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clownshoes.
I have an 07 P IV with a 200 Etech HO on it which untill recently I have had NO Problems with….Consider myself very lucky. The other day I was driving my boat at about 55 mph for a bit when my Rpms shot from low 5s to aproximately 6.5 with no increase in throttle. It was if my boat was cavitating. I quickly stopped my boat and checked my prop as best I could while floating in the middle of the lake. There were no signs of fishing string in the prop and it seemed fairly snug, my jack plate and trim were all very normal so I decided to give it another whirl. I was able to get on pad but my RPMs were extremely high still…about 5000 rpms at 35 mph….. Had a longer run than my trolling motor could make so I drove as slow as possible while still keeping on pad in order to keep the rpms down. I noticed while driving at this slow speed my steering was incredibly loose. Normally at slow speeds it is much tighter than while moving fast with high trim. While driving I hit rather large “Phantom Boat Wake” and it kicked my RPMs, steering, and speed into its original state……Kind of like a miracle cure? When on land I removed my prop and expected to see signs of a spun hub…Could not notice anything. For good measure I bought a new hub kit and installed it into my Trophy Plus prop and put it back on my motor. Yesterday when I went for a test drive my RPMs were high (according to my tachometer)yet again. My engine did not sound like it was turning high rpms and my steering was back in its original state. I noticed that my RPMs were bouncing allot with each boat wake I hit so I tapped on the front of my tachometer and the needle went down to where it should be while running at 35 mph. Do I have a faulty Tachometer? If so, why was my steering diferent the first time my RPMs shot up? Was it a spun hub? Was I cavitating? Could there be anything that I am missing? Thanks in advance for all your responses! I hope I explained this situation in a way that is not too confusing. Tyler
Tyler, We are going to suggest a visit to your local BCB dealer on this one. There are some thoughts, though we would be speculating. The steering give us different thoughts, and the RPMs give us other ideas. The staff at BCB Is out today, and this is possibly and engine or propeller issue. The propeller could still be slipping and not be easily evidenced since it is not totally spun. Though you should be able to notice some rubber burn or plastic in the hub area. Please let us know where you are located and we may need to give you a hand on this one. BCB Admin.
The obvious question is, “How does it sound?” Does it _really_ sound like you have gained 1,000+ RPM, or does it sound normally and run at the normal speed at WOT? You could have a tach failure. Im not an etec person and dont know whether they still use a stator or they have a separate belt-driven alternator like newer mercs. If it has a stator, problems there can cause invalid tach readings. Does run-time voltage look normal (14v or so)?? Since you say it sounds normal, and since tapping the tach restored it to normal, Id replace it without thinking. The steering issue sounds odd, but many boats drive sloppily when just barely up on the pad.Last edited by oldtimer57 on September 19th, 2009, 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
BCB, I am located in Charlotte NC. There is not a close Bass Cat dealership to me and my closest dealership is a Ranger dealer that does not have the best reputation….before I have to make the trek to a BCB dealer I would love to exhaust all options frst. Thanks for the quick response!
teeester, Greene Boat & Motor is a bit of a drive, though not out of the comfortable distance. We are not comfortable assuming things on an open line. Give this rig a personal look see and stay tight to the board for a week or so for further info if we can get the shop involved on some ideas. If you learn that something else is up first we will be glad to help. Till then we would first think that trip from Charlotte to Andy Greene would be worth while if you are seriously concerned. There is nothing in the steering that would cause this. You could have caught an object with the gearcase, though that is unlikely for two trips. Ice bags and other items cause such looseness. BCB
Oldtimer57,The first day that my RPMs shot up it did sound like it was running higher than usual…..No clicking sounds or vibration.After changing to a new hub it sounds like it always did….even while the RPM gage was running high #s.Dont have a run time voltage gage that I am aware of so I am not sure about the voltage.
Ive had a loose connection on the positive terminal of the starter battery do what you have described.
For the few cases I have seen, “once spun, always spun” which means that once you spin the hub and melt the rubber insert, it is going to slip from then on. However, when I have spun one, it has been with a lot more horsepower than typically seen here (say 500+ at 8000-9000 RPM) and when you spin it, it is done. Merc makes some really stiff hub inserts, primarily intended for racing. And these are what I am talking about. Never spun a hub on a normal thru-hub exhaust prop myself. In my cases, once it is spun there is not much left above idle. Never seen one that sort of worked, as the biggest load on the prop happens from takeoff until the boat is up on plane. But, back to the issue at hand. (1) if you tap a tach and it changes readings, it is defective or has a bad connection. (2) your steering issue sounds odd. I could certainly imagine a spun hub changing how things feel if it is still tight enough to provide some thrust. I can tell you that boats do not like screwed up props. Bent blades, bent propshaft, even a bad hub that lets the prop wobble can cause interesting effects. I _never_ like to see steering oddities, and always recommend either looking at it and fixing it yourself if you are capable, or else getting a good wrench to take a look. Steering is too critical, and if it goes out, things can go fatally wrong. Some problems you self-fix might risk a blown powerhead, which is certainly bad, but not nearly as bad as risking a major loss of control, which can be a life-changing (or ending) experience. Ive blown more than a couple of motors up, both on the drag strip and on the water. But I have never had a loss of control due to a failure (I have had prop blowouts at 80+ which is more than exciting enough for me, thank you very much). Personal safety and the safety of co-anglers should never be compromised.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Simply Call me Buddy, I have the head of Development, Marketing and design and my buddys whos a Engineer and Drag Races ETEcs Kicking Mercs Butts, so call me asap, 920-295-2069 ANYTIME Brannon seriously just call me we can figure it outYour Signature …
Brannon….Lets be frank among family members. I am glad to see you helping this man in NC. You are the best guy here to do that and you do it well. However lets hit the politics in the answer. As you know I proudly own one of the very few 09 250HOs here in Arkansas on a BassCat. I own one because I have two dealerships that can handle it, I own one because I like what I saw/heard in our district BRP rep, and I own one in hopes of seeing BRP unlock the full potential of this block/technology. But- There is no way that a stock 3.4 block from evinrude with all of the software changes and knock sensors and who knows what on these motors will “kick a mercs butt” on a bassboat with a typical tournament load which is what owners on this board run. I think it might eek out a win on top end and the holeshot will goto the merc. Tell your buddies at BRP to find a way to get the full potential of the block and hold it together long term and I am with you 200%. As it stands now I dont see any butts getting kicked in a bassboat with a stock 250 HO.Last edited by clownshoes on September 20th, 2009, 9:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.C.O.D. Jr. III
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