Are you buying a 2nd hand newer model outboard?

[Hornet Rider]

Hope this hasn't been posted before, did a search & couldn't find it. Found it very informative.

http://www.boats.com/news-reviews/ar...nostic-history

The Outboard Expert: Computer Tell-All
Plug in a diagnostic tool and learn everything to know about your outboard engine's life.

by Charles Plueddeman, September 27, 2007
Boats.com
A few months ago my brother-in-law, Todd, was shopping for a used boat when a sweet little Grady White Adventure 208 caught his eye. The dealer offered to show him the usual documentation on the boat, including the hours of use seen by the Yamaha F150 outboard on the transom. Not only did this reveal that the motor had seen about 100 hours of use, but it broke down that history in 1000-rpm increments. The most curious thing about the usage pattern was that this motor had never been operated over 5000 rpm. Which is why Todd called me, the Outboard Expert.
Of course, I immediately called a real outboard expert, Claude Von Plato, manager of the Yamaha Marine Service Division. I told Claude that I was surprised that the outboard's ECU would organize the hours of use report so neatly.
"You would be surprised what you can learn about an outboard by looking into its memory," said Von Plato. "The operating hours is just scratching the surface."
What I learned, after talking with service experts of each of the major outboard manufacturers, is that late-model outboards are holding a virtual log book of every minute they've been on the water. If you are in the market for a pre-owned motor, you should take a good look at that information.
An outboard's computer memory is accessed through the diagnostic port. An authorized dealer for that brand of outboard will have the required computer software and the cable to plug the shop's laptop into the motor. At least one manufacturer will sell its diagnostic software to anyone – it's listed as a part number by Suzuki with a price of $715. A dealer might charge you for 30 minutes of labor to run a diagnostic scan, a much-more affordable option. And if you are negotiating to buy the motor from a dealer, he should be glad to give you a diagnostic report for no charge.
On-board diagnostics have been on outboards since the first Mercury EFI two-strokes, although the amount of data those motors collected was minimal. The advent of direct-injected two-stroke Mercury Optimax and Evinrude Ficht outboards, which had powerful computer controls, made it possible to collect much more information. The super-powerful Mercury PCM 555 controller, used on all current fuel-injected Mercury outboards, gathers a complete history of the outboard's life. The new Suzuki DF300 monitors 30 different systems to which it can assign a fault code, from engine over-rev and over-heat to the function of each fuel injector. Generally, the newer the motor, the more data is being collected each time the ignition is keyed on. And on late-model outboards, you don't need to attend factory service training to decipher the data – it's mostly presented in plain English.
If you are considering a used outboard, here's what I'd look for on the diagnostic report:
Engine Run Time History: It should indicate total hours of operation. Like mileage on a car, hours are a better indication of the motor's "age" than the model year. Mercury, Yamaha and Suzuki all break down the hours in 1000-rpm increments, from idle to 6000 rpm, depending on the motor's range. This gives you an idea of how the motor was used — lots of trolling, or lots of time at wide-open throttle. A typical use pattern should show about 40 percent of the hours below 1000 rpm. And it might show, for