2005 Mercury OptiMax 200-HP: "Check Engine" and One-beep Alarm

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Author Topic:   2005 Mercury OptiMax 200-HP: "Check Engine" and One-beep Alarm

David1877 posted 06-29-2010 05:53 PM ET (US)
I have a Mercury OptiMax 200-HP. Everytime I use the boat I get an alarm about the same point idling through the marina, a single beep and a "Check Engine" indicator. The engine runs well. It does not enter Guardian mode. It does not beep again during my trip. The "check engine" display may show again. I have not made any changes that I might correlate to this.
My dealer said [the appearance of the alarm and message CHECK ENGINE] was [caused by] a bad engine speed wheel. [The engine speed wheel has been] replaced. I reset the SmartCraft guage, but the problem persists. The owner's manual contains little data on this. I appreciate your insights into this problem.
jimh posted 06-30-2010 09:09 AM ET (US)
At first glance it sounds like your dealer has replaced a component but that did not provide a remedy to the problem. The CHECK ENGINE message probably covers a number of alarm situations, and I suspect that in order to resolve the ambiguity of this alarm and information message you will have to have the engine control unit (ECU) interrogated by the proprietary Mercury Digital Diagnostic Tool. The diagnostic tool should be able to read any stored code in the ECU, and we would hope that the stored code would give more specific information about the cause of the alarm.
If your dealer already did this, and the diagnostic tool indicated a problem with a component, I would imagine that component was the component that he replaced. You call this component a "bad engine speed wheel." I am not familiar with that term as describing an engine component, so perhaps you could elaborate on precisely what component was replaced.
David1877 posted 07-05-2010 12:27 AM ET (US)
A bad thermostat caused the check engine warning. A qualified mechanic quickly diagnosed and repaired the defect.
I phoned the dealer to discuss the matter. The dealer fired the mechanic who worked on my boat previously.
The smartcraft guage receives boat speed data from a transom mounted paddle-wheel. This was identified by the first mechanic as the alarm source.
I'll never know if the wheel was bad or not.
jimh posted 07-05-2010 09:39 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the clarification on the boat speed paddlewheel transducer. Yes, they measure the boat speed, not the engine speed. It would make no sense to have a diagnostic message CHECK ENGINE and repair a component which was not at all associated with the engine.
David1877 posted 07-07-2010 12:34 AM ET (US)
Agreed. Rather than a check engine warning, I might expect a trouble message such as "no speed data."
Given the history, I suspect the dealer might be willing to refund charges realted to the wheel replacement.

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Author	Topic: 2005 Mercury OptiMax 200-HP: "Check Engine" and One-beep Alarm
David1877	posted 06-29-2010 05:53 PM ET (US) I have a Mercury OptiMax 200-HP. Everytime I use the boat I get an alarm about the same point idling through the marina, a single beep and a "Check Engine" indicator. The engine runs well. It does not enter Guardian mode. It does not beep again during my trip. The "check engine" display may show again. I have not made any changes that I might correlate to this. My dealer said [the appearance of the alarm and message CHECK ENGINE] was [caused by] a bad engine speed wheel. [The engine speed wheel has been] replaced. I reset the SmartCraft guage, but the problem persists. The owner's manual contains little data on this. I appreciate your insights into this problem.
jimh	posted 06-30-2010 09:09 AM ET (US) At first glance it sounds like your dealer has replaced a component but that did not provide a remedy to the problem. The CHECK ENGINE message probably covers a number of alarm situations, and I suspect that in order to resolve the ambiguity of this alarm and information message you will have to have the engine control unit (ECU) interrogated by the proprietary Mercury Digital Diagnostic Tool. The diagnostic tool should be able to read any stored code in the ECU, and we would hope that the stored code would give more specific information about the cause of the alarm. If your dealer already did this, and the diagnostic tool indicated a problem with a component, I would imagine that component was the component that he replaced. You call this component a "bad engine speed wheel." I am not familiar with that term as describing an engine component, so perhaps you could elaborate on precisely what component was replaced.
David1877	posted 07-05-2010 12:27 AM ET (US) A bad thermostat caused the check engine warning. A qualified mechanic quickly diagnosed and repaired the defect. I phoned the dealer to discuss the matter. The dealer fired the mechanic who worked on my boat previously. The smartcraft guage receives boat speed data from a transom mounted paddle-wheel. This was identified by the first mechanic as the alarm source. I'll never know if the wheel was bad or not.
jimh	posted 07-05-2010 09:39 PM ET (US) Thanks for the clarification on the boat speed paddlewheel transducer. Yes, they measure the boat speed, not the engine speed. It would make no sense to have a diagnostic message CHECK ENGINE and repair a component which was not at all associated with the engine.
David1877	posted 07-07-2010 12:34 AM ET (US) Agreed. Rather than a check engine warning, I might expect a trouble message such as "no speed data." Given the history, I suspect the dealer might be willing to refund charges realted to the wheel replacement.