2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

[coolguy147]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Just a follow up for everyone, my 115 is running great. Haven't had a problem again. The only thing good to come of all of this is I think I can do just about any repair short of a motor rebuild myself. Supprisingly easy to work on outboards!! And best of all, they are clean inside!!

all you have to do was pay a hefty 1600 feee

 

[bluechevyy]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Rodbolt is right on here. testing it at idle doesn't help at all. There is enough fuel flow at idle to run the engine. But, I simply used a cheap throw away tire pressure guage and when running the boat on the trailer backed into the water I was able to see a lower pressure than the manual stated I was suppose to have.

 

[bluechevyy]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Ron D. I would still take the injectors out and take them to a shop where they can pressure clean them. Soaking the injectors I'm affraid just won't get rid of the dirt. If you get just a tiny particle inside the injector where the pintle operates they won't function properly. When you take them in, the shop will replace the pintle, screens and ultrasonically clean them ridding the injector of the dirt. By soaking them you are probably just releasing the dirt and it's still trapped in the screen.

 

[mjp]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

bluechevyy, So you are saying that the main fix for this issue is to send the injectors out to get professionally cleaned and tested?
Mike

 

[185searay]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Thanks to everyone for keeping us updated on this issue. I just received a call from the dealer. He is reporting that he removed the injectors and had them cleaned. One was completely clogged and not functioning. They have now been re-installed. new plugs installed as well. He ran the boat in the water and at 5100 rpm was at 42mph.(13.25x17 prop), He was concerned the boat doesn't push to 6000 max rpm. That is the most speed I've seen out of this boat in the short time I've had it but it isn't the spec Mercury set.
Should the fuel pressure be tested at 5100 rpm with the engine in the test tank or with the boat in the water running at speed?

 

[saintp]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

I have a 2005 115 four stroke too, after reading this thread I am relieved to see I'm not alone. For 4 years I have had these night mares and more. It started with power loss as most of you had. This motor was bought to repower my 20' Aquasport. I was told the injectors where clogged and had to be replaced, less than 10 hours of run time on a new motor. I then replaced the aluminum tank, hoses and fuel water seperator. I was told it was due to the new fuel so it had to be done. After doing that, and about 10 more hours of run time same thing, replaced injectors once again and was told the external vent on the below deck tank needed to be relocated which I did. Then after 10 hours runtime guess what? I found out that the injectors could be cleaned rather than buy new ones. Thank you Burcato. It was soon after that it ran terrible and stumbled and wouldn't idle. Finally, something new, there was a bad connection to the ECM module that had to be repaired. This past weekend it's happened once again after about two 6 gallons of fuel, no rpm and running rough. Sorry, I forgot to mention I lost faith in my new fuel tank, hoses, and vent and decided to run two 6 gallon external tanks so I always have fresh fuel. I always run startron fuel additive too. I am so sick of this, frustrated beyond belief. I would like to trade this motor in and get something else, anything would be better. I don't think I've put 100 hours on it.

Mark

 

[185searay]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

I have just returned from the cottage. The engine ran really strong(5400 rpm) on a fresh water lake this week. The dealer recommended a higher pitch to bring it closer to 6000 in fresh water.
I put about 10(10 gallons) hours on the boat so far and it is working great. there is no low end stall and it pulls strong. top speed is 42mph which I think is about it for this boat. I`ll keep my fingers crossed and you advised if things change.

 

[mjp]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

185searay- thanks for the updates. I think I am ready to send the injectors somewhere to get checked myself. I have now been through all the sensors and all checked ok. I will let you know.
Mike

 

[saintp]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

This company is great, quick turn around time. Talk to Tony if you have questions: http://www.brucatosvs.com/fuel_injector.html

 

[Marv]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Install an external Racor water/fuel separator and it will clean your fuel completely and you won't be clogging them up anymore. Clean fuel rail, fuel pump before running again.

 

[185searay]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

I have now put a further 13 hrs(23 total since cleaning of injectors) on the motor. I am happy to report all is well. Motor pulls strong and speed is still good. So far, so good!!

 

[mjp]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

well, I just got my injectors back on the weekend and have to say, it was a waste. I knew from the test report that comes with them because they were in tip top shape. When I put them back in, there was no change. Didnt help at all. Back to the drawing Board for me.
Mike

 

[luredude]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Anyone have any fix for this yet? Reading this post is exactlly what happens to me. I think I have it figured out, then it screws me. The only thing different about my 115efi 4-stroke is if I keep running it for about ten minutes, it will seem to fix itself and run better. Funny, even though it runs like crap, it still starts up every single time.

