- Messages
- 1,565
- Reaction score
- 891
- Points
- 247
- Location
- Ottawa, Canada
- Boat Make
- Scarab
- Year
- 2015
- Boat Model
- 165 G
- Boat Length
- 16
Scarab and dealers are businesses. Its their right to protect their work. And yes, it's designed to make you go to the dealers just like cars.
Should you? Well, that entirely depends if you have a dealer nearby, if you're competent, familiar with BRP and Scarab designs/components, etc. If you aren't, then of course! Or if you don't want to deal with this, again, of course!
I wouldn't suggest my mom fix her own car because she's not competent. Go to a professional. Will you pay a premium for this service, yes. Is it a rip off, many think so, to others like my mom, it's money well spent.
Some people just want a nice car that runs well, others wants a nice boat that runs well. These people are willing to pay to have service done by pros. By all means! Not everyone wants to be a mechanic.
OK, SO, YOU WANT TO BE A MECHANIC...
You have a problem, where in the world do you start. As always, you search this forum, Google, Facebook, etc. Many people have had similar symptoms to you.
Oh, you found a similar post but there's no final conclusion? Welcome to the internet where NOBODY seems to return to post the ultimate outcome. We're left not knowing what happened. Hopefully YOU learn from this and update your post with what finally happened.
Man, that Luc guy seems to know things... How did he get there? Also, what's with that weird name? To be clear, and contrary to what appears to be popular belief, I definitely don't know everything. Lol If you read my responses, I usually say this clearly when I don't know. I leave things open ended for others to chime in. But do this long enough, try and help people and solve issues, and you do learn many of the common problems. I'm a scientist (geophysicist), NOT a mechanic. I grew up boating but I decided to finally apply myself in the boating and engine world years ago. Along the way, I learned. But by no means am I an expert. Also, I'm French Canadian (but live in Ottawa, Ontario, not Quebec), hence Luc = Luke, but French hon hon hon.
OK, SO, YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING...
You've searched, you've read many of Luc's comments and Scarab Mike and many other frequent contributors (which I REALLY appreciate when they do chime in). And it's time to be a mechanic.
Well, you absolutely need to have basic skills and understand these parts. It's pretty hard to diagnose something or have others help you diagnose something without doing some troubleshooting. At least the basics.
What are the basics?
Start with fault codes. If your engine detects a problem, a fault code is generated. This shows up as a check engine light. The wrench means maintenance is due, not that you have problem.
Active codes will activate the check engine light and will be available in the settings of your cluster. They will only be available if they're active. SUPER useful to get any codes you find.
Past codes may or may not solve themselves if you've fixed the problem. Say you had a bad spark plug, that code will activate. You replace it. The code goes away but the check engine light will go away in time once the system is satisfied that it's been fixed for certain. Some codes, like say a fuel pump short circuit will become a past codes, but the light will never go off unless you use software to clear it. Very hard to know which will clear and which won't. Especially if you're not sure you've fixed the problem.
Software is a worthy investment if you plan on being a mechanic. Candoo Pro or BUDS home software are your two choices. Otherwise it's a visit to the dealer.
Engine problems are probably the most common.
Spark plugs are incredibly cheap and easy to replace. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GREAT, REPLACE THEM WHEN YOU HAVE ENGINE ISSUES! Saving a few dollars for a 3-pack of plugs is NOT worth it to you and anybody else that helps you. Hours can be wasted. JUST REPLACE THEM. If it doesn't solve your problem, keep the old ones as spares, they won't go to waste. Keep spares on the boat with the tools required to change them too.
People love thinking gas contamination is a problem. Trust me, I get it. But these days, fuel contamination is pretty rare. It's very unlikely that's you're problem. I wouldn't waste time there unless you're certain the fuel has been sitting in the tank for more than a year untreated and even then... I live in Canada, the land of the frozen for many months of the year. Our boats are put into storage for what feel like 10 months, then we get 2 months of meh-summer. My fuel has never been an issue.
Electrical... SO many points of failure here. The principal ones are at the battery. Please ensure everything is secure, free of corrosion, and properly connected. Many people forget a cable, dealers too. Black or yellow cables = NEGATIVE terminal. Red = POSITIVE. You may laugh, but people have connected the wrong things and fried their very expensive wiring harnesses. Also, master red switch on right? Keep that off until connections are made. When connecting wires live, little sparks can happen and if you're unlucky, you may fry something like a relay... Speaking of which.
Relays and fuses. Near your battery is a fuse box. This is the BRP fuse box to control everything related to the engine. Inside are a bunch of fuses and two black box looking things PER engine called relays. Fuses are easy to check. There are supposed to be spares inside the box. Engine problems? Start with fuses. Relays on the other hand are not easy to check without some expertise. I recommend purchasing a few spares and keeping them onboard. They aren't provided. There are many brands and they all work. Search the forum to find compatible models. If you suspect a relay problem, just replace them and you'll know. Relay issues often manifest themselves as "nothing happens when I turn the key", not even a click. It's completely dead. If it clicks, probably not a relay but still can't rule it out.
There is ANOTHER fuse box near the helm somewhere, depending on your boat. This is the Scarab fuse box. Many other systems are controlled there like the gauge cluster, bilge pump, etc. So depending on your problem, look there and rule those out as well.
How's your battery? Load tested? Age and type? Don't overlook this.
OK, so I didn't answer you question. Yeah, there are hundreds if not thousands of posts here with various problems. There is no way to feature them all. Search is your friend.
Finally, if you post, you need to include what you've done exactly and the history of the boat. Is it used? Where did the boat come from? Fresh or salt water? Dealer or private sale? Mods? Are you mechanically inclined or not?
Should you? Well, that entirely depends if you have a dealer nearby, if you're competent, familiar with BRP and Scarab designs/components, etc. If you aren't, then of course! Or if you don't want to deal with this, again, of course!
I wouldn't suggest my mom fix her own car because she's not competent. Go to a professional. Will you pay a premium for this service, yes. Is it a rip off, many think so, to others like my mom, it's money well spent.
Some people just want a nice car that runs well, others wants a nice boat that runs well. These people are willing to pay to have service done by pros. By all means! Not everyone wants to be a mechanic.
OK, SO, YOU WANT TO BE A MECHANIC...
You have a problem, where in the world do you start. As always, you search this forum, Google, Facebook, etc. Many people have had similar symptoms to you.
Oh, you found a similar post but there's no final conclusion? Welcome to the internet where NOBODY seems to return to post the ultimate outcome. We're left not knowing what happened. Hopefully YOU learn from this and update your post with what finally happened.
Man, that Luc guy seems to know things... How did he get there? Also, what's with that weird name? To be clear, and contrary to what appears to be popular belief, I definitely don't know everything. Lol If you read my responses, I usually say this clearly when I don't know. I leave things open ended for others to chime in. But do this long enough, try and help people and solve issues, and you do learn many of the common problems. I'm a scientist (geophysicist), NOT a mechanic. I grew up boating but I decided to finally apply myself in the boating and engine world years ago. Along the way, I learned. But by no means am I an expert. Also, I'm French Canadian (but live in Ottawa, Ontario, not Quebec), hence Luc = Luke, but French hon hon hon.
OK, SO, YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING...
You've searched, you've read many of Luc's comments and Scarab Mike and many other frequent contributors (which I REALLY appreciate when they do chime in). And it's time to be a mechanic.
Well, you absolutely need to have basic skills and understand these parts. It's pretty hard to diagnose something or have others help you diagnose something without doing some troubleshooting. At least the basics.
What are the basics?
Start with fault codes. If your engine detects a problem, a fault code is generated. This shows up as a check engine light. The wrench means maintenance is due, not that you have problem.
Active codes will activate the check engine light and will be available in the settings of your cluster. They will only be available if they're active. SUPER useful to get any codes you find.
Past codes may or may not solve themselves if you've fixed the problem. Say you had a bad spark plug, that code will activate. You replace it. The code goes away but the check engine light will go away in time once the system is satisfied that it's been fixed for certain. Some codes, like say a fuel pump short circuit will become a past codes, but the light will never go off unless you use software to clear it. Very hard to know which will clear and which won't. Especially if you're not sure you've fixed the problem.
Software is a worthy investment if you plan on being a mechanic. Candoo Pro or BUDS home software are your two choices. Otherwise it's a visit to the dealer.
Engine problems are probably the most common.
Spark plugs are incredibly cheap and easy to replace. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GREAT, REPLACE THEM WHEN YOU HAVE ENGINE ISSUES! Saving a few dollars for a 3-pack of plugs is NOT worth it to you and anybody else that helps you. Hours can be wasted. JUST REPLACE THEM. If it doesn't solve your problem, keep the old ones as spares, they won't go to waste. Keep spares on the boat with the tools required to change them too.
People love thinking gas contamination is a problem. Trust me, I get it. But these days, fuel contamination is pretty rare. It's very unlikely that's you're problem. I wouldn't waste time there unless you're certain the fuel has been sitting in the tank for more than a year untreated and even then... I live in Canada, the land of the frozen for many months of the year. Our boats are put into storage for what feel like 10 months, then we get 2 months of meh-summer. My fuel has never been an issue.
Electrical... SO many points of failure here. The principal ones are at the battery. Please ensure everything is secure, free of corrosion, and properly connected. Many people forget a cable, dealers too. Black or yellow cables = NEGATIVE terminal. Red = POSITIVE. You may laugh, but people have connected the wrong things and fried their very expensive wiring harnesses. Also, master red switch on right? Keep that off until connections are made. When connecting wires live, little sparks can happen and if you're unlucky, you may fry something like a relay... Speaking of which.
Relays and fuses. Near your battery is a fuse box. This is the BRP fuse box to control everything related to the engine. Inside are a bunch of fuses and two black box looking things PER engine called relays. Fuses are easy to check. There are supposed to be spares inside the box. Engine problems? Start with fuses. Relays on the other hand are not easy to check without some expertise. I recommend purchasing a few spares and keeping them onboard. They aren't provided. There are many brands and they all work. Search the forum to find compatible models. If you suspect a relay problem, just replace them and you'll know. Relay issues often manifest themselves as "nothing happens when I turn the key", not even a click. It's completely dead. If it clicks, probably not a relay but still can't rule it out.
There is ANOTHER fuse box near the helm somewhere, depending on your boat. This is the Scarab fuse box. Many other systems are controlled there like the gauge cluster, bilge pump, etc. So depending on your problem, look there and rule those out as well.
How's your battery? Load tested? Age and type? Don't overlook this.
OK, so I didn't answer you question. Yeah, there are hundreds if not thousands of posts here with various problems. There is no way to feature them all. Search is your friend.
Finally, if you post, you need to include what you've done exactly and the history of the boat. Is it used? Where did the boat come from? Fresh or salt water? Dealer or private sale? Mods? Are you mechanically inclined or not?
Last edited:
