posted 05-03-2006 10:33 AM ET (US)        

I launched my 2000 18 Outrage by myself, and with a tag line off of the bow and no one waiting for the ramp, I calmly slid the boat off the trailer and tied it off on a floating dock while I pulled the trailer out of the water and parked the truck.

Now back on the boat, I lowered the engine, primed the bulb, inserted the key, turned the key, and was greeted by an engine light on the four function gauge and a steady beeping. Discouraged, I started the engine to see if it would clear the light and alarm. After repeated starts and stops, it did not. My slip being only 100 yards away, I decided to idle over and park it for the day and regroup. While idling over I noticed the throttle was sticking and the engine was not responsive and erratic to throttle position. Anyway, using the wind and a little sail area, I shut the boat off a few yards from the slip and let wind and current bring me to the slip.

Back at home, I read my manual, and read the service manual as well, and discovered that the steady beeping with constant engine light (the light in the 6 o'clock position) referred specifically to a problem with the Throttle Position Sensor. With this new found data I went back to the boat yesterday morning, took the cowling off, and after locating the TPS, I noticed the linkage was disconnected. I snapped it back into place, and tried to start the engine. No alarms, no lights, and she started right up. The 'idiot' lights did just what they were supposed to do. It is possible that I may have knocked the linkage off when putting the cowling back on when changing the plugs in the driveway. Big lesson learned!

Anyway, with all the bad mouthing of the Optimax, Mercury got it right with the alarms. In my case, the alarm told me what the problem was and showed me the right place on the engine to make the repair.

posted 05-03-2006 02:21 PM ET (US)            

The settlement didn't apply to 1999 Opti's. Plenty of stuff here if you search for Optimax Court case, settlement, etc.

Basically folks who had engines that fell into the category received extended warranties and/or discounts on the purchase of a new Opti.

I found this elsewhere on continuouswave by doing a search:

"Nutshell of the settlement
1. Covers 2000, 2001, & 2002 model year Opti 2.5l and 3.0l owners in the US as of 5/20/04
2. All class owners get an extension on their warranty...12mo beyond original warranty expiration date (if original warranty has already expired, new warranty for 6 to 12 mos, depending on MY)
3. Class owners who have paid for DFI repairs or had 3 or more warranty repairs also get a rebate on new Opti engine purchase ($750 for 3.0l or $500 for 2.5l) or product & accessories purchase (60% off up to $500). For use w/in 1 yr.
4. Extended warranty purchasers/owners get a 50% product & accessory rebate to $200. For use w/in 1 yr."

There are pdf's out there if you're interested, but again, the 1999's were not the ones at issue.