Lake Water Connoisseur

Diacom; and the harness is hanging around near the ecm with a blank plug covering the terminals.

Well, I ran it 3 days last weekend (probably 20 or so hours altogether) with no evidence of a repeat. Of course I had the scan tool on board the whole time. It didn't (and still doesn't) run rough or act like it's starving for fuel at all. I was just a momentary cut out (RPM immediately dropped to 800 or so) and brief alarm horn followed by getting right back up to speed...that kept repeating and non-regular intervals. It was so momentary that it didn't actually kill the surf wave. After some quick troubleshooting (fluid levels good, safety lanyard intact, no obviously loose wires), I quit and idled back to the dock b/c I was afraid something significant was about break.

If you hit the rev limiter, it will beep for a short amount of time, cut your power (guardian mode) to get you back out of the red, then the beep/guardian mode will stop. You can do your boat a huge favor by staying away from 5000 RPM, though. If your shop has a scan tool to read the stored codes, you should be able to determine why it's alarming. However, I recently discovered that not all alarms result in a code being stored in the computer.

I thought I would bump this one to the top with some additional information in hopes that someone has some ideas. I have a friend with a scan tool and we found that the only 2 codes from recent history are fuel lvl ckt hi and fuel lvl2 ckt hi. We cleared all the codes (including some from a long time ago) and those 2 fuel codes immediately reappeared, however with no horn or evidence of guardian mode. Started it up in the yard let it warm up, no horn or additional codes popped up. We took it out on the lake, putted around a bit, got it up on plane, repeated every condition from Sunday, and I was unable to replicate my initial problem. I'm pretty sure that these fuel codes are not relevant to the horn/guardian mode problem that ended my day Sunday. From some digging online, it appears that some boats that have a Merc with this ECM have some fuel sensors and mine does not. This ECM is looking for signals from those sensors and that's why it's throwing the codes. Does anyone know if there are certain things that will trigger an alarm and guardian mode, but reset themselves and not be stored in the DTC history? I hate to start throwing parts at it with no clue as to what the problem is.

Your axle, hubs and brakes were probably manufactured by UFP, or Unique Functional Products. You may be able to find brake and/or bearing/hub manuals online that could be helpful. Throughout the course of your investigation, I would definitely bleed all the old fluid out, replacing with new. If they're running that hot, it is possible that you have boiled or significantly degraded the brake fluid.

So you're saying that you have 2 port tanks and 2 starboard tanks controlled by 4 switches, and you have 2 switches (one port and one starboard) that are apparently not working? When you flip those switches to fill, do you hear a pump coming on at all? Are your switches illuminated, and do the ones in question light up when you flip them to fill? Do you have more than one fill pump? Assuming you have 2 pumps and each feeds a separate manifold equipped with sprinkler valves: -If the switch activates the pump (you should be able to hear it) but doesn't fill the tank, a sprinkler valve(s) is/are to blame - either not getting power or stuck closed. However, it is doubtful that 2 sprinkler valves failed at the same time if everything has been working fine all year. -If the switches do not activate the pump, either the pump is stuck (impellar), it's not getting power, or the pump is fried. Unless you're 100% sure your fill pump fuse(s) are good, check every fuse in the box...they were awesome about mislabeling, at least they were on my 2008. Then, as stoked suggested, straight wire the pump to see if it comes on and start tracing wires/connections.

Does anyone have a list of all the alarms that will cause a 2008 Merc 5.7L Black Scorpion to go into limp mode? I started getting a short alarm (about a half second) yesterday while underway and the motor would simultaneously cut out momentarily and pick right back up. There are no other obvious symptoms and it happens only intermittently when above about 1600 RPM. Oil pressure, engine temp, and voltage all look good. No v-drive light. I just replaced the plugs, wires, distributor and rotor. I replaced the fresh water intake pump (with impeller) at the beginning of the year and noticed that the backing plate was a bit grooved, but the temp has been just fine with several trips out and lots of riding since. I'm trying to get it to a tech with a scan tool asap, but no return call yet.

A week after they were ordered, Fineline stated that they were still waiting on them and it would be 10 more days. I got tired of waiting so I ordered the ones from Alloy Marine. They have them in stock and can ship them next day if you desire. The Alloy Marine transom bracket holes line up perfectly with the holes in the transom, although these brackets are about 7/8" thicker than the factory ones. I debated getting longer screws, but the old ones got plenty of grab and I think they will work okay. Several of the holes on the platform did not line up, so I had to do a bit of drilling. My understanding is that the ones Fineline were going to send are the original design made from stainless rather than aluminum and would fit in the existing transom brackets. Although they too stated that they could not guarantee that the holes would line up under the platform. Important to note if you have FAE: the new brackets sit about 3/8" higher than the old one. So you will either need to loosen the nuts on the vertical all thread (which will create a gap in those sleeves if you don't replace them with longer ones) or stack up some washers between the horizontal square tube and the platform bracket so you won't be putting too much strain on the FAE.

I want one of the 1100 lb sacs if you haven't sold them yet. I tried to send you a PM, but got a message saying you can't receive PMs.

Please post pics of your new ones when you get them. If you don't mind me asking, how much did they cost. I have some on order, although Fineline told my dealer that they are out of stock and on order. She did NOT say anything about needing to install new brackets on the transom.

I guess that's the design they went with after the garbage brackets they put on my boat started breaking. It's a wonder they lasted this long.

Here's a pic of the piece that broke off completely.

Sorry, just reread my original post and it's wasn't clear. It broke in 2 places such that the port side of the platform was completely detached and basically just flopping. One weld that was done last fall is still intact and the other one broke. The other break was in the middle of a straight piece of aluminum...no weld, no bend. The weld that broke this time (and last time) was a reweld at the same spot as an original weld from the factory (where the angled support meets the vertical piece). I'm not keeping anything on the platform. Only people getting into or out of the water.

The weld broke where the angled support meets the vertical piece. The vertical piece just snapped in 2 where the pin holds it to the transom mount. It happened the first time late last season, except the break was at the corner where the vertical piece turns horizontal. After the first fix, that weld held up, but the other one did not. Has anyone else had this happen? Did you fix it or get new brackets?

If you haven't recently, also check your trailer brakes....no dragging/badly rusted calipers, severely uneven pad wear, or grooved/warped rotors. For a while, I had problems with calipers freezing, which was apparently overheating the hubs and causing the the bearing buddies to pop off. After all new calipers and switching to ceramic pads, I think my problem has finally gone away, knock on wood. However, I digress...you asked about spare parts. Spare swim platform bracket??? Reason I mention that is I have an '08 Avalanche, and apparently the swim platform brackets they used were crap. Broke the port side bracket last year, had it welded back together and it just broke again last Saturday, which was a total of 4 trips out since the last weld. The original factory welds weren't great to begin with and the welder kept cussing it b/c crap would float to the surface when he got it hot. I'm going to start another thread with pics when I get them. You probably won't be able to get it quickly, as my dealer said Centurion had to order them, but a spare bracket or 2 wouldn't be a bad addition to the spare parts bucket. If you have FAE and can't just pull the platform off altogether, a broken bracket will end your weekend and make coasting back to the marina a LOOOOOONG ride.