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We have a 2008 33T Contender with twin Yamaha F350 engines. We left early yesterday morning on a trip. We ran for about 10 miles at 4600 rpms and suddenly the port motor gauge started flashing “check engine” and the RPM automatically started dropping off on the port engine. I pulled the engines into neutral and cleared out the check engine warning so I could see the gauges. I noticed that the oil pressure bar was all the way to the left, so I shut off the engine and checked the oil. The oil level was about midway down the stick, so I went ahead and added a little more oil to that engine. The motor cranked right back up, and as soon as I started increasing the RPM the indicator climbed back up to showing ideal pressure. I throttled up to 4600 RPMS and continued on our course for about 10-15 minutes and then the same exact thing happened. At this point I knew we could not continue with our trip as planned, so I shut down the port motor and started limping in on the starboard motor.
I believe the engine was going in to safe mode when it reduced the RPM. One time I tried to plane off and it seemed that neither engine could get over 4000RPM. Does this sound like safe mode?
We have done a little bit of research and it sounds like it could be one of three issues, Oil filter/pump/sensor, engine overheating, or a fuel issue.
I do not believe that the engine is overheating because the temperature indicator never increased while we were running, the engine did not feel overly hot to the touch, and there was no smoking, etc. I pulled the cowling off the starboard engine and both motors seemed to be a similar temperature.
I don’t think that it is a fuel issue because the motor is not bogging down or running inconsistently. It starts right up and runs great for a while then the above issue occurs. Could a fuel issue cause the “check engine” alert and cause the engines to go into “safe” mode?
I am leaning towards this being an oil-related issue. It has been just under 100 hours since the last engine service and I am wondering if we have a clogged oil filter or something similar. I never got a “low oil pressure” alarm, just the “check engine” alarm. As stated earlier, it appeared that the oil pressure had dropped when the check engine alert occurred. When I shut down and re-start the engine, the pressure appeared to increase with RPM similar to the other motor.
We would greatly appreciate any advice you could provide. We do not have access to a trailer for taking the boat to the shop, so we would like to troubleshoot the issue on our own if possible.
I believe the engine was going in to safe mode when it reduced the RPM. One time I tried to plane off and it seemed that neither engine could get over 4000RPM. Does this sound like safe mode?
We have done a little bit of research and it sounds like it could be one of three issues, Oil filter/pump/sensor, engine overheating, or a fuel issue.
I do not believe that the engine is overheating because the temperature indicator never increased while we were running, the engine did not feel overly hot to the touch, and there was no smoking, etc. I pulled the cowling off the starboard engine and both motors seemed to be a similar temperature.
I don’t think that it is a fuel issue because the motor is not bogging down or running inconsistently. It starts right up and runs great for a while then the above issue occurs. Could a fuel issue cause the “check engine” alert and cause the engines to go into “safe” mode?
I am leaning towards this being an oil-related issue. It has been just under 100 hours since the last engine service and I am wondering if we have a clogged oil filter or something similar. I never got a “low oil pressure” alarm, just the “check engine” alarm. As stated earlier, it appeared that the oil pressure had dropped when the check engine alert occurred. When I shut down and re-start the engine, the pressure appeared to increase with RPM similar to the other motor.
We would greatly appreciate any advice you could provide. We do not have access to a trailer for taking the boat to the shop, so we would like to troubleshoot the issue on our own if possible.
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