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Author Topic:   E-TEC Engine History Report: Email From Your Motor
jimh posted 01-15-2007 10:48 PM ET (US)   Profile for jimh   Send Email to jimh  
I just posted a new article in the REFERENCE section on the E-TEC Engine History Report. This thread can be a used for any follow up questions or comments.

Refer to

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ETEC_EngineHistoryReport.html

Marlin posted 01-16-2007 10:32 AM ET (US)     Profile for Marlin  Send Email to Marlin     
Interesting, and not unlike my OBD-II reader for my cars. I guess that's the next step -- to standardize outboard motor manufacturers one one system and protocol. Okay, that may be a lot to ask.

Dave doesn't exactly flog those motors, does he.

-Bob

Chuck Tribolet posted 01-16-2007 11:19 AM ET (US)     Profile for Chuck Tribolet  Send Email to Chuck Tribolet     
Cars have a (somewhat) common OBD-II because the Feds force
fed it to them. In this case, I think it's a good things.

Note that OBD-II is only somewhat common. There are at least
three different electrical interfaces (using different pins
of the same plug) and most of the interesting codes (P1000 and
up) are manufacturer and even model unique.


Chuck

Buckda posted 01-16-2007 11:38 AM ET (US)     Profile for Buckda  Send Email to Buckda     
Thanks for posting this Jim – great article, as usual. You’ve been busy lately with two great additions to the site in the past couple of weeks.

Marlin –
I also get grief from Doug Zammit, at Lockeman’s, for not running the engines hard enough.

“What the hell is this?” he’ll say, pointing at that RPM profile and the very small usage at the upper RPM levels.

I usually sheepishly respond that I hardly ever need to go that fast…3,000 RPMs is turning something like 32 MPH, and on the Great Lakes, that’s usually fast enough.

The truth of the matter is that twin 90 HP engines pushing in tandem on this hull don’t have to work very hard to produce the speed you want. It wasn’t about top speed anyway. If I were going for top speed, I would have bought and hung a 200 HP motor on the transom.

My hope, after seeing a couple of these reports and noticing that the RPM profile is so low, is that the motors will enjoy greater longevity due to not working very hard.

I’d like to see Rob ratherwhalering’s profile for his 90 on his Montauk to see if he’s working the engine any harder as a single. I’d also be interested to see how the profile turns out for Andy andygere with his single 200 on a 22’ Outrage.

My thinking is that most users don’t realize how much they actually run the motor at idle. I know that I was sort of surprised by just how much idle time I put on the motors…seems to me that I’m cruising at 2,500 – 3,000 RPM a lot more than I’m idling, but perhaps I’m just enjoying that time a lot more, so I remember it better.

Dave

Marlin posted 01-16-2007 11:41 AM ET (US)     Profile for Marlin  Send Email to Marlin     
Chuck, agreed on all counts. There are actually 4 OBD-II protocols, one Ford, one GM, one ISO (Chrysler and import), and the new CAN bus which is supposed to be standard for everybody in 2008.

Still, even with its varied protocols and manufacturer-specific diagnostic codes, it's a start. And far more than we have for our outboards (most of us, anyway). I am stubbornly brand-agnostic when it comes to outboards, but there are certainly a number of features where the E-TECs are showing the way!

I had my 2003 Mercury 115 4-stroke EFI in for service two years ago or so, and asked the shop to read out the usage data for me. "Oh, this engine doesn't support any of that." Huh??? It's got an ECM in it, right? That was a little disappointing.

-Bob

jimh posted 01-16-2007 08:29 PM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
I don't have any information about the actual protocols of the serial data transmission between the E-TEC and the general purpose computer running the Evinrude Diagnostic software.

The most impressive part of the whole process--at least for me--is the ability of the data to be presented as a simple PDF file which can easily be transmitted electronically.

It would not be a huge surprise to find that Bombardier enhances the access to this data and makes it even more accessible in the future.

rtk posted 01-17-2007 09:46 AM ET (US)     Profile for rtk  Send Email to rtk     
What a great report. The document could be emailed to the customer when discussing a problem with the engine with a tech instead of visiting the shop to have a discussion with a tech.

I would find it useful to have that in front of me when talking to a tech about a problem I have with an engine.

Rich

ratherwhalering posted 01-17-2007 06:32 PM ET (US)     Profile for ratherwhalering  Send Email to ratherwhalering     
Dave...it's gonna be a while.

Bombardier doesn't retain a copy, and I didn't ask my mechanic to 'capture' it at my 300 hour service.

