One Each

[ellicat]

Kat and I went for a fish today. Plan was to launch at Bribie and head to a Caloundra spot.

Had engine troubles after we had jigged some live bait, so decided to fish there rather than risk things a further hour away at Caloundra. The current was raging on the last hour or so of the run in. We had two lines in each - 1 with livey and 1 with some cuttlefish head. Kat managed a few unders squire while I was getting nothing. Tossed out my delicious looking Chase Bait prawn imitation but by the time I'd got the bail arm over the plastic was already past me, so retired that idea. My livey rod went off and I played it for awhile but when it wanted to go it went. Eventually it cut me along the braid so suspect it was a shark.

Anyway, I finally got a bite and landed this fella, going 42 on the lie detector.

 

The tide turned and the boat turned too and we were closer to the mark now. But that didn't stop the fish from avoiding us... except for the wobbygongs that wouldn't leave @Kat alone. She hooked up to about 6 during the day and was only able to get the hook back from 1. Bloody nuisance things they are.

Finally Kat hooked up to another grassie, landing a 31 version. No photo sorry, but it looked just like my one only smaller.

Apart from that it was pretty non-eventful apart from a visit from some whales ... we were only in 5-7 metres of water.

[Angry51]

Great report, a day on the water

beats a day at home, and you could enjoy some of Kat's snacks.

[kmcrosby78]

Nice grassie Brian. Any idea what the motor issue is/was? 

[ellicat]

11 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Nice grassie Brian. Any idea what the motor issue is/was? 

Not really. I had the same problem a couple of months back. They changed the spark plugs and it fixed the problem until today. I'll take her back down tomorrow to see if they can nail it down.

[GregOug]

Nice grassie Brian. Well done. Pity the motor gave you a bit of grief.

[Old Scaley]

How did the leccy go in the current, Brian?

[ellicat]

58 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

How did the leccy go in the current, Brian?

No good.

Should've got an 80, but I think that would've struggled yesterday too.

[Hweebe]

21 hours ago, ellicat said:

Not really. I had the same problem a couple of months back. They changed the spark plugs and it fixed the problem until today. I'll take her back down tomorrow to see if they can nail it down.

Ignition coils? What was the engine doing? Misfire?

[ellicat]

No, it's only getting up to 4000rpm even with throttle fully open. Then after a few minutes it slowly kicks in and goes normally. The engine is running as smooth as ever. No misfires or similar. Last time the computer said there was nothing wrong, so they thought it may have been a bad plug. Changed them and she had been going along fine since, until yesterday.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good fish Brian. I hope the engine/motor is an easy fix. 

[kmcrosby78]

13 hours ago, ellicat said:

No good.

Should've got an 80, but I think that would've struggled yesterday too.

Give me $20 and I won't tell your wife you wasted alot of money on a motor not big enough ........ 

[GregOug]

1 hour ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Give me $20 and I won't tell your wife you wasted alot of money on a motor not big enough ........ 

He could always sell it and buy the bigger model. Everything else, batteries etc should suffice, I think.

And you’re too late. I rang Brian’s wife and told her I knew a big secret and I’d tell her for $50. She accepted. I think Brian is in Ward 2A at Royal Brisbane Hospital if you want to visit him. 

[Andrew_P]

13 hours ago, ellicat said:

No, it's only getting up to 4000rpm even with throttle fully open. Then after a few minutes it slowly kicks in and goes normally. The engine is running as smooth as ever. No misfires or similar. Last time the computer said there was nothing wrong, so they thought it may have been a bad plug. Changed them and she had been going along fine since, until yesterday.

Could it be a fuel issue Brian?

[Hweebe]

13 hours ago, ellicat said:

No, it's only getting up to 4000rpm even with throttle fully open. Then after a few minutes it slowly kicks in and goes normally. The engine is running as smooth as ever. No misfires or similar. Last time the computer said there was nothing wrong, so they thought it may have been a bad plug. Changed them and she had been going along fine since, until yesterday.

Humm so engine purring along up to 4000rpm and no error codes / limp mode. I'm with @Andrew_P some sort of fuel or fuel line (cracked line / air leak) issue is the most likely.

