Picked up 2.4 mph...

[scott_gunn]

I had the power pack and optical eye on my 150 Johnson replaced.  Replacing the eye required a readjustment of the timing.  Top speed I hit first time out was 44.8.  I think it will do more but I ran out of room.  Previous top speed over the last few years (since I've owned it) was 42.4, and that was with the wind at my back!

I had those parts replaced to fix an intermittent dying-then-not-restarting problem I had.  The extra speed is a nice bonus!

[JimCt]

 :!:
 :twisted:  :!:

[John Jones]

good for you.  probably burn less gas too.

[RickK]

What does the optical eye do?  Sense fuel flow?  Sounds like it was an expensive fix with a pleasureable side effect  8)

[scott_gunn]

The optical eye has something to do with the timing.  It's used in place of a timing chain I think?

The eye was only 60 bucks, but the overall fix for my intermittent problem(s) was real expensive.  Just about every electrical component (stator, optical eye, voltage regulator, power pack, plugs and wires) in the boat is brand new so hopefully they'll last a while.

I think it was the readjustment of the timing that gave me the power bump.

[RickK]

Was it possible that they troubleshot by replacement?  I hate when that happens

[scott_gunn]

The problem was intermittent enough that, in the end, it would have cost me too much in labor to have them troubleshoot it.  I knew from my own testing that it was losing spark.  The first place I went tested the stator and found it to be bad so they replaced it (along with plugs and wires).  They thought that might fix it.  It didn't.  They couldn't reproduce the problem at their shop (I don't think they tried very hard) so I picked it up and immediately had the same problem.

Then I checked and tested all wiring and the key switch and kill switch.  They checked out fine.

Since the stator had been replaced (and the voltage regulator a few months ago), the only likely candidates left were the eye and power pack with the problem most likely being the power pack.  So the next place I went I told them troubleshoot for no longer than half an hour since most likely the power pack was the problem and an optical eye costs about the same as an hour of labor, so chances were I wouldn't save any money by having them troubleshoot it for an hour or more only to determine that it was the power pack.  I told them if they couldn't narrow it down to one or the other in half an hour just to replace both and charge me one hour of labor total (since they can replace both of those and adjust the timing in about half an hour).

[JimCt]

That optical eye sounds like it may be a crank angle sensor.  Usually when they go bad the engine simply quits.  Whatever scratched the itch certainly improved your performance.  You may want to double check your wide open throttle RPM's again to be sure you're within the engine's rated range.  If the previous owner propped the engine for WOT with it operating below specs. you may find that WOT now over-rev's the engine.

[RickK]

The first place I went tested the stator and found it to be bad so they replaced it (along with plugs and wires).  They thought that might fix it.  It didn't.  They couldn't reproduce the problem at their shop (I don't think they tried very hard) so I picked it up and immediately had the same problem.

I would think that it is not a t&m job when you take it to a "factory shop" - these guys should know what is going on.  If they don't fix it but charge you like they did fix it, the ball should be in their court and it should be on them to fix it.  Am I wrong in this thinking?  Unless they specify, up front, that it would be t&m, it shouldn't end when you run out of money and they hold up their hands...... :evil:

[John Jones]

I would think that it is not a t&m job...

Good luck with that.

[RickK]

I guess I wasn't real clear the first time - I realize the first time they work on it, it'll be t&m, that's all it could be. It when you pay the bill because they think they fixed it, and they didn't, that the "warrantee" should kick in and now whatever it takes to make it right is the proper result.
Some mechanics, from my personal experience and from what I'm told by close friends, "fix" the problem but never put the boat in the water to test the fix - they just "know" that it'll work.  Then you get it and it isn't fixed, you complain but the mechanic swears it was fixed at his shop.
Does this sound familiar Scott?

[scott_gunn]

Well, I can understand the mechanic's point of view here.  It was an intermittent problem, and I think they cranked it up once or twice and everything really did work fine.  I knew and they knew that replacing the stator might not really be the final fix and I willingly agreed to have them replace it knowing I might still have a problem.  Now, I left it at their shop for a few days, and if they had gone out and cranked it up once or twice a day like I had asked they definitely would have been able to recreate the problem and I could have gotten it fixed right.  That's where the first mechanic dropped the ball in my eyes - not listening to me tell them how to recreate the problem.  I don't mind spending the money replacing the stator if it bench tested bad.

I did take it back to the same place one more time and they called me up and said the battery cables were loose and that they tightened them up and it's working fine now.  I told them I had been messing with the battery cables myself and that that definitely was NOT the problem, and again I left it with them a couple of days asking them to crank it up once or twice a day.  They said they cranked it up a bunch and it always worked fine.  I told them I didn't believe it was fixed but they insisted.  They didn't charge me for this.  I picked it up and first try in my yard it died on me.  The problem would show itself 50% of the time if started from cold (and I told them this) so I really don't think they were trying very hard to recreate the problem.

I don't feel like they ripped me off or treated me wrong at all, I just don't think they listened to me or tried very hard to recreate the problem.  If they had, they would have found it and I would have happily spent more money there.

[JimCt]

My $.02... a shop should thoroughly test the motor, no question.  A marine engine is a critical safety component of the boat.  To rely on faith only that problems have been corrected is inviting trouble. Simply having a warranty has little to do with whether the engine has been competently repaired or not.  If the shop doesn't have a test tank they should put the boat in the water and check it out.

 I'll save my faith for church.

[Anonymous]

A related suggestion -- anytime you have to replace ignition parts on a 60* OMC, consider the ones from CDI. They're digital and as bullet proof as it gets. They're blue so it's easy to distinguish them from OE parts.

[RickK]

You take the motor in, in good faith, to "your" mechanic or if like me, I never really had motor problems for many years, so I took it in to some else's mechanic, and I agree with you Scott, seems if I try to tell them a detailed symptom or how to reproduce it, they don't listen and thus, don't try to reproduce it.  I hope that the experiences I have had are not the norm in the industry, but the more I listen to friends and people I meet, it seems it is, unfortunately. I'd love to find a mechanic that loves his job and treats my motor like it was his own - then you know it would be fixed correctly - price not important.