Looks like we'll have to wait another 3-years.

Sorry dude.

Buckda posted 01-17-2007 06:49 PM ET (US)     Profile for Buckda  Send Email to Buckda     
Rob -

No worries.

For what it's worth, I hope to be able to see my dealer once a year anyway and hook the twins up for a check-in on how they're doing. When my 300 hour service comes due (likely around July, 2007), I'll update the membership here.

Dave

ratherwhalering posted 01-17-2007 06:56 PM ET (US)     Profile for ratherwhalering  Send Email to ratherwhalering     
I wonder if this technology could be integrated with a new Apple PDA. For $67.00 for the software plus an additional $59.95 for the cable, Perhaps I could actually get an e-mail from my engine whenever I liked!

1. Apple/Cingular PDA with BRP disgnostic software.
2. Dash-mounted RAM with PDA holder
3. 18 foot BRP data cable with engine adapter.

I could capture the engine data, then e-mail it to you turkeys...

Gobble, gobble, gobble.

ratherwhalering posted 01-17-2007 06:58 PM ET (US)     Profile for ratherwhalering  Send Email to ratherwhalering     
That last remark was made in the nicest way :-)
crabby posted 01-17-2007 08:28 PM ET (US)     Profile for crabby  Send Email to crabby     
Dream on about the $67 software and cheap cable, no matter what OS you use. They COULD have put a wifi link into the EMM and let us all have easy access, no cable needed.

But it is nice to dream...

Once again, great article JimH!

--pm

swist posted 01-18-2007 07:51 AM ET (US)     Profile for swist  Send Email to swist     
Dream on for sure, not so much about the technology, but the cost. Car and boat dealers make more money off of service than sales. It is not in their best interest to let just anyone interpret on-board computer data. Ford charges $100 or more just to look at the OBD. Every step the gov't takes to standardize the codes and interface, the car manufacturers are one step ahead with proprietary stuff - plugging your car into a generic diagnostic system, as Chuck points out, isn't really useful yet.

With the lack of regulation over outboard manufacturers, I would expect the situation to be even more difficult to deal with in the boating world, forcing you to always return to a factory-authorized dealer. This is not so bad when the engine is new and/or under warranty - the technology will help them better solve your problem, but once you want to work on the engine yourself or take it to an independent mechanic, I would be surprised if the hardware & software to extract the onboard data were available to just anybody.

an86carrera posted 01-18-2007 07:57 AM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     
I own the software from Evinrude which covers Ficht and E-TEC. I purchased it for ~$150. With it I can access all the functions and data a dealer can.

Len

Peter posted 01-18-2007 11:48 AM ET (US)     Profile for Peter  Send Email to Peter     
I've got the prior software and serial cable to talk to my 2002 225 Fichts. The DOS based software is easy to use and understand. It helped diagnose that the problem I was having with one of them last season, as annuciated by the "Check Engine Light", was some silt and shell junk sucked up by the motor in my slip at low tide that got caught in the fuel vapor separator causing the EMM to run hotter than specifications.

If this was a Merc with its proprietary and expensive diagnostic system instead of an Evinrude with its simple, open and inexpensive diagnostic system, for example, I would surely have required a trip to the dealer to resolve the problem. I'm glad to see that Evinrude has continued with its open and easy to use system.

swist posted 01-18-2007 12:36 PM ET (US)     Profile for swist  Send Email to swist     
Well I stand corrected. I had no idea why Evinrude let these things out for just $150. Don't tell me it's just because they are good guys and have the customer at heart!
an86carrera posted 01-18-2007 01:50 PM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/an86carrera/IMG_1134.jpg

I'm going to send the instructions to jimh in PDF maybe you can figure out how to post the table of contents which show what you can do.

Len

an86carrera posted 01-18-2007 03:37 PM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     

Here are some screen shots from a Ficht EMM

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/an86carrera/IMG_1140.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/an86carrera/IMG_1139.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/an86carrera/IMG_1138.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/an86carrera/IMG_1137.jpg

Len

seahorse posted 01-18-2007 07:05 PM ET (US)     Profile for seahorse  Send Email to seahorse     

>>>>Well I stand corrected. I had no idea why Evinrude let these things out for just $150. Don't tell me it's just because they are good guys and have the customer at heart!<<<


Swist,

For a while the DOS disk software for the FICHT was only $25. This was some years ago and the next price book had a lot higher price in it, but many copies of the diagnostic software was sold at that low price.