After reading this I stopped at a Mercury dealer not in my area that is supposed to be very good to get the injector seals, o-rings and Power Tune. He didn't have the o-rings and seals but told me that they can be reused. I explained this problem to him and he admitted he does not like 4-strokes and sees very few of them and said he never heard of this issue. I told him about the numerous posts and problems and he explained to me somewhat how these motors operate. He told me to 1st pull the plugs and see if any or all of them are white. He said if so then there's a coil problem. He said Mercs are notorious for bad coils. After that he asked me if when I pumped the ball if the problem repaired itself? He said if it does then there is a VST issue as pumping the ball bypasses the picking up of the fuel. If not he said the problem is somewhere else. He told me to remove, clean and replace the injectors and if that didn't help to let him know. He explained that there is a "Guardian Mode" on these motors where the motor will go down around 3000rpms so that the motor will not blow up. This will happen for many reasons but the most common is when when the oil is too high. He suggested only filling the oil to 1/2 up the stick due to the motors making oil with the addition of fuel going into the crankcase. Also, if the injectors are not spraying fuel into the cylinder the piston/cylinder will burn up.

He also said that when fuel goes to E15 there are going to be tons more issues. He also expressed that using Premium gasoline helps. The guy was really great. I walked out 20 minutes later without being sold 1 thing and gained tons of info.

Jmo but if I were you I would take the injectors out, connect to the 9-volt battery and spray carb cleaner through them. It's very simple to do. You can replace the injectors without replacing the seals and o-rings if you take them out carefully. I am so happy I found this site and thread because I have had this issue until I cleaned the injectors(Knock on wood and fingers crossed).

Good luck and hope it helps.

 

[pies1212]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Bluechevyy, searay and all others-

thanks to all you guys for this post! when 4 strokes have a problem, they have a problem! after 3 separate trips to the mechanic, 1 fuel pump, a vst cleaning, 4 spark plugs, all new filters... we sent the 4 injectors to:

http://www.brucatosvs.com

they were able to clean the injectors and bring them back into specs. I would recommend that if you have this type of intermittent loss of power and have to "pump" your throttle. First take the motor to a good merc mechanic, have them clean the vst, fuel rail system, replace all filters and then send the injectors off to Brucato for a test and cleaning! our 2001 115 4 stroke is humming along at 5800-6000rpms strong! best of luck and thanks to all for this string!

 

[bassman123]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Any of you guys still out there dealing with this problem on the four stroke bogging down. I called my local dealer and he suggested cutting off the last inch of the fuel line where the pump bulb is to see if the inside is corroded and sure enough all kinds of crap was in there flaking off. He suggested a new fuel line but I'm sure the fuel filter and injecters need cleaned also. I'm wondering if all the fixes these guys were doing kept coming back because of the fuel line. The tech said it was the inner lining of the fuel line breaking down. He said the newer lines are ethanol resistant.Will let you know if it gets fixed.

 

[toddieie]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

You guys might want to check your fuel pressures. Your fuel regulator diaphrams may be cracked and in need of repair. You are all talking about the same thing that happened with my Optimax and that is what it was. I found this website called thepelicanservices.com and they replace the fuel regulator diaphrams. A lot of people told me that you could not replace them but these guys make them and it does work! Apparently these things wear out. You can replace the fuel rails which is around $1300.00 and up, but these folks actually said that the only thing that goes wrong with the rails is these diaphrams. check them out and good luck! I know I saved over $1000 and my engine is running great now!!

 

[polar115]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

Question: I have a Polar 19 ft with a 2005 mercury 4 stroke and at wot I can run 38mph but my rpms are showing around 1200. I dont see how the rpms can be so low when I am running at that speed. Does this sound like the rpm gauge is not working correctly. At idle it reeds 780 rpms which is correct but at wot only 1200rpms????? I have read this forum and learned a lot but at a loss for my issue. Help

 

[jskess]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

RE:2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. I had the same type of power loss a few months ago. Tried all the diagnostics, fuel pressure, water separator, etc. I went from 4800 rpm, then got power loss to 3400 rpm and so on until it would only idle. Any throttle would stall it. It ended up being erosion in the grey fuel lines from ethanol. If you have gray fuel lines and are using fuel with ethanol, prepare yourself for this problem. Those grey fuel lines have a spiral lining inside that erodes quickly and ends up clogging the internal fuel filter. The process of having my fuel lines and internal filter replaced cost $800. So you may want to consider checking out what your fuel lines look like inside, if they are threaded inside, replace them with flat walled lines or NEVER use fuel with ethanol.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 2005 115 Mercury 4 stroke power loss. HELP!

The gray Mercury lines that have "red" writing on them are the bad ones(red is dead) the blue writing is ok. If its a aftermarket(Tempo,Marpac,Wallyworld) cut it open and see as they are not the best line and bulbs anyway,some only have a single check valve in bulb....