df50 wont idle

[jonwmg]

2004 df 50 has a check eng light and alarm coming on every 5-10sec. runs fine with engine cover off or with hose in driveway.idles rough or wont idle when in water. runs good over 1200 rpm or so . good fuel filters and fuel etc. acts as if its starved for air.

[18pontoon]

Check the cowling (top cover) for blockages. My DF70 cowling had some mud dauber nests partially blocking the air intake. The not idling in the water could be explained by air making its way in from the lower cowlings. It runs fine on muffs because out of the water the lower cowling is open to air, and air can come in through the cracks. In the water stopped, the bottom of the lower cowling could be submerged depending on how your motor is mounted. Once you start moving, the water level goes down to the cavitation plate and the lower part of the lower cowling is exposed to air again so problem goes away.

[jonwmg]

df50 wont idle

thanks but intake all checks out. ive had two shops check it out including dealer and nobody can tell me whats going on.Im 300 bucks in and dont know what to do somebody please help! dealer told me what i already knew that engine is starved for air. dealer suggested compression test but it runs fine above 1200 rpm. has only 450 hrs on it.

[Moonlighter]

The other option is an exhaust leak. Your symptoms sound very similar to the DF140 engine holder corrosion issues. Search this forum for that and you will see what I mean. Would then be worth carefully checking around the base of the powerhead for any signs of corrosion, leaks, holes etc.

[jonwmg]

many thanks!

discovered an exhaust leak at a plug between powerhead and engine holder.prepped surface and applied J.B weld which will get me through the rest of the season. will have it permanutly welded in the spring when i replace water pump , gear oil etc. again thank u much

[Moonlighter]

Ok, glad to hear you have identified the problem. I hadn't heard of any motors other than those in the early pre-2008 series DF90/115/140 engine family having this problem, but the symptoms sounded very familiar.

No doubt you have checked, but just in case, look at any wiring nearby the location of the exhaust leak and make sure it hasn't been damaged by the heat of escaping exhaust gas.

Tight lines for the rest of your fishing season! Hearing you US guys talk about this reminds me how lucky we are here in Australia with our boating weather, usually, winter and spring is the best fishing weather in my neck of the woods.

In fact, in 3 weeks' time, I am heading to the only town in the world with a number for a name: the town of 1770.

Look it up! tours-recreation - TOURS-RECREATION

We book a holiday house for a week, then launch and go out to the southern Great Barrier Reef and fish hard for reds, trout and other reef fish plus mackerel.

[Pogo1968]

Exhaust leak also in 2003 DF 40

[QUOTE=Moonlighter;14702]Ok, glad to hear you have identified the problem. I hadn't heard of any motors other than those in the early pre-2008 series DF90/115/140 engine family having this problem, but the symptoms sounded very familiar.

FWIW, I just confirmed my problem was an exhaust leak yesterday. Same corrosion around the plug. 2003 DF 40. What is the purpose of that plug? Seems odd to put a steel plug (at least in mine) in aluminum. Did some of these get O2 sensors there? Just curious.

[Moonlighter]

Not sure - the early DF140 issue was supposed to be to plug a hole used for an exygen sensor that was used on the automotive version of the same engine.

So its possible that the early DF40 was similar.

[redlowrey]

All the fuel injected df series engines have a plug in the exhaust, because the engines run in open loop, no 02 sensor, the ecu has no way of knowing if the engine is running rich or lean. The dealer removes the plug and installs an o2 sensor with the Suzuki sds and will do a series of running tests to see if the software values have not changed. My 2008 df 140 has no plug so they must have went away from that idea.