2013, 140hp Suzuki, Check Engine light and loud beeping at low trolling speed

[buyslake]

Ok Guys, I need help. I have $1000 into this issue already and the problem is still there.
I brought the engine to Suzuki mechanic last year and they told me the problem was Neutral Switch assembly part number 37721-93J00 ($500 diagnosis which was wrong). I replaced the Neutral switch assembly in the motor and problem still. Exists. I wrote on this forum last year and some suggested it was the SUZUKI OUTBOARD IAC VALVE 18137-77E00. I took that part off last year and cleaned it with carb cleaner I thought that my motor was better after that however the problem is still there. An now this year this happens every time I use the motor. When I put it in forward and I am trolling around at slow speed like 3 mph the motor starts beeping at me and the check engine light comes on. I replaced the IAC part with a new one and the problem is still there so this must not be the issue?

I don't know what to do now. Maybe the problem is the Neutral safety switch in the shifter control box? I really don't want to bring it back to my local Suzuki mechanic at $125/hr when they charged me $500 last year and told me it was the neutral switch which it wasn't


I am in a fishing tournament in 3 weeks and I really need to get this problem resolved ASAP.

[Moonlighter]

Beeping is usually in a particular sequence - which are able to be interpreted into fault codes.

eg 1 beep, short pause, 2 beeps, longer pause - this would be a 1-2 fault code.

So is yours doing a sequence of any kind like that??

Its possible that a 1-1 code might be happening if its just a continuous beep beep. Even then, it would be beep, beep, longer pause, beep, beep and repeating. That is a alternator/regulator code. A good mechanic should be bale to test the alternator/voltage and diagnose such a problem, and it would also include checking battery condition.

Otherwise, random codes that happen while the engine still runs and performs normally are often due to low voltage being supplied to the engines control module. that is something that can happen at low revs if your battery/wiring is not up to scratch.

Such false codes do not get recorded in the ecu fault log, so they dont show up if the dealer hooks it up to the SDS diagnostic computer. These engines are VERY SENSITIVE to voltage so its important hpthat the boats electrical system is in tip top condition.

So you would want to check all the battery connections, and that means undo them all, clean with sandpaper so they are bright and shiny, do the same with battery terminals, apply some dilectric grease and tighten them up again.

And also, IMPORTANTLY find the white wire that powers the ecu. It should be connected to the battery + terminal or to the master battery switch. Do the same process as above. Clean it thoroughly and check the wire itself for corrosion and any damage. It should have a fuse in it so open the fuse holder take the fuse out, clean the contacts, make sure theres no corrosion in the holder or the wires that go into it.

Get your battery charged up and get it load tested.

For what its worth, the idea that it was the neutral throttle switch seems very unlikely. That is a momentary switch, its either on or off. What it does is signal to the ecu that the engine is in or out of gear. The ecu then responds by limiting revs to about 3000rom if the switch tells it the engine is in neutral. That is all it does. It doe not cause any codes or beeping if it isnt working, all that happens is that the ecu always thinks the engine is in neutral and wont let it rev.

Same as the IAC valve. It simply controls engine revs at idle speed. If it is stuck, the engine wont be stable at revs. Will usually stall out or idle very erratically and the engine will be hard to start without opening the throttle.

[buyslake]

Thanks for this information. This white wire you are talking about. This is different from the two heavy gauge wires that go to the starting battery? Is it a separate wire coming from the motor?

[buyslake]

Master battery switch? This motor is mounted on an alumacraft 185 Competitor boat side console with steering wheel. All set up by Cabelas. I purchased new in 2013. I have had this issue pretty much since I owned it, so maybe it could be something they set up wrong??? I am not sure what you are referring to as a master battery switch, would that be the suzuki control shifter start key box at the right of the steering wheel? I searched the manual for the term master battery switch and nothing came up.

[briscoe]

I wonder if this a temp alarm (issue). Does idling produce enough water pressure to keep engine cool? We don't troll. Don't have a clue about it. I have a water pressure gauge and when I idle down I see the water pressure go down to 5 psi or less. I always wonder if that is enough water pressure to keep engine cool, if I were to idle a long distance.

[Moonlighter]

Ok several questions you asked there.

Yes, the “white wire” is a separate wire, a lot smaller in size than the heavy positive and negative main battery cables that supply power to the starter motor. As I said earlier, the white wire provides power to the engine control unit (sometimes called BCM) in the engine - eg the brains of the engine. At the top of this forum a sticky thread dealing with issues that arise when the white wire fails. Yours doesnt sound like a failure, more like a low voltage situation as I mentioned earlier.

Anyway if you dont have a main battery switch, the white wire should be connected to the start battery + terminal, and should have a fuse holder located nearby. Some dealers have been known to take a bad shortcut to save them from running this wire from the engine back into the boat, and they wrongly attach the white wire to the starter motor + terminal. This is a very BAD idea as it often leads to low voltage being supplied to the ecu when the engine is started. Which causes fault codes.

So try to find this wire and inspect and clean it as already suggested. If you do find that its connected to the starter motor, then get it relocated to the battery where it belongs.

The “master battery switch” is a common term for the main battery switch fitted to many boats that turns the battery, or batteries if you have more than 1, on and off. Usually has off/1/2/both on the dial. Turning this switch on or off turns all power to the engine or house items(lights, sonar etc) on and off. Its usually located nearby the main battery. You boat may or may not have such a switch installed, especially if you just have a start battery.

Bricsoe - these engines can troll at lowest possible idle speed for hours and hours without overheating provided the water pump is in half decent condition. They pump more than enough to keep it cool at those speeds. I trolled with my DF115 for spanish mackerel for 6 hours straight at dead slow idle a few weeks ago. No temp issues. Overheating would throw a alarm and a code. And it would put the engine into safe mode. So, this problem doesnt sound like that to me.

[artdf175]

I wonder if this a temp alarm (issue). Does idling produce enough water pressure to keep engine cool? We don't troll. Don't have a clue about it. I have a water pressure gauge and when I idle down I see the water pressure go down to 5 psi or less. I always wonder if that is enough water pressure to keep engine cool, if I were to idle a long distance.

what service have you done regarding the water pump? not mentioned.
how many times in the last 7 years has it been serviced?

and you didn't mention how many hours on the engine
Art

[redlowrey]

Master battery switch? This motor is mounted on an alumacraft 185 Competitor boat side console with steering wheel. All set up by Cabelas. I purchased new in 2013. I have had this issue pretty much since I owned it, so maybe it could be something they set up wrong??? I am not sure what you are referring to as a master battery switch, would that be the suzuki control shifter start key box at the right of the steering wheel? I searched the manual for the term master battery switch and nothing came up.

If you have had the problem since new, I wouldn't mind betting you have in your wiring harness provision for troll mode, and it has been set up wrong from the start. I have not got a wiring schematic for a 2013 df 140 so I don't know, but if the problem only happens at slow speed with a closed throttle and it has been doing it for seven years good chance.

[buyslake]

Ok several questions you asked there.

Yes, the “white wire” is a separate wire, a lot smaller in size than the heavy positive and negative main battery cables that supply power to the starter motor. As I said earlier, the white wire provides power to the engine control unit (sometimes called BCM) in the engine - eg the brains of the engine. At the top of this forum a sticky thread dealing with issues that arise when the white wire fails. Yours doesnt sound like a failure, more like a low voltage situation as I mentioned earlier.

Anyway if you dont have a main battery switch, the white wire should be connected to the start battery + terminal, and should have a fuse holder located nearby. Some dealers have been known to take a bad shortcut to save them from running this wire from the engine back into the boat, and they wrongly attach the white wire to the starter motor + terminal. This is a very BAD idea as it often leads to low voltage being supplied to the ecu when the engine is started. Which causes fault codes.

So try to find this wire and inspect and clean it as already suggested. If you do find that its connected to the starter motor, then get it relocated to the battery where it belongs.

The “master battery switch” is a common term for the main battery switch fitted to many boats that turns the battery, or batteries if you have more than 1, on and off. Usually has off/1/2/both on the dial. Turning this switch on or off turns all power to the engine or house items(lights, sonar etc) on and off. Its usually located nearby the main battery. You boat may or may not have such a switch installed, especially if you just have a start battery.

Bricsoe - these engines can troll at lowest possible idle speed for hours and hours without overheating provided the water pump is in half decent condition. They pump more than enough to keep it cool at those speeds. I trolled with my DF115 for spanish mackerel for 6 hours straight at dead slow idle a few weeks ago. No temp issues. Overheating would throw a alarm and a code. And it would put the engine into safe mode. So, this problem doesnt sound like that to me.