andygere posted 01-19-2007 12:27 AM ET (US)     Profile for andygere  Send Email to andygere     
My dealer gave me a printed copy of the report when I had it in for a software upgrade. I'll try to dig it up and scan it, then I can post it here.
jimh posted 01-19-2007 12:42 AM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
From the digital images (and the file he sent me) it looks like Len has the PDA version of the software.
george nagy posted 01-19-2007 10:20 AM ET (US)     Profile for george nagy  Send Email to george nagy     
if my carbed johnson oceanrunner could e-mail me it might say; "george- say george!- do you intend to use me at all this year?- I say!-george!-hello!-anybody!"
ratherwhalering posted 01-19-2007 12:37 PM ET (US)     Profile for ratherwhalering  Send Email to ratherwhalering     
I got the prices from this website:

http://www.bluewaterboat.com/software_ficht_etec.htm

an86carrera posted 01-19-2007 12:54 PM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     
www.bluewaterboat.com

That is where I purchased it. About two years ago.

JayR posted 01-19-2007 01:33 PM ET (US)     Profile for JayR  Send Email to JayR     
My hope was to use my wife Palm Treo but unfortunately the OS is Windows Mobile...

Which of the older Palm handhelds would I need to purchase?
I suppose a used one off eBay would be the best bet since I'll only use it for this application.

Any suggestions would be helpful

Jason (lost when it comes to PDA's)

an86carrera posted 01-19-2007 02:07 PM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     
You need a serial port to connect you engine to the PDA.

First the software has to be loaded to a computer and you have to do a hot sync. Make sure you have all the right connections most modern computers do not have a serial connection.

I have two hot sync cradles for the PDA, one serial and one USB.

Len

an86carrera posted 01-26-2007 07:46 PM ET (US)     Profile for an86carrera  Send Email to an86carrera     
Jim,

Did you ever get to look thru the software?

Len

kamie posted 01-26-2007 09:40 PM ET (US)     Profile for kamie  Send Email to kamie     
Any of the older Palm's that can have the OS upgraded to 4.x will work
www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/palm.html

You can also call
http://www.pcables.com/cat2.html

and confirm they have cables for the older Palm your looking at.

That is my plan sometime this summer. I have an old Palm Vx but it won't support the OS version 4.

jimh posted 01-27-2007 01:46 PM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
I added a second Evinrude Engine History Report, this time one written by a 225-HP E-TEC used by a professional competitive fisherman. This report shows a few other features of the engine and its ability to communicate in plain language with its owner and technicians working on it.
seahorse posted 01-27-2007 02:05 PM ET (US)     Profile for seahorse  Send Email to seahorse     

Just a bit on info on the E-TEC 225 report. The section that shows code 43 overheat 22 times is probably the software glitch that showed up in some big-block V-6's. The engine would go into the SAFE mode when given full throttle after idling for a while. There was a service bulletin about it and a software update that took care of the problem.

[Thanks for the information--I made a note of it in the article--jimh.]

David Pendleton posted 01-27-2007 02:08 PM ET (US)     Profile for David Pendleton    
On a related note, I have it from good authority that another one of our numbers is repowering his 71 Outrage with an E-TEC.

I'm not going to out him here, but it's going to be an awesome sight once it's rigged...

JayR posted 01-27-2007 06:36 PM ET (US)     Profile for JayR  Send Email to JayR     
Dang.... I'll no longer be the only one????

Whoever it is should opt for the I-Command gauges.
And get the saltwater white as it is almost a perfect color match.

I wish it were LHG LOL!!!!!!!!

cgodfrey posted 02-04-2007 03:49 PM ET (US)     Profile for cgodfrey  Send Email to cgodfrey     
quote:
It would not be a huge surprise to find that Bombardier enhances the access to this data and makes it even more accessible in the future.

I predict one of the forthcoming enhancements to this feature incorporates some kind of integrated wireless device, making the serial port hardware obsolete.

The motor will email you as soon as the computer detects something out of sorts...

Hello JimH,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm only operating at 97.89% of my optimal efficiency. I wouldn't yet be concerned, but should I fall below 95% you can expect an animated warning icon to pop up on your integrated LCD Navigation and Systems Status Monitor.

Happy Motoring!
Your Starboard Side E-Tec

PS: Port says whatsup, and wanted me to tell you that he's checked his systems and completely forgives you for that time you put Yamaha brand oil in his reservoir.


jimh posted 07-13-2007 10:37 PM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
If other E-TEC owners have copies of their engine history reports and wish to contribute them, please email me a copy in PDF form.

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