My 290. Not a rebuild...more like I'm just tightening it up

[gran398]

I don't like the "touching the throttles shocked you" bit...  

Me neither.  It hurt.

That day (terrible quartering sea hitting the starboard stern quarter) required more use of the throttle than I'd have liked.  We took a neoprene huggy (koozie as my friends say) and a rag and made me a glove for my throttle hand.  

Only happened that day (gallons upon gallons of salt water dumping on the dash/console/CAPTAIN).  Checked all of the wires, followed the cables all the way to the motor...couldn't find anything that I thought would explain the controls shocking me, but to be sure it wasn't just me, I made sure it shocked one of my buddies, too  :twisted:

Never heard of this. Bob, what do you reckon is the cause?

[GoneFission]

I don't like the "touching the throttles shocked you" bit...  

Me neither.  It hurt.

Never heard of this. Bob, what do you reckon is the cause?

Were you running a generator?  If so, it's likely a bad ground feeding back through the throttle cable.     If you were not running a generator, the shock was likely from the ignition.   :evil:   Probably a spark plug wire touching or arcing over to the throttle cable.  

Do an inspection of your coil and plug wires for cracks or wear.  Make sure all ignition wires are well loomed and not in direct contact with other metal, especially the throttle/shift cables.  A good way to find an arc is to simply run the engine(s) at night with no lights and you will be able to see any spark jump.  Remember that you probably have low spark on one cylinder if you've got a wire arcing - that can lead quickly to a fouled plug - and one cylinder missing is not always easy to detect on a V-8.   :x

[SaltH2OHokie]

Few updates from past couple if months: no more offshore trips...0.7mpg left us all broke/in the doghouse with our significant others, etc.

Added:

2 rear facing scarab chris led spreader lights, 1 forward facing. I like them a lot. Probably could have done without the forward facing light as I'm really only up there at night to haul the anchor or secure a line...both of which I can do in the dark, but it certainly can't hurt to have more light.

Go-light stryker remote controlled spotlight. Also a fan of this...beats the heck out of a handheld light.

Fuse panel in my electronics box and fresh 6ga tinned wire feeding it.

Boatsafe bilge heater. Seems functional. Most obvious mounting point was also where I jump down to service the motors or hide from pirates, so I'm considering some form of semi-permanent mounting vs. super-duper-permanent.

Changed oil and t-stats on both motors. You know they are the same brand motor, 1 yr apart and have different oil pans, different intake manifolds, different heat exchanger mounting points, different t stat housings and one operates consistently 10deg cooler than the other.

Next up is a bus heater for the helm area...any recommendations?

[RickK]

Hey, good to hear back from ya - know that feeling on gas consumption  
So did you find out what was shocking you?

[SaltH2OHokie]

No, and in the course of adding all of that stuff, I had that issue in mind.  There are no electrical wires hitting control cables, no plug/coil wires anywhere on a control cable, etc...so while I don't ever feel good leaving something unexplained, for now I'm just going to have to hope it self-healed.

I also added 2 more boats to the fleet, a 17' custom built Harkers Island flat bottom skiff that is probably best suited as a yard ornament and an 18' Chincoteague Scow.  Scow had a 30hp Johnson on the back until it came off in a turn at about 20mph. That was a terribly scary experience and made me further appreciate my inboards   From hence forward, all outboards on my boats will be through-bolted...right down to a 2.5hp...

[seabob4]

Ryan,
Most likely in regards to the "shocking" issue, you have a ground that is seeking a path back to the batt.  Normally this would be one end of the wire to the other.  But when that wire is interrupted, it will seek whatever means possible, even going through "positive" wires to achieve that path.  The way that I know to fix it is to start taking equipment out of the electrical loop until the problem goes away.  I'm betting there is a chafing problem whereas ground is making a SLIGHT contact with positive.  Keep in mind your shift binnacle has neutral safety switches inside there, would be worth a look...

As far as a helm heater, I really like Boatsafe's 120VAC heater.  Most heaters are diesel powered, but if you can stand to run the gennie while underway, they are sweet...http://www.theboatsafe.com/products/cabin-heaters/

[SaltH2OHokie]

Only time I've been shocked was on the 70 mile ride home in stacked 3-5 seas and a stiff wind. If I never have to do that ride again it'll be too soon...so I hope its impossible to replicate  

As for heater...i was thinking of using the engine coolant/bus heater method because I don't have a gen set and am not a fan of any 12v heater I've used.

[seabob4]

Yeah, 12V heaters draw way too many amps and don't put out squat for heat.  Sorry Ryan, didn't realize no gennie...

I'm kinda with you on the replication of the "shocking" issue, although, like you, I HATE when problems go away by themselves.  Just means they MAY come back... :evil: