Evinrude E-Tec.....Riddle me this?

Englishman

Well-Known Member
I have an 2007 Evinrude E-Tec 175 HP. About 6 months ago I had problems starting this engine. The ignition would always come on but sometimes the engine refused to fire. I eventually had the starter motor replaced.

Today I got the same symptoms as I had 6 months ago, and had to come in on the kicker. Back on land I have now worked out what is happening but cannot explain how this occurs. Seems utterly bizarre to me but if anyone knows the cause let me know.

The engine will ONLY start in the tilted up position. It will not start in the vertical position. This is consistent and repeatable. Riddle me that one!
 
Does the motor crank in the down position ?
possibly a crack in the wiring harness which gets connection when tilted up ?
 
Englishman you clearly got the Australian model when you should have got the Canadian one:rolleyes:

I'm with Scott on that one or a connection that gets stressed when vertical.
 
Thx for the replies guys. Yes the engine remains running when tilted back down to vertical. (But as stated will not start in vertical position). Going to go back out tomorrow on the strength of this consistent behaviour; very easy to tilt, start and then crank down to vertical as normal.

If it was a crack I would expect it to be more flaky/inconsistent. Not so; works every time. And if indeed it is a crack in a lead, how the hell would one track it down??? Replacing entire wire harness would be a sledgehammer to crack a nut.........
 
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Are you throwing Any codes?
The Evinrude is hooked up to the I-Command digital/analog readout system. I suppose that is what you mean by "throwing codes"
The water pressure sensor is on the blink right now and that keeps sounding a "sensor malfunction" alarm when the engine is running which no doubt generates a code retrievable when hooked to the diagnostic software at the dealership.
However this is nothing to do with the starting problem and no alarms are going off related to this (the water flow is just fine and the engine temperature is normal - it is only the water pressure sensor that is screwy).
 
The Evinrude is hooked up to the I-Command digital/analog readout system. I suppose that is what you mean by "throwing codes"
The water pressure sensor is on the blink right now and that keeps sounding a "sensor malfunction" alarm when the engine is running which no doubt generates a code retrievable when hooked to the diagnostic software at the dealership.
However this is nothing to do with the starting problem and no alarms are going off related to this (the water flow is just fine and the engine temperature is normal - it is only the water pressure sensor that is screwy).
in the i command gauge there is a spot, codes page if you add/scroll thru. are there any codes showing on that page? it will tell you the code number that the motor has generated there.
 
Weird. Is it possible there's a sensor in the tilt mechanism that has shifted out of alignment? Normally it would disable the starter if it sensed the motor was in the tilt position.
 
Weird. Is it possible there's a sensor in the tilt mechanism that has shifted out of alignment? Normally it would disable the starter if it sensed the motor was in the tilt position.
I believe it could be something like that. I understand there are some engines (Mercury) that have a tilt switch containing liquid mercury designed to PREVENT starting when tilted up. I can't find any reference to such a switch in E-tech, although how it could now be working in reverse baffles me!!

The only tilt switch I am aware of in the E-tech is the one that has already given me major problems. This is the one designed to prevent "over-tilting" and damaging your transom. That relay switch fails on every E-tech out there and so the engine can only be lowered and not raised. That switch was by-passed three years ago and is not related to this issue. Gonna try a few phone calls tomorrow..........

Meanwhile went fishing fine today by starting in tilted up position. Worked perfectly both going out and coming back in!!:)
 
take your main harness and hold it up to simulate the engine tilted up and see if it cranks, if it does it is in the harness. if not it has a goofy problem that could take some time to find. also check that the main harness connection to the engine is not loose.
 
Ok for the short term but I'd be concerned that your impeller might wear starting the motor without cooling water.
I have my finger on the tilt control at the throttle and the instant I start it I lower the engine down so the impeller would be out of the water for 3 seconds or less.
 
take your main harness and hold it up to simulate the engine tilted up and see if it cranks, if it does it is in the harness. if not it has a goofy problem that could take some time to find. also check that the main harness connection to the engine is not loose.
Not much slack in the harness but I will give it a try lifting it up. I have checked for loose connections and all appears good and I would expect more flaky, unpredictable behaviour with loose connection
 
got to throw it out there, but is there a neutral starting switch out of adjustment? Perhaps by tilting the motor there is enough pressure on your shifter cable to push the switch into the "neutral" position. The one in my yamaha is in the engine compartment but yours may be in the remote??
 
I like Hoochiebobs thought.

As another thought, can you measure voltage at the battery? With engine running in up position on water muffs do you get 13V or whatever charging system puts out and then much less voltage in down position? I think that would indicate a short in main battery cable only in down position...
 
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