blower, bilge, nav light buttons dead

[mneal]

I am just saying electrical intermittent things are not easy to diagnose and solve. For example, I recently replaced cap/rotor on my boat just as maintenance (boat ran fine but had about 250 hrs on those parts) and it ran fine on the hose, took it out and intermittently would run terrible. Replaced the "new" parts with old parts and ran fine again, that was easy fix because I knew what I had just done to it but my point is strange things happen and intermittent things are way tougher then average stuff. What are the chances the old cap was bad AND the new one is bad too? Almost zero, I agree. If he has a ton of time and $$ invested in this tech then I am not 100% sure kicking him to the curb is right solution all the time. After all that just guarantees he has to start all over again with new guy. If the tech is throwing parts at it blindly though then I agree, time to start fresh with a new guy .

[lesaew]

I hear what you are saying, but I have been using this guy for years and feel he is a competent mechanic.

I am sure this is an issue of me not being able to communicate the message as it was communicated to me, but nobody wants the transcript from a 20 minute conversation.

He explained that he tested the spark, found it was weak, replaced the cap. With the new cap, the boat started in the shop and in the water. Back in the shop he tested it one more time and it wouldn't start. Again, weak spark. Thinking he might have gotten a bad cap, he replaced it, but still weak spark. He is NOT the kind of tech that believes in swapping out parts to troubleshoot an issue, but he had to make an exception for this issue. So, he swapped out the coil and then the plug wires. He even tried a new ECM. Then he brought in an outside mechanic (competitor actually) to help. So there were 4 mechanics working to figure it out.

I don't think we have heard the last of this either, but it's running for now. I will update the post when I have more info.

[lee]

Try the sensor inside of the distributor cap. Merc had a bad batch in 2001.

Maybe try this idea. I was known to be right one time before.

[R&T Babich]

... For example, I recently replaced cap/rotor on my boat just as maintenance (boat ran fine but had about 250 hrs on those parts) and it ran fine on the hose, took it out and intermittently would run terrible. Replaced the "new" parts with old parts and ran fine again, that was easy fix because I knew what I had just done to it but my point is strange things happen and intermittent things are way tougher then average stuff. ...

I helped a relative with a 454 truck that was running crappy and finally died, but had a good spark. After much frustration and replacing several parts we replaced the distributor cap which fixed the problem. Three people inspected the old cap for cracks and it looked fine. Put the old cap back on and the problem came back. Weird how it looked perfect, but was definitely bad.

Sounds like the tach was grounding out the ignition. Run it for awhile without the tach, then replace just the tach. The tach grounding out an ignition makes sense to me. It's hooked right into the primary pulses being sent to the coil. If it grounds out the pulses just a bit the secondary output will be weak or intermittent.

[lesaew]

I thought I would post an update in case anyone is experiencing similar issue.

I ran it without the tach for a couple weeks with no problems. Sent old tach back to Faria (lifetime guarantee), they replaced it for a nominal fee ($60 maybe) and the boat runs again.

As for the accessories panel, I ordered the replacement panel from the local Tige dealer. They sent me a complete panel with rocker buttons instead of the old push buttons. Although it appeared to be plug and play, it was not. My mechanic had to rewire almost the complete panel. Tige explained to him that it was plug and play for "some" models. The panel was $600 and the labor was another $200. After all that she seems to be a happy (and newer looking) boat.