Do Crownline's have a governor?

[Supratrb]

I am experiencing a problem with the hole shot and getting to top RPM (4400-4800). I run a 2005 Crownline 206 with a 4.3L 190hp mercruiser with under 200 hours. With about 5 people in the boat, I have to pretty much full throttle it to get it to plane. In some cases I need to get people to the bow just to get it to plane with max RPM at around 3200-3800. I didn't experience this problem until I had the local certified dealer replace the fuel pump. I have verified that it is the correct fuel pump and it is getting the recommended fuel pressure. I have also changed the plugs, fuel filter, oil filter, checked air filter, and checked throttle body. The plug wires look excellent.

I am out of things to check and replace. Does anyone know if this model has a governor that may have been disconnected originally but then the dealer reconnected just because it was an empty plug? I'm grasping for straws here and could use all the help I can get!

 

[jkust]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Wow, I thought my 2900 lb dry weight Chaparral was underpowered with a 4.3. Im seeing your boat's dry weight is 3500lbs and I'm sure it has a large gas tank, plus gear. That is the most underpowered boat I've ever heard of. I'm suprised a carbed 4.3 was even offered especially with a premium brand boat like Crownline. You are in 5.0mpi territory at minimum imo. Tell us what were your rpm's with those 5 people prior to the fuel pump being replaced. At most the carbed v6 has a rev limiter to limit the top end rpm's which you likely won't have to deal with shy of putting a very low pitch prop on there.

 

[Supratrb]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

It actually did fine before the fuel pump which makes me suspect the dealer. The rpm's were easily in the 4-5,000s. I specifically remember trying to throw my buddy off a tube by doing several 360s and it had enough power to do about 4. Plus, it is a fuel injected motor!! MPI!! A 19p prop too.

 

[jkust]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

It actually did fine before the fuel pump which makes me suspect the dealer. The rpm's were easily in the 4-5,000s. I specifically remember trying to throw my buddy off a tube by doing several 360s and it had enough power to do about 4. Plus, it is a fuel injected motor!! MPI!! A 19p prop too.

Ok got it, so it's not the 190hp carb motor mentioned in your first post (and not fuel injected as those were pre 2002). MPI isn't the same as EFI. I had a hunch it was an MPI which is a 220hp engine being that a carb v6 would be overmatched by 3500lbs of dry weight and secondly because it is a premium boat brand. Still even 220hp is light for that boat. What is your WOT top speed on GPS with these issues?

 

[Supratrb]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Ok got it, so it's not the 190hp carb motor mentioned in your first post (and not fuel injected as those were pre 2002). MPI isn't the same as EFI. I had a hunch it was an MPI which is a 220hp engine being that a carb v6 would be overmatched by 3500lbs of dry weight and secondly because it is a premium boat brand. Still even 220hp is light for that boat. What is your WOT top speed on GPS with these issues?

Ahh, I did not know that. I was told when I purchased, it had 190hp and not 220. Yes, i've checked the fuel pressure of about 55 ft/lbs so that's the correct pressure according to the manual. I have yet to check GPS top speed. What are your suspicions?

 

[jkust]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Ahh, I did not know that. I was told when I purchased, it had 190hp and not 220. Yes, i've checked the fuel pressure of about 55 ft/lbs so that's the correct pressure according to the manual. I have yet to check GPS top speed. What are your suspicions?

Well I'm still trying to flush out the whole story. Is there a round flame arrestor on top of the engine that says 4.3 TKS or is there a flat plastic shroud that says 4.3 mpi. Given the confusion, I want to verify exactly which engine you have. Also then, since you haven't gps'd the speed, what is the top speed at your new wot rpm's of 3800 on the speedometer?

 

[Supratrb]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Well I'm still trying to flush out the whole story. Is there a round flame arrestor on top of the engine that says 4.3 TKS or is there a flat plastic shroud that says 4.3 mpi. Given the confusion, I want to verify exactly which engine you have. Also then, since you haven't gps'd the speed, what is the top speed at your new wot rpm's of 3800 on the speedometer?

Plastic shroud with 4.3 MPI. The speedo works when it wants to but at 3800 rpm I believe it said 30mph

 

[burp]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Supratrb,

Does your Merc audible alarm sound when you turn the ignition key? I ask because if the Merc Guardian senses a problem with the engine it can limit the engine RPM/performance. The audible alarm should sound briefly when you turn the ignition key to test the alarm itself. If the alarm doesn't sound, you may have an engine problem that is limiting your RPM's. If the audilbe alarm doesn't work, you would not know a problem existed, unless you had the ECM error buffer read out. Merc manual 36 covers the ECM 555 on the small block engines
(4.3L to 6.2L).

Other thoughts are: 1. Is the bottom of the boat clean? A dirty boat bottom will limit engine RPM's as well as top boat speed. 2. Does the timing advance with engine RPM? If timing can't advance, engine power will be reduced. 3. Is the alternator output good? It should be around 13.9 - 14.7 volts when charging the battery (around 2000 RPM's and higher). 4. If the engine has overheated in the past, an exhaust flap could have come loose and fallen down the exhaust pipe, partially blocking the exhaust. If the exhaust can't exit the engine, then the air/fuel mix can't enter the engine and your engine RPM's will be limited.

 

[Supratrb]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Supratrb,

Does your Merc audible alarm sound when you turn the ignition key? I ask because if the Merc Guardian senses a problem with the engine it can limit the engine RPM/performance. The audible alarm should sound briefly when you turn the ignition key to test the alarm itself. If the alarm doesn't sound, you may have an engine problem that is limiting your RPM's. If the audilbe alarm doesn't work, you would not know a problem existed, unless you had the ECM error buffer read out. Merc manual 36 covers the ECM 555 on the small block engines
(4.3L to 6.2L).

Other thoughts are: 1. Is the bottom of the boat clean? A dirty boat bottom will limit engine RPM's as well as top boat speed. 2. Does the timing advance with engine RPM? If timing can't advance, engine power will be reduced. 3. Is the alternator output good? It should be around 13.9 - 14.7 volts when charging the battery (around 2000 RPM's and higher). 4. If the engine has overheated in the past, an exhaust flap could have come loose and fallen down the exhaust pipe, partially blocking the exhaust. If the exhaust can't exit the engine, then the air/fuel mix can't enter the engine and your engine RPM's will be limited.

Yes, the alarm does sound briefly before starting. I have service manual 32 and couldn't find engine codes anywhere! Do you have a link to download 36?

1. The boat stays out of the water and it wiped down after every outing. It does have a clean hull.
2. Would I have to hook up a timing light to check timing advance with RPM? I haven't checked that yet.
3. I haven't checked alternator output yet either. The battery is also the original battery in the boat, so about 6 years old. Neither of them have ever given me problems. Do you think this could take away 1,000 rpm?
4. I wondered about a clogged exhaust but being that the boat is so new, I didn't think twice about it. What is an exhaust flap? And what can I take off to check?

These are all things that no one else has told me so this is great! New things to check!

 

[burp]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Look for manuals here http://search.4shared.com/q/10/Mercruiser

Exhaust flaps are located in the exhaust Y - pipe.

 

[Supratrb]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Thanks for everyone's help! The boat is back at full power!! I took it into the dealer knowing that the fuel pump was bad and told them to replace it, not diagnose it. They called me later that afternoon and said it started just fine... with their "special tool" hooked up to it. After some explanation from me, they decided to check again and call me back... a few hours later, they call me back and said it was my fuel pump. With an original quote of $450 to change, I told them to proceed. $950 later and 2 trips back, they were not able to fix the problem.

It turns out that when they were attempting to diagnose the boat when I told them to simply change the fuel pump, they undid 1 of the fuel injectors and did not plug it back. It was a difficult one to see also. That explained the sudden great MPG but loss of power. Now it sucks down gas but shoots right out of the hole!

 

[jkust]

Re: Do Crownline's have a governor?

Glad you got it corrected and it was something simple. The 4.3 in general and in particular the MPI version provide decent milage in the big picture. So much so that when a 4.3 is one of the optional engines over a base 3.0 four cylinder in say an 18 foot boat, the 4.3 will get as good or better fuel economy. With your heavy rig, I imagine you are really putting it through its paces. The fact that it pushes your boat that well is a testament to 6 cylinders capabilities.