my 7 yrs warranty

[lumberslinger178]

Ok My warranty just ran out this spring and almost 7 yrs to the month My computer took a sh!t tues to the tune of 1500.00 bucks. It could be worst i guess at least ive got my health ....lol

[RidgeRunner]

Having your health is no laughing matter.
Sucks about the warranty and computer failure. This is the E-tec?
I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop on this Optipop. Mercury computer, compressors, coils, TPS and injectors. I don't think $1500 is too bad my boating brother. Hell I throw near half of that in the drink on a good weekend. LOL! :embarsed:

[spareparts]

I'm suprised its only $1500, most ecu's retail for at least $2000

[SkunkBoat]

not enough wax...

[Destroyer]

I'm surprised its only $1500, most ecu's retail for at least $2000

Which of course is total bu!!sh!t. They (the manufacturers) know they have us by the short hairs, so they jack the price up, then the jobbers do the same and finally the retailers gotta get their share also... My point is that you can buy ECU's for 8 cylinder cars for as low as $150 on eBay, and even then the seller is making a profit. I know it's all about supply and demand, but sometimes the exorbitant prices charged for marine parts just gets under my skin and I gotta vent. And remember that the auto ECU's do as much or more, are completely sealed in epoxy and are just as waterproof. Fact is I'd be VERY surprised if the marine ECU actually cost more than $75 to build in the factory, including parts and labor.

OK, that's the end of my rant ... like I said, sometimes it just gets under my skin...

Sorry for your loss Lumber, and Spare, you know that I'm not venting at you in any way shape or form... :beer:

[bradford]

Agree with Destroyer.

How many hours on your ETEC Lumber?

[lumberslinger178]

Just around 300 hrs

[bradford]

Damn, tried raising hell with anybody?

Are you on ETEC Owners Group Forum? Someone there might have some words of advice.

I'd ask for you old ECU back, I'll bet some tech geek with a soldiering iron could fix it for cheap.

[the daydreamer]

the problem with buying a used ecu from e-bay or anywere else is alot of times they cant be reprogramed to match the motor. we ran into that alot when i worked for BMW & MERCEDES. once the ecu was programed for a pacific vin# you could not take it out and put into another car and reprogram it to that vin# hence forceing the customer to go to the dealer. they are high for what they are. i would call customer service and ask for some GOODWILL ASSISTANCE!! was it dealer installed? if so they should be able to contact the service rep and get you some kind of help!!!

[lumberslinger178]

Yes it was dealer installed an hes looking into it for me which is great but I'm prepared to bite the bullet if I have too..

[the daydreamer]

trust me be firm out of pure customer satisfaction I think they will do something for you!!!!! it my be they pay for the part and you pay labor or it could be a 50/50 split. anything they do for you you will be better off than having to take the full brunt of the cost!!!! let me know what happens!! good luck!!!!!!!!!

[phatdaddy]

boating & fishing prices have no reason. considering what all the ecu does & what it took to engineer it & make it, that price seems more reasonable than guys spending $750 for a cooler. 300 hours does seem a little premature. i hope that is the problem, not the symptom of another issue. my merc went through 3 or 4 switchboxes before we figured it was a ground upstream causing the problem.

you could get the dealer to write it up as a Dewalt part and write it off

[lumberslinger178]

I like that idea of the dewalt write off phat .... the cooler was an impulse buy i guess ..... but it did have great reviews.

[phatdaddy]

lumber, i didn't know you got a cooler. was not trying to be smart a**, sorry

[Destroyer]

the problem with buying a used ecu from e-bay or anywhere else is a lot of times they cant be reprogrammed to match the motor. we ran into that a lot when i worked for BMW & MERCEDES. once the ecu was programmed for a pacific vin# you could not take it out and put into another car and reprogram it to that vin# hence forcing the customer to go to the dealer. they are high for what they are. i would call customer service and ask for some GOODWILL ASSISTANCE!! was it dealer installed? if so they should be able to contact the service rep and get you some kind of help!!!

Yep, was not ranting about things like that. A used ECU off of eBay is rarely a good investment, simply for the reason you pointed out. But the price I quoted was valid. My point was the outrageous prices charged for marine equipment in general. They (the makers of such) would have us believe that they have to charge more because of extra steps necessary for marine use, and, to a point, they are correct. But if a part costs $100 to make normally, and $150 to make for marine use, it should NOT give them the right or the ability to charge $2000 for it! But since they know that without that part your $15,000 engine will not run they feel free to do such things, and from where I sit, it's just plain wrong.

(And as far as EEPROM's go, anyone with the right equipment and knowledge should be able to reprogram one. But dealer only software is closely guarded, just so that they can charge whatever they want).

[draglink]

Damn, tried raising hell with anybody?

Are you on ETEC Owners Group Forum? Someone there might have some words of advice.

I'd ask for you old ECU back, I'll bet some tech geek with a soldiering iron could fix it for cheap.

My best friend is a Yamaha dealer. He often has cases like this. With enough input from himself and the boat owner, 9 times out of 10 Yamaha steps up and takes care of the issue with at least a 50% discount on parts but sometimes when they see the hours etc, they will eat 100%.

Def worth trying !

[bradford]

My best friend is a Yamaha dealer. He often has cases like this. With enough input from himself and the boat owner, 9 times out of 10 Yamaha steps up and takes care of the issue with at least a 50% discount on parts but sometimes when they see the hours etc, they will eat 100%.

Def worth trying !


