world?

I will re-wire the entire boat when I get back home, sounds like a good winter project. At least the lights and engine compartment motor should be on the house bank and the starboard engine ignition should be on the starboard engine, not on the port engine. Crazy! I will also change all plug/cap cables needless to say lol

Thanks again to everyone for the help, we've had two uneventful days in the keys, it has been nice for a change, going to plan on the long crossing to Tampa Bay area in a couple of days.

Bert

212rowboat

for the record, that thermal fuse is a mercruiser thing, not a rinker thing.  it doesn't make sense to me, either- as the next stop for that harness is the main breaker.  

bert_florida

212rowboat said:

for the record, that thermal fuse is a mercruiser thing, not a rinker thing.  it doesn't make sense to me, either- as the next stop for that harness is the main breaker.  

So you are saying that all I/O boats with mercruisers (Rinker, Sea Ray, Regal, etc.) with twin engines rely on this fuse being ran off of one engine only to power everything?

212rowboat

yup.  rinker wired the round plug which marries the engine... it's all mercruiser from there on.  

aero3113

I bought a spare 90 Amp fuse to keep in the tool box on board. @bert_florida , I wonder why yours failed.

bert_florida

For sure it’s good to have a spare fuse. I know the engine harnesses are tied into it, but why is one engine ignition dependent on the other engine’s fuse? That’s weird to me. And what about the motor for the engine compartment? That should be wired to the house bank in my opinion. 

Anyway, I’m sure the fuse on this boat was already failing since the time I bought it, but was really hard to tell, the reason I think this is the case is because I had mild power issues at the helm, for example when I was underway and adjusted trim tabs, I would see my chart plotter flicker, also my voltage gauges in the dash always showed lower voltage than usual, but I checked both alternators and they were working fine, so I figured older boat and maybe older gauges. After replacing the fuse all runs perfect, no more flicker and good voltage levels at the helm while underway. I even had an issue with my starboard engine that I posted here where the engine would not go past 3,000 RPM if I accelerated quickly, but it if I accelerated smoothly it would actually run good, that issue is also gone. I think the increase in internal resistance due to the failing fuse was causing my starboard engine’s high pressure fuel pump to starve for power upon quick acceleration as it probably demanded so many amps very quickly, now all that is resolved. I could have spent a lot of time and possibly money chasing that issue, someone suggested injectors, that alone would have set me back a few hundred dollars just to send them in at $30 a piece. Crazy what a fuse can do. 

Bert 

Handymans342

On my 342 I had a #10 hot and ground run off my house battery to behind the gauge panel to a nice fuse block to run all the accessories