F-150 problems

[Ignus43]

I have a 2007 yamaha F150 with 4 years remaining on warrenty. Over the July 4th holiday we went fishing. We made about a 6 mile run from the boatdock and begun to fish. After about 10 minutes I was going to use the big motor to push us closer to shore and it did not start. battery sounded dead. We switched to one of my trolling motor batteries and still nothing. After an hour I tried it again and it started. I dropped it off at the dealership and they told me it was a plugged fuel filter and it caused compression in the engine. Cost 103 dollars. I took it out last week. It started fine at the dock. I made a 2 mile run and began to fish. 45 minutes later I tried to fire up the motor and same thing, wouldn't start. Took it back to the dealership. This time and they came up with a bad water pump that caused the moter to overheat and then when I shut it down it vapor locked and they told me it caused to much preasure in the engine it would not turn over. The problem is they are telling me that this is not covered by warrenty. Worse yet they have about 12 hours of work into this at $79 and to top it off they told me that there is damage to the #3 cylinder. At no point did I ever have any audible alarms sound for the overheating problems. What should a guy do?

[bob1]

big_crappie would probably have an answer for this! If he does not chime in, I would PM him.

He has helped me with several Yamaha F150 questions!

Bob

[yarcraft91]

I'm not familar with the F-150, but something doesn't smell right here. Assuming you correctly understood what these folks were telling you:

- plugged fuel filters do not "cause compression" in any engine I've owned. Instead, they starve engines of fuel and that won't keep an engine from cranking.
- an overheat alarm that does not sound in an overheat condition sounds like a valid warranty claim to me.

I'd be very suspicious that something is not on the up-and-up. What exactly does your paperwork to-date say about the work the dealer has done?

[angler53]

Yeah, something stinks to high heaven, here.
Is this dealer a certified yamaha repair station?
Call Kennesaw (866) 894-1626.

[seahorse]

It sounds like they are blowing smoke up your a...

Get your motor to a trained dealership and ask to see the mechanic's diplomas. Mechanics are proud of their training and acheivements so asking is no problem.

Call Yamaha customer service to report your problems and ask for a recommended repair center.

[big_crappie]

I have a 2007 yamaha F150 with 4 years remaining on warrenty. Over the July 4th holiday we went fishing. We made about a 6 mile run from the boatdock and begun to fish. After about 10 minutes I was going to use the big motor to push us closer to shore and it did not start. battery sounded dead. We switched to one of my trolling motor batteries and still nothing. After an hour I tried it again and it started. I dropped it off at the dealership and they told me it was a plugged fuel filter and it caused compression in the engine. Cost 103 dollars. I took it out last week. It started fine at the dock. I made a 2 mile run and began to fish. 45 minutes later I tried to fire up the motor and same thing, wouldn't start. Took it back to the dealership. This time and they came up with a bad water pump that caused the moter to overheat and then when I shut it down it vapor locked and they told me it caused to much preasure in the engine it would not turn over. The problem is they are telling me that this is not covered by warrenty. Worse yet they have about 12 hours of work into this at $79 and to top it off they told me that there is damage to the #3 cylinder. At no point did I ever have any audible alarms sound for the overheating problems. What should a guy do?

Is this repair center an authorized Yamaha shop. I have never heard of anything like this, I can not say for sure but it sounds like B.S. Our first look would be at the battery connections on the motor. We have had a couple of instances where the bolt were loose and not allowing proper contact from time to time. I do not understand what would cause damage to #3 cylinder. We have had quite a few people really cook these things by not heeding to the alarms but never cylinder damage. PM me so I can get more info from you.

[Been there - recently]

Is this repair center an authorized Yamaha shop. I have never heard of anything like this, I can not say for sure but it sounds like B.S. Our first look would be at the battery connections on the motor. We have had a couple of instances where the bolt were loose and not allowing proper contact from time to time. I do not understand what would cause damage to #3 cylinder. We have had quite a few people really cook these things by not heeding to the alarms but never cylinder damage. PM me so I can get more info from you.

The above quote exactly explains a situation I just had this past week while on vacation in northern MN. Intermittent problems with my F150HP. For the better part of three days during the vacation I had intermittent starting problems, tilt/trim problems, the motor cutting out at various RPM levels, etc.. I at first thought water in the gas that was initiating some sort of engine disabling function - the owners manual has some reference to this (somewhat lacking in specifics). After a few attempts to "solve" this part of the problem, it became more apparent that I had an electrical (battery) vs. fuel issue. I purchased a new cranking battery, cleaned my connections at the battery - and still had problems> I then called a local marina (Yamaha dealer) and they sent a guy out who met me at the ramp since I was staying on an island and by this point I couldn't even operate the tilt/trim - my main motor was completely dead (I limped over on the kicker). After about 15 minutes of work, the mechanic found out that my main battery cable negative connection on the motor was loose and had been shorting out for some time. It had arced enough over time to form weld slag on the mounting bolt, thereby causing a poor connection. Since the negative mounting post on the motor was so slagged up, he mounted the negative cable on an alternate bolt on the engine block. I then ran the motor hard for the next three days and fell in love with the motor again. Prior to that, I was not trusting it at all. It is not fun to have your main motor suddenly cut out at WOT in the middle big water. Bottom line - heed the advice from others and carefully check your battery connections at the battery and on the motor (they are easy to to identify if you follow the cables). Also, the mechanic said that in his experience, Yamaha 150's ($ strokes) are very reliable engines (that dealership sells/services other brands), and most of the problems he sees with them are simple items to address, which made me feel good. At the risk of running a commercial, I'd like to thank Timbuktu Marine in Cook, MN for their excellent service, it saved my vacation. Thanks guys.

[Ignus43]

I bought the boat at River City Sports in Bismarck ND. They are a Yamaha dealer. I spoke with them again and they told me while they were testing it the overheat alarm did sound. Like I said the alarm never did sound for me. They did a leak down test as well and cylinders 1,2 and 4 are at 8%, while cylinder 3 is at 12%. What is normal for a 2 year old motor with probably less than 60 hours of use? And should I be worried about this?

While the engine would not start the trim/tilt worked fine along with my electronics, livewell, bilge, stereo with no signs of lacking power.

[big_crappie]

i bought the boat at river city sports in bismarck nd. They are a yamaha dealer. I spoke with them again and they told me while they were testing it the overheat alarm did sound. Like i said the alarm never did sound for me. They did a leak down test as well and cylinders 1,2 and 4 are at 8%, while cylinder 3 is at 12%. What is normal for a 2 year old motor with probably less than 60 hours of use? And should i be worried about this?

While the engine would not start the trim/tilt worked fine along with my electronics, livewell, bilge, stereo with no signs of lacking power.

12% on #3 is not with in specs. What exactly did it do?

[Ignus43]

I don't know what happened to it. They just told me cylinder 3 is at 12%. The boat is still at the dealer and I have not run it since they told me all of the above problems.

[big_crappie]

Have the dealer call their regional service representative from Yamaha and find out if he can come and look at the motor. Maybe if the rep is willing you can be at the dealership after he has looked at it and talk to the rep directly. Do not ask for the reps phone # as you will be denied that immediately and probably get him P.O'd. Even the dealers are not allowed to have the rep's phone #. They will have to be contacted by the Yamaha customer service dept or the tech line themselves. If your dealer is not willing to do that, call Yamaha customer service yourself and ask for this type of an arrangement. At that point you will have a clear understanding of what is going on and possibly the rep will be able to make a call to get certain repairs not normally covered by warranty paid by warranty. That is where I would go. Without seeing the engine myself that is as far as I can go for you. Good Luck and let me know if you need anything else. Here is the customer service # in Kennesaw (866) 894-1626.

[bob1]

Well I guess it is time to check my battery connections on my F150.

Bob

[eye4aneye]

Sounds like the motor was running hot enough to seize a bit and not start after it sat for a while. Surely these motors have some sort of overheat protection??

Either way, it looks like the dealer isn't on his side. I wonder if they didn't rig the alarm right during installation??

[bob1]

What ever came out of this?

Bob

[REW]

Ignus,
With the cylinder damage to #3, I would request that Yamaha replace the engine under warranty.

Take care
REW

[Dave34]

The above quote exactly explains a situation I just had this past week while on vacation in northern MN. Intermittent problems with my F150HP. For the better part of three days during the vacation I had intermittent starting problems, tilt/trim problems, the motor cutting out at various RPM levels, etc.. I at first thought water in the gas that was initiating some sort of engine disabling function - the owners manual has some reference to this (somewhat lacking in specifics). After a few attempts to "solve" this part of the problem, it became more apparent that I had an electrical (battery) vs. fuel issue. I purchased a new cranking battery, cleaned my connections at the battery - and still had problems> I then called a local marina (Yamaha dealer) and they sent a guy out who met me at the ramp since I was staying on an island and by this point I couldn't even operate the tilt/trim - my main motor was completely dead (I limped over on the kicker). After about 15 minutes of work, the mechanic found out that my main battery cable negative connection on the motor was loose and had been shorting out for some time. It had arced enough over time to form weld slag on the mounting bolt, thereby causing a poor connection. Since the negative mounting post on the motor was so slagged up, he mounted the negative cable on an alternate bolt on the engine block. I then ran the motor hard for the next three days and fell in love with the motor again. Prior to that, I was not trusting it at all. It is not fun to have your main motor suddenly cut out at WOT in the middle big water. Bottom line - heed the advice from others and carefully check your battery connections at the battery and on the motor (they are easy to to identify if you follow the cables). Also, the mechanic said that in his experience, Yamaha 150's ($ strokes) are very reliable engines (that dealership sells/services other brands), and most of the problems he sees with them are simple items to address, which made me feel good. At the risk of running a commercial, I'd like to thank Timbuktu Marine in Cook, MN for their excellent service, it saved my vacation. Thanks guys.

I had the exact same issue - ground connection on the engine block appeared to be clean and tight, but was not making a good ground. To make matters worse, it was very intermittent. The mechanics at the Rogers Cabela's marine repair shop said they could see it arcing when trying to crank the motor. Same solution - they moved the ground connection to another spot on the block and problem solved! Very simple problem causing a huge headache. This is not exclusive to Yamaha - the techs said it has happened to other outboard brands as well.