I hope something works out like this for Lumber. If it were on a 3000 hour commercial crab boat I'd figure well you got the goody out of it, but 300 hours on an obviously meticuously maintained and lightly used boat is way too soon for something that important and costly to go bad.

[captpete13]

I would think that they will give you a computer. I don't deal with etec's but I know Merc and Yamaha take care of their customers. I replaced a f350 powerhead that had a freeze crack in the head due to poor drainage. The motor was 3 years out of warranty. Yamaha sent a new short block and heads for free. My Merc puked an air compressor 4 months out of warranty. Merc sent me one for free. I'm sure they'll do the right thing. Gotta get her going for next weekend.

[the daydreamer]

At 300 hrs isn,t it time for the first service? Witch i heard is about 600.00?

[lumberslinger178]

At 300 hrs isn,t it time for the first service? Witch i heard is about 600.00?

I had my 300 hour service at 189 hours an it was somewhere in that range

[macojoe]

My friend Pete has his boat getting a new e tec put on right now!

With all this computer stuff, I wonder if they are programed to die at a certin point? just to keep them needing parts?

[cterrebonne]

I would call DFI technologies out of alabama first. They might be able to repair it for half that price.

http://www.dfitechnologies.com/index.html

[spareparts]

I've wondered about the death code in some of these engines, consider me a conspiracy theorist, I'll put my tin foil hat on in case they are listening. Consider Mercury diagnostic computer system. It has to be connected to Merc Net each month or it will default. When you hook it up to Merc net, it checks all the recent activity on the computer. It can tell which engines it has been hooked up to, and its history(age, hours of use, etc). Say if a person put a bug in the system if it notices a lot of out of warranty, high hour engines coming in for service. In theory, those engine could have the parameters reset(newer ecu's are field reflashable) when the diagnostic computer is hooked up. The parameters could be changed so its getting a little more timing, a little less fuel so the next time out, it goes bang and some ones looking for a new engine. With the price of electronic controls, people don't switch brands when re-powering newer boats, especially if its a multi engine set up. I'm just saying...

[Striper80]

I've wondered about the death code in some of these engines, consider me a conspiracy theorist, I'll put my tin foil hat on in case they are listening. Consider Mercury diagnostic computer system. It has to be connected to Merc Net each month or it will default. When you hook it up to Merc net, it checks all the recent activity on the computer. It can tell which engines it has been hooked up to, and its history(age, hours of use, etc). Say if a person put a bug in the system if it notices a lot of out of warranty, high hour engines coming in for service. In theory, those engine could have the parameters reset(newer ecu's are field reflashable) when the diagnostic computer is hooked up. The parameters could be changed so its getting a little more timing, a little less fuel so the next time out, it goes bang and some ones looking for a new engine. With the price of electronic controls, people don't switch brands when re-powering newer boats, especially if its a multi engine set up. I'm just saying...
Do they offer any scanners in the aftermarket or is it strictly a dealer thing? I know there isn't a standard thing like obd 2 for boats.

[spareparts]

They've only recently had aftermarket for verado's. yamaha, the rest of merc, zuk, honda, and most In Boards have ahd simple systems out for a while. The newer epa stuff has changed everything. Yamaha is dealer only right now on their new stuff. Its getting harder and harder for independents like myself

[bradford]

All by design I think. Spare you're on to something I'll bet. Planned obsolesence.

[Destroyer]

They've only recently had aftermarket for verado's. yamaha, the rest of merc, zuk, honda, and most In Boards have ahd simple systems out for a while. The newer epa stuff has changed everything. Yamaha is dealer only right now on their new stuff. Its getting harder and harder for independents like myself

You are seeing the same thing in the automotive trades... The down the street garage mechanic is just about gone... Only dealers can fix the newer cars. Computers are putting the independents out of business... and you can bet that it's deliberate.

[THEFERMANATOR]

You are seeing the same thing in the automotive trades... The down the street garage mechanic is just about gone... Only dealers can fix the newer cars. Computers are putting the independents out of business... and you can bet that it's deliberate.

Alot of it has to do with the fact people want so much in modern cars, that datacoms had to advance. And every manufacturer uses there own code. Now you can understand why small shops now have to charge $65-80 an hour just to keep the doors open. Between the taxes and government hurdles to overcome as a small business, then to keep up with current technology and tools, you spend more than you could ever hope to make.

[Destroyer]

Alot of it has to do with the fact people want so much in modern cars, that datacoms had to advance. And every manufacturer uses there own code. Now you can understand why small shops now have to charge $65-80 an hour just to keep the doors open. Between the taxes and government hurdles to overcome as a small business, then to keep up with current technology and tools, you spend more than you could ever hope to make.

Yep. Heck in NJ if you want to be an inspection site you have to buy a special exhaust analyzer... $24-30,000 outlay just for the machine... and that's before you get the first customer through your door. I totally understand. Oh, and here in NJ most shops are charging 75-95 an hour. It's actually getting cheaper to swap out an entire engine rather than fix one...

[reelapeelin]

As soon as I read Slinger say it puked just out of warranty, it dawned on me; being computers, they can be programed to die at any time...and there seems to be a lot of support here for that idea.My Honda ECU crapped just INSIDE the warranty which they replaced no questions asked...dealer had just gotten a bulletin on them when mine went...he said at the time (2007 or so) it would have been around a grand if I had to pay for it.

Sorry to hear yer etec went down...like the others, I think Bombardier will step up due to low hours...they oughtta be a little embarrassed about it...