Is the Throttle wide open or is the still further range....What about the throttle cable linkage being loose / stretched and requiring adjustment?

[ellicat]

48 minutes ago, Andrew_P said:

Could it be a fuel issue Brian?

It could be, I guess.  It's a new filter since the last time though. I'm taking it down to the shop today so I'll put it to them.

[ellicat]

6 minutes ago, Hweebe said:

Humm so engine purring along up to 4000rpm and no error codes / limp mode. I'm with @Andrew_P some sort of fuel or fuel line (cracked line / air leak) issue is the most likely.

Is the Throttle wide open or is the still further range....What about the throttle cable linkage being loose / stretched and requiring adjustment?

Yep. It doesn't seem electrical. It might be the computer itself. Checked the cable last time. Yes, full throttle.

[Andrew_P]

Mate had similar issues due to the computer being fried - shop couldn’t replicate or diagnose it. Replaced the computer and it fixed the problem. He got a reconditioned computer for $300 they were asking for $1500 for a new one

[ellicat]

Well, I've dropped it in and I'll wait to hear the verdict. Hopefully it's a quick fix so I can get on the water.

A year ago I had a problem where the computer and fuel pump weren't talking and the computer needed replacing. Like Andrew said, it was $1500 for a new one and would be at least a week to get one in. They also had a 2nd hand one sitting on their shelf that they could put in that day. As I wanted to go fishing the next day, I opted for the 2nd hand one. It had something like 1800 hours on it but worked fine. I was happy to have saved the coin. Maybe that is now the problem.

[Andrew_P]

That seems the most likely cause Brian. My mate got 2000hrs before his started playing up. If it’s bad fuel the mechanic will have evidence of it. 

[ellicat]

Well I got her back with a new set of plugs again. They couldn't find anything wrong or replicate the problem.

Frustrating.

Seems it'll be a case of crossing my fingers everytime I go out, which is not ideal.

[Old Scaley]

That would be very frustrating @ellicat.  Lucky you don’t cross the bar.

[Angry51]

Yeah, that's why they call it " she ", don't

know if they're talking or not or what's gone wrong.

[Kat]

You will have to exclude me from your trips to diagnose issue

[Angry51]

59 minutes ago, Kat said:

You will have to exclude me from your trips to diagnose issue

You can serve out smoko to keep the grey matter moving.

[Hweebe]

On 16/09/2022 at 2:48 PM, ellicat said:

Well I got her back with a new set of plugs again. They couldn't find anything wrong or replicate the problem.

Frustrating.

Seems it'll be a case of crossing my fingers everytime I go out, which is not ideal.

Do a plugs swap out on the water next time this happens so you can at least rule bad plugs out?

That's really frustrating and for me unnerving. Intermittent issues are the worse.

It may or may not be relevant for you but when my last Mercury Optimax had an intermittent engine gremlin - coincidently throttle wouldn't go wide open.

1st mech - tried plugs, then coils and the issue still occurred (intermittently).

2nd mech - found the actual issue was in the throttle lever (something had broken inside) - Only way he knew was he had seen it before

Pays to find an experienced mech.

 

[ellicat]

Yep, my mechanic is a Merc specialist with at least 30 years on the tools.

I've been wondering the same thing about the throttle, but I can still only get to 9knots when it is occurring. Normally when on the plane I'll get 15 -18 knots at 4000 revs. When it resolves itself the throttle is on WOT position and it gradually picks up, so not sure.

[Junky]

G'day Brian.

Did you say new fuel filter? 

As in those oil filter easterner type screw on ones? 

 

 

Nice lipper btw. 

[ellicat]

Hey Damo, New fuel filter put in at last service which was after last time the problem occurred and before this time. Yep, a screw in type with the little drain at the bottom. Looks like it's all fuel in there.

[GregOug]

Have you been out in her since you got it back from the mechanic yet?

[ellicat]

Yep. Went out Tuesday night. Worked fine, but didn't run it for long as mainly in 6 knot zone. The real test will be Friday.