MC 197 Limp Mode

[spartanskier10]

No issues the first 4 sets this year until last night... check engine alarm came on sporadically and boat went into limp mode with no throttle power. Never happened while accererating or at speed. Only when putsing or dropping a skier at idle. Temps, oil pressure, voltage all good.

 

Boat just returned from a winter servicing... frustrating. An ‘05 with only ~200 hours. The boat is babied. Any thoughts?

[skimtb]

Post on MC teamtalk.

[eleeski]

The O2 sensors have failed on our 08MC after storage causing a similar limp mode. But I'm not sure your 05 has O2 sensors.

 

Fuel filter issues are also common.

 

Get a dealer to read the codes.

 

Eric

[oldjeep]

What was the winter servicing? Did they touch the distributor cap?

Unfortunately without the Diacom software you are just going to be guessing if the boat doesn't have a screen that displays trouble codes (and an 05 likely does not)

[BraceMaker]

Idle in neutral or idle in gear?

 

05 should be MEFI-4 - https://www.bakesonline.com/images/MediaLibrary/Indmar_MEFI4manual.pdf

 

https://www.michiganmotorz.com/codemate-tester-mefi-code-reader-p-2459.html

 

 

[Tryathlete]

One quick check would be to temporarily pull the temp sensor to see if limp mode disappears. Could be a bad sensor getting set off when heat soak occurs after a pull set or run across the lake.

[BraceMaker]

On MEFI-4 if you unplug a sensor and it will default to a base value. Takes a few minutes. My guess is TPS.

[bigskieridaho]

So this happened to my BU and come to find out it was low battery power and ignition system wasn’t getting enough juice. Might need to charge it up. @spartanskier10

[Bdecker]

@spartanskier10 - I have the same boat with a few more hours and have encountered a similar issues. First I’d pull the battery, test it and get a good charge on it or replace it. Disconnecting the battery will reset the limp mode. I had two things that caused mine that are easy to check;

1- a wire had rubbed against the motor mount and was causing a voltage irregularity.

2- my knock sensor failed- that might be worth a shot because it was handled during winterization. I think it was a $30 part so not a big deal and really easy to replace.

 

Luckily the marina on our lake has the software and code reader so I wasn’t blindly replacing parts. Depending on your situation however, I might try the knock sensor as it’ll be way cheaper than hauling the boat for service. Good luck!

[Bongo]

I had a similar problem a couple years ago with my '04 197. Two things would happen occasionally; alarm and limp mode, or alarm and low voltage warning. I did have a code reader, but it didn't help as much as it could. (Or I wasn't savvy enough to zoom in on the Diacom graph that might have showed it; no relevant codes were thrown.) After weeks of chasing, found a negative / ground wire under the dash that was slightly loose. Since sporadic, didn't really know until a few weeks passed without an issue.

 

....now if I could only get it to smooth out at 1,850 RPM. No issues above or below...but that's where I pull a lot of my trick skier runs...