Moonlighter, I don't think my motor has this white wire you are referring too. I have looked over it pretty close. I do not see such a wire. See pictures. Also if my motor had this wire wouldn't it be a long wire to reach the battery like the heavy red and black power wires? I do not see this leaving the ECU or the motor.

[buyslake]

If you have had the problem since new, I wouldn't mind betting you have in your wiring harness provision for troll mode, and it has been set up wrong from the start. I have not got a wiring schematic for a 2013 df 140 so I don't know, but if the problem only happens at slow speed with a closed throttle and it has been doing it for seven years good chance.

Wire harness provision for troll mode?????? Could you explain this more.

[buyslake]

what service have you done regarding the water pump? not mentioned.
how many times in the last 7 years has it been serviced?

and you didn't mention how many hours on the engine
Art

I haven't done any thing with the water pump. Should I be?

[buyslake]

The Oil stick on this motor does not show lines for full or low. Do I have too much oil in my motor? Is the upper hole the maximum your supposed to put in? And the lower hole the minimum? See picture.

image_1914.jpg

[artdf175]

oil dip stick yes those are the upper and lower range indicators
it is no wonder you are having overheating problems the water pump needs to be changed every two years - regardless of usage. The rubber is under a lot of pressure and begins to loose flexibility to pump water. you can be getting some water out the pee tube but not enough water gets to the head to keep it cool.
you should treat yourself to a copy of the service manual as there is a lot of useful information
Art

[buyslake]

oil dip stick yes those are the upper and lower range indicators
it is no wonder you are having overheating problems the water pump needs to be changed every two years - regardless of usage. The rubber is under a lot of pressure and begins to loose flexibility to pump water. you can be getting some water out the pee tube but not enough water gets to the head to keep it cool.
you should treat yourself to a copy of the service manual as there is a lot of useful information
Art

Art, I have the suzuki console electronic gauges on my boat. There is a light there I see for Temp. I would think if I had a temperature problem then the temp light would turn on. The temp light does not turn on. My issue is the Check Engine light and beeping.

[buyslake]

Beeping is usually in a particular sequence - which are able to be interpreted into fault codes.

eg 1 beep, short pause, 2 beeps, longer pause - this would be a 1-2 fault code.

So is yours doing a sequence of any kind like that??

Its possible that a 1-1 code might be happening if its just a continuous beep beep. Even then, it would be beep, beep, longer pause, beep, beep and repeating. That is a alternator/regulator code. A good mechanic should be bale to test the alternator/voltage and diagnose such a problem, and it would also include checking battery condition.

Otherwise, random codes that happen while the engine still runs and performs normally are often due to low voltage being supplied to the engines control module. that is something that can happen at low revs if your battery/wiring is not up to scratch.

Such false codes do not get recorded in the ecu fault log, so they dont show up if the dealer hooks it up to the SDS diagnostic computer. These engines are VERY SENSITIVE to voltage so its important hpthat the boats electrical system is in tip top condition.

So you would want to check all the battery connections, and that means undo them all, clean with sandpaper so they are bright and shiny, do the same with battery terminals, apply some dilectric grease and tighten them up again.

And also, IMPORTANTLY find the white wire that powers the ecu. It should be connected to the battery + terminal or to the master battery switch. Do the same process as above. Clean it thoroughly and check the wire itself for corrosion and any damage. It should have a fuse in it so open the fuse holder take the fuse out, clean the contacts, make sure theres no corrosion in the holder or the wires that go into it.

Get your battery charged up and get it load tested.

For what its worth, the idea that it was the neutral throttle switch seems very unlikely. That is a momentary switch, its either on or off. What it does is signal to the ecu that the engine is in or out of gear. The ecu then responds by limiting revs to about 3000rom if the switch tells it the engine is in neutral. That is all it does. It doe not cause any codes or beeping if it isnt working, all that happens is that the ecu always thinks the engine is in neutral and wont let it rev.

Same as the IAC valve. It simply controls engine revs at idle speed. If it is stuck, the engine wont be stable at revs. Will usually stall out or idle very erratically and the engine will be hard to start without opening the throttle.

Seems like it has 3 beeps then a pause, If I push the throttle down and take off out of troll speed then I hear two quick beeps and the check engine light goes off. Beeping seems to just occur at troll speed. I am replacing the water pump today since it hasn't been replaced yet. And I'm going to have my battery load tested. I would be shocked it it was the battery because I bought the biggest trolling motor/starting dual purpose battery that Cabelas had just 2 or 3 years ago. However, it is not an AGM battery.