jm_bullard
Seaman
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2007
- Messages
- 53
Hey all! I have a 2004 Mercury Optimax 150 hp that I am having a time with. I bought the motor last June with 440 hours on it. On the first trip out, I ended up with a scorched piston. I have the Smartcraft gauges, but got absolutely no warnings or error codes before the piston started thumping. I had a rebuilt power head installed in April of this year, and when I took it out for the test run, I had two separate issues. I keep getting an intermittent TPS fault that comes and goes. My mechanic (who is 90 miles away) told me it had to be an electrical issue since it comes and goes, but I have traced the wires and cleaned every plug that I can find. All plugs look good; no corrosion or even discoloration. The TPS fault will usually go away at higher RPMs. Any ideas about what else I could check?
The second issue is overheating. It runs fine at idle, but I get an overheat alarm when I try to give it throttle above around 1500 RPMs. I have good water flow through the tell-tale. I have a new impeller that I am installing tomorrow morning, but it is kind of weird that the engine runs cooler at lower RPMs if it is a bad impeller. That seems backwards from my limited experience. Any other items I should check while I am in there tomorrow? Be aware that I have limited mechanical skills. I appreciate any and all suggestions.
The second issue is overheating. It runs fine at idle, but I get an overheat alarm when I try to give it throttle above around 1500 RPMs. I have good water flow through the tell-tale. I have a new impeller that I am installing tomorrow morning, but it is kind of weird that the engine runs cooler at lower RPMs if it is a bad impeller. That seems backwards from my limited experience. Any other items I should check while I am in there tomorrow? Be aware that I have limited mechanical skills. I appreciate any and all suggestions.