1997 DF70, 15 flashes in "Check engine"

[SveinHa]

For at least 3 years (as long as I have had this engine) the Check Engine lamp have flashed 15 times and the buzzer have also been beeping 6? times (the buzzer is disconnected but I believe it was beeping 6 times). The previous owner said that it had been like this as long as he also have owned it.The engine works like a charm and I haven't had any trouble with it, starts instantly and works absolutely great.

I want to get rid of the lamp flashes and be able to reconnect the buzzer but my local Suzuki dealer have been working on it for a full day but can't find anything wrong. I have also contacted the Norwegian Suzuki importer Erling Sande - Forside but they also draw a blank on this one...

The closest thing I have found to this "error code" is the "Battery voltage caution system" which will activate the "check engine" lamp and the buzzer will begin a series of beep according to the owners manual. No specific number of beeps or flashes is given... Charging voltage is a bit in the high end slightly above 15 volts so there may be some charging issues.

Any ideas? Since the official channels obviously are unable to help, I hope someone here may be able to shed some light on this.

[boats.net]

Load test battery, check condition of battery cables, make cable connections are clean and tight. May need new regulator.

[SveinHa]

Thanks for the reply.

Battery are most likely not the problem since this error have been present with 3 different batterys in 3+ years and the one I'm using now is a brand new Exide EM1000 AGM battery.

All electrical connections looks good but I'll do a more detailed inspection shortly. Generally, I'm very impressed with how both the engine and electrics looks after 16 years at sea, not quite as new but close...

I'm a bit puzzled that NO ONE knows what these 16 flashes really mean. It is not some odd flashing, it is 16 flashes, pause, 16 flashes and so on so some one have programmed it to be like this but obviously not documented it...

[SveinHa]

Have checked all connectors, ground points and battery cables and they all look like new, no sign of water or corrosion anywhere.

I have read out data from the ECM (engine cold and not running, ambient temperature about 10°C) and most values seems ok but there are also a few that are far out:

Save date 2013/11/5
Comment
Engine No. DF70-
Boat Type Askeladden 505 Excel
Description
Engine information
Power 70PS
ECM ID 33920-99E10
Spec. ---
Engine Type 4 stroke 1298cc
SERVICE DATA
Item Data Unit
ENGINE SPEED 0 rpm
IGNITION TIMING BTDC 6 °
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE 731 mmHg
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE 97.4 kPa
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE 28.80 inHg
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE 716 mmHg
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE 95.5 kPa
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE 28.22 inHg
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE 10 °C
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE 49 °F
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE 9 °C
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE 48 °F
BATTERY VOLTAGE 12.08 V
FUEL INJ. PULSE WIDTH 0 µs
INJECTED FUEL AMOUNT 0 mcc
FUEL PUMP DUTY 0.0 %
IAC VALVE DUTY 0.0 %
NO. OF MAP SENSOR FAILURE 0 times
NO. OF CKP SENSOR FAILURE 0 times
NO. OF IAC VALVE FAILURE 172 times
NO. OF CMP SENSOR FAILURE 1 times
NO. OF CTP SWITCH FAILURE 0 times
NO. OF CYL. TEMP. SNSR FAILURE 7 times
NO. OF IAT SENSOR FAILURE 1 times
NO. OF EX. TEMP. SNSR FAILURE 255 times
NO. OF FUEL INJECTOR FAILURE 255 times
NO. OF OVER-REVOLUTION 0 times
NO. OF LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE 0 times
NO. OF LOW OIL PRESSURE 4 times
NO. OF OVERHEAT(GRADIENT) 0 times
NO. OF OVERHEAT(TEMP.) 0 times
CAUTION SYSTEM NAME (1) Low oil press
ENGINE SPEED (1) 4438 rpm
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (1) 646 mmHg
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (1) 86.1 kPa
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (1) 25.44 inHg
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (1) 41 °C
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (1) 105 °F
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (1) 14 °C
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (1) 57 °F
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (1) 196 °C
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (1) 385 °F
FAILURE TIME (1) 586 h
ELAPSE OF TIME (1) 0 min
CAUTION SYSTEM NAME (2) Low oil press
ENGINE SPEED (2) 7969 rpm
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (2) 753 mmHg
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (2) 100.4 kPa
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (2) 29.68 inHg
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (2) 34 °C
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (2) 92 °F
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (2) 33 °C
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (2) 91 °F
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (2) 196 °C
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (2) 385 °F
FAILURE TIME (2) 243 h
ELAPSE OF TIME (2) 0 min
CAUTION SYSTEM NAME (3) Low oil press
ENGINE SPEED (3) 5063 rpm
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (3) 735 mmHg
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (3) 97.9 kPa
MANIFOLD ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (3) 28.95 inHg
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (3) 47 °C
CYLINDER TEMPERATURE (3) 116 °F
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (3) 31 °C
INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE (3) 88 °F
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (3) 196 °C
EX-MANI TEMPERATURE (3) 385 °F
FAILURE TIME (3) 564 h
ELAPSE OF TIME (3) 0 min
TOTAL OPERATION TIME (HRS.) 2087 h
TOTAL OPERATION TIME (MIN.) 50 min
0-1000 RPM 0 min
1000-2000 RPM 2048 min
2000-3000 RPM 0 min
3000-4000 RPM 0 min
4000-5000 RPM 4 min
ABOVE 5000 RPM 123218 min
ELAPSE TIME FROM REMINDER CANCEL 65535 h
NO. OF OIL CHANGE REMINDER 255 times
COMPENSATION FACTOR (ZONE 1) 0.754
COMPENSATION FACTOR (ZONE 2) 0.762
COMPENSATION FACTOR (ZONE 3) 0.922
TIME OF LAST O2 FEEDBACK 48642 h
EMERGENCY STOP SWITCH OFF
CTP SWITCH ON
NEUTRAL SWITCH ON

