twodogs Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Went to start my 2007 Mercury Optimax 200 hp this morning. Somehow the emergency stop lanyard switch had pulled free. As would be expected the engine would not start, but surprisingly it was trying to start. After replacing the lanyard switch the engine started but I received a system fault 22 re faulty warning buzzer accompanied by a constant high pitch warning noise. Disconnecting the power and waiting five minutes before restarting did not resolve the issue. Called two separate Mercury mechanics and both diagnosed a known defect. Cranking the engine with the lanyard switch disconnected blows a component in the engine computer. This component controls the warning buzzer. Thankfully my engine is still under warranty and the computer was replaced free of charge. Lesson learned ........ ALWAYS check that the emergency lanyard switch is in the RUN position before attempting to start your Optimax as a new computer is a VERY expensive fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helliconia Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 If you own one and it is still under warranty I would be requesting it be fixed before those circumstances arise. I can "almost" understand them not doing a product recall, but if it is a known defect they should be fixing it before it happens to people. I wonder if it's possible to get an official description of the defect so members aren't stuck with a huge bill after warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdenk01 Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 If this is a known problem & no recall notice has been issued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi, I never heard or seen this and I have been selling and servicing Mercs since 1984 and I have OPTIs here I can and will this afternoon crank without the safety laynard connected and it will not blow the ECU. I would not mind betting you have wing nuts and that will cause problems with all modern engines with computers. Do you have wing nuts on the battery? Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodogs Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Hi, I never heard or seen this and I have been selling and servicing Mercs since 1984 and I have OPTIs here I can and will this afternoon crank without the safety laynard connected and it will not blow the ECU. I would not mind betting you have wing nuts and that will cause problems with all modern engines with computers. Do you have wing nuts on the battery? Cheers, Huey. Hi Huey, No wing nuts on my batteries. All nylocs....and yes, they are on tight and free of acid build up! The diagnosis was confirmed by two seperate Mercury service centers here in Sydney even before I mentioned the issue re the lanyard. Apparently the specific symptom I received of the smartcraft fault code #22 (warning horn not functioning), and the fact that the warning horn was continously sounding (contradictory in nature) was what lead to the mechanics suggesting that I had cranked without the lanyard. Note in addition that the entire ECU was not blown, only the circuit that controlled the warning horn. The engine fired up and seemed to operating normally, except for the continual warning horn once the lanyard was replaced. My faith in the Optimax product is dimishing. Myself and 3 other fishing club members had 200HP Opti's fitted to our boats in March 2008. Since then, all have gone in for warranty claims for blown coils, replacement computers ect. I would have hated to be paying the bill for these repairs. Thank you for your input anyway. Ray Buttigieg Edited February 21, 2011 by TwoDogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi Ray, good to hear you do not have wing nuts and I do hope the batteries met the min CCA rating and I cranked the OPTIs I have here with the safety switch in OFF position and no problem with horn. Not saying you do not have a problem because you obviously did, but we have not seen it and not many dealers in Sydney have been as long as we have. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodogs Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 I have some additional details re this problem. Forgive my simplistic wording, but I am not so mechanically minded. Apparently in the early model Opti's, the relevant circut in the computer(ECU) that controlled the warning horn was fitted with a fuse that could not handle the electrical load that was created when the engine was cranked without the safety lanyard in place. My Opti was a 2007 model. Mercury had apparently realised this, and fitted a higher capacity fuse in subsequent model ECU's. @Huey, I guess this is why you could not replicate the problem on your test. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Hi, we have been selling and service OPTI since they came out in 1997 and as I have said I have not seen or heard of this. In fact I have owned OPTIs myself on boats I have had over the years and next one of your era we get as a trade-in I will crank the engine with the switch in the off position instead of run position and see what happens. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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