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Hi all. Yesterday we had a problem with our 2011 Suzuki DF150 on our JC tritoon. We'd been out a couple hours w/o issue and were cruising about 25MPH when I heard/felt a few clanks (not terribly loud - my wife didn't even hear them). Look down and the motor is dead. I thought we must have hit something suspended in the water. Tilted up the motor and the prop/lower unit looked OK. Got it restarted after a couple tries. Started moving and all seemed just FINE for about an hour or so. No smoke, noise or power loss at all, and no lights or alarms of any kind. Totally normal.
Then it just died again. This time the starter could not spin the engine fast enough to start it. It cranked SLOW, then not at all, like a bad battery might (FYI the tow boat operator said his charger/tester did not indicate a bad battery, for what that means). Waiting for the tow I pulled the cowl and noticed a faint burned smell. No sign of any damage or anything visibly wrong. The engine compartment looked extremely clean and corrosion free (I haven't personally opened the cowl in probably 10 years).
So, now it's back in dry stack at our summer marina. I talked to their service mgr and he said they'd look at it Monday, in case it was something easy/obvious. Anything more will have to go back to our Suzuki dealer. That's a drag, the weather just got good here.
BTW, the battery was able to raise the motor as normal at the dock. No idea if this rules out a bad battery. And I am the original owner, it sees only fresh-water use, and I've personally racked up each one of the 995 engine hrs on the meter. That's right, this happened 5 hrs short of 1000. I have taken excellent care of the boat, with our Suzuki/JC dealer doing all the work and maintenance since 2011. It is stored indoors all year. Other than neutral safety switches and regular minor stuff the engine has been very solid since day 1. First breakdown or any issue requiring help getting in, ever. And the Duracell/East Penn battery is about 2 seasons old, but I've learned with batteries that doesn't say much - I had an Interstate battery in my truck fail at 3 months....
Just curious to know if anyone has any similar experience out there, and if so what was the cause and resolution. Thanks for reading.
Then it just died again. This time the starter could not spin the engine fast enough to start it. It cranked SLOW, then not at all, like a bad battery might (FYI the tow boat operator said his charger/tester did not indicate a bad battery, for what that means). Waiting for the tow I pulled the cowl and noticed a faint burned smell. No sign of any damage or anything visibly wrong. The engine compartment looked extremely clean and corrosion free (I haven't personally opened the cowl in probably 10 years).
So, now it's back in dry stack at our summer marina. I talked to their service mgr and he said they'd look at it Monday, in case it was something easy/obvious. Anything more will have to go back to our Suzuki dealer. That's a drag, the weather just got good here.
BTW, the battery was able to raise the motor as normal at the dock. No idea if this rules out a bad battery. And I am the original owner, it sees only fresh-water use, and I've personally racked up each one of the 995 engine hrs on the meter. That's right, this happened 5 hrs short of 1000. I have taken excellent care of the boat, with our Suzuki/JC dealer doing all the work and maintenance since 2011. It is stored indoors all year. Other than neutral safety switches and regular minor stuff the engine has been very solid since day 1. First breakdown or any issue requiring help getting in, ever. And the Duracell/East Penn battery is about 2 seasons old, but I've learned with batteries that doesn't say much - I had an Interstate battery in my truck fail at 3 months....
Just curious to know if anyone has any similar experience out there, and if so what was the cause and resolution. Thanks for reading.
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