Operation time do not look reasonable at all and a few counters at 65535 and 255 are the max values in 16 and 8 bit registers. Are there any way to reset the ECM to factory default or at least reset the error counters?

[boats.net]

Acouple of things stand out,
NO. OF IAC VALVE FAILURE 172 times, need to check IAC and wiring.
and oil change reminder, have you tried resetting oil change reminder?

[SveinHa]

As far as I can see, the IAC valve is working great, makes a bit of noise but not more than I expect to be normal. When de-energized, the air passage is blocked and it is open when power is applied.

Have reset the oil change reminder lots of times.

All of these parameters seems far out of reason:

TOTAL OPERATION TIME (HRS.) 2087 h
TOTAL OPERATION TIME (MIN.) 50 min
0-1000 RPM 0 min
1000-2000 RPM 2048 min
2000-3000 RPM 0 min
3000-4000 RPM 0 min
4000-5000 RPM 4 min
ABOVE 5000 RPM 123218 min
ELAPSE TIME FROM REMINDER CANCEL 65535 h
NO. OF OIL CHANGE REMINDER 255 times

My cruising speed is 3000-4000 RPM

The engine works great, no problem whatsoever, only the damn beeper, which is disconnected, and the Check Engine lamp.

Well, actually I have one problem but that appeared a couple of weeks ago and was caused by lots of water in the fuel but that is a quite different piece of the cake and I should be able to deal fairly ok with that by myself...

[artdf175]

comment and a question
I have a similar error with my DF 175 (2006)
my tach does not have all the lights just a blinking digit on the hour meter for reading the error code sent by the motor..
with just the key on.. the error code is not there..
with the motor running.. get the alarm beeps and the error code is a single continous blink, (have not sat and counted the blinks, yet) which by the motor manual -the error code indicates a rectifier/regulator issue..
at this point I have not gone through all the electrical connections to double check them but on the list of things to do.. which from this forum has been reccomended as the first thing to do with this error code, before replacing the regulator..

my question is.. where or how did you get that ECM history read out of everyting in your motor?
I have been going through my motor manual -page by page- and have not seen anything, yet, that describes the ability to do that..

Thanks
Art..

[SveinHa]

Hi Art.

Search ebaymotors.com for "Suzuki SDS" and you should find a few sets for about USD 75-100. It is just a CD with workshop manuals for the whole range of Suzuki outboards and a USB-OBD cable with adaptercable to Suzuki outboards.

What puzzles me is that NOBODY have any idea what these 15 blinks mean. Somebody in the Suzuki system should be able to find out... Checking electrical connections may well be a good tip but that is very general and not directly related to the 15 blinks. First of all, I want to know what it means, but most important, I want to get rid of it so I can reconnect my buzzer...

[prattvan]

What did you find out about your problem ?

My guess from reading you printout would be replace ECM

[SveinHa]

I solved it by replacing the ECU. Found one used on ebay with 200 hours on the counter for $400, works great.

[noelm007]

don't forget to connect your alarm back up again, very important step.

[SveinHa]

Yupp, already done :-)