What Should You Do if Outboard Engine Falls Into Water？

What if the outboard machine accidentally falls into water? Generally speaking, it can be divided into fresh water and sea water. Due to the internal parts are easily damaged, the outboard engine should be reset as soon as possible, and the boat should be towed to the shore for inspection. 

First of all, a preliminary inspection of the outboard engine of the ship is carried out. The spark plug can be removed first, and the flywheel can be rotated to see if the engine crankshaft can rotate freely. If the engine crankshaft can rotate freely, further inspection and maintenance can be carried out. If the engine crankshaft cannot rotate freely, the internal parts of the engine are damaged, which means the outboard engine has been damaged. So the engine is no longer usable and needs to be repaired.

Outboard Machine Falls Into Fresh Water

If the outboard unit falls into fresh water, the steps for further inspection and maintenance are:

    (1) Reset the outboard engine.

    (2) Remove the top cover.

   (3) Rinse the outside of the engine with clean water to remove mud, weeds, etc. If sand particles are found inside the power components, the engine parts may be damaged. In this case, the engine may never be started again.

    (4) Remove the ECU from the engine and drain as much water as possible from the MAP sensor hose. Do not remove the hose from the ECU.

    (5) Put the ECU into the incubator and dry it at 50 degrees Celsius for about 2 hours.

    (6) Test the ECU with an electronic fuel injection tester to see if the test reading meets the requirements.

    (7) Remove the spark plug, place the engine horizontally, to make the spark plug mounting hole face down, slowly rotate the flywheel, and drain the water in the power unit as much as possible.

    (8) Reverse the engine, pour ethanol into the cylinder from the spark plug mounting hole, and then slowly rotate the flywheel to clean the power components.

    (9) Inject 20-30ml of engine oil into each cylinder, then slowly rotate the flywheel to further clean and lubricate the power components.

    (10) Remove the oil inlet hose of the electronic fuel pressure pump and drain the water from the fuel/steam separator.

    (11) Remove the fuel filter and the water filter to remove all sand and crush.

    (12) Remove the intake manifold cover and turn the engine over so that the intake manifold faces up.

    (13) Inject 20-30 ml of engine oil into each reed assembly, and then slowly rotate the flywheel to further clean and lubricate each reed assembly.

    (14) Dry all wires and electrical components with compressed air.

    (15) Maintain the engine starter motor.

    (16) Install the dried spark plug.

    (17) Add the newly configured fuel and test the engine. If the engine is running properly, the engine should be run for more than an hour to further remove water from the engine.

    (18) If the engine is not working properly, it is necessary to further check whether there are problems with the fuel, electrical, mechanical and other systems.

Outboard Machine Falls Into Sea Water

If the outboard unit falls into the seawater as a whole, most of the MAP sensors of the ECU are damaged and the ECU must be replaced. After the engine is reset from the water, the engine must be run as much as possible for more than 2 hours; otherwise it will cause serious damage to the internal parts of the engine. If the outboard engine cannot be operated after inspection and maintenance, professional repairmen should be disassembled as soon as possible to clean all parts and make them fully lubricated.