engine hours - bet you didnt know

[Alrob]

that the clever mercruiser dealer can tell how many hours your engine has done & at what revs (ie 5hrs @3000 rpm) just by plugging in some gizmo

[LeytonC]

Like em to do that on my engines [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] lmao

[Solitaire]

It's the case with all modern engines - don't need a mechanic anymore, you need an computer/electronics whizz.

[Nos4r2]

You don't need to be an electronics whizz to plug in a laptop, any literate monkey can do it. It's the way they interpret the data that's important and these so-called diagnostics systems can't tell you if there's an actual mechanical fault most of the time...

[Lakesailor]

Absolutely. Just like cars. They don't even teach mechanics about oily bits these days.
I had a Beemer 523 and it developed what was obviously a brake band fault on the auto box. 1st to 2nd gearchange nearly broke your neck when it was cold.
It took nearly 6 weeks of them "re-programming" the computer before I managed to get them to let a real mechanic come round to the house in the morning. He straight away said. "That's a gearbox fault that is." It was replaced under manufacturers warranty in a few days.

Looking at the stored history of an engine is only another diagnostic tool.

[jimmy_the_builder]

On the other hand, I had a clonk on my bmw 740 when selecting reverse, then drive, then reverse (eg three point turn). The second reverse selection always clonked. It went back to the dealer, who upgraded the prom chip that controlled the gearbox (effectively a software upgrade). Problem solved!

Cheers
Jimmy

[bigmoose]

what do ya mean u had a BM5 ....whatever it was....be carefull u defo dont want to upset the peeps without cars,..(but have boats or want to surf boat related sites)
bigmoose

[Lakesailor]

If I have upset none-car owners with my post I am truly
not bothered. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Lakesailor]

On a serious note though. The peripheral issues of computer this-and-that and whirly-knobs and padlle-flappy gear changes adds nothing to cars. I am a luddite when it comes to cars and see these as manufacturing benefits and ways to comply with regulations (engine management, for instance).
As a by product they add on all the fripperies as marketing propositions to make the showroom appeal greater.

Is boating going down the same route?

Has it already gone?

[spannerman]

True, they won't tell you if your piston rings are worn/broke, but I challenge you to diagnose an ECU fault on a modern electronically controlled engine without one. You could of course change components til the fault goes away, but try taking the used parts back cos you didn't need them, thats where it comes in by identifying the duff part, also you need a guy who understands the system.
Having started with Volvo in the motor trade and then sold SUN diagnostic gear for 10 years I can tell you that the average mechanic can only change parts. I frequently got called in to demo kit where I knew the car had a fault they could'nt diagnose, and they had literally thrown parts at it for three days hoping to get lucky.
The classic was the foreman of the Ford dealer in Torrington who asked me to connect my 'gizmo' to a V6 Granada with the Bosch K-tronic (mechanical)injection system and tell him what fault codes it had, I diplomatically told him if he could find the socket I'd connect it up!
And its not just those clever Mercruiser chaps, Evinrude, Mercury, and Volvo can all go in and read the engines history and there it will reveal if you have operated the engine out of its parameters and for how long. But its not just a matter of plugging in any old laptap, you need the 'electronic handshake' or access codes to get in, which are downloaded by internet to dealers, so Jo public can't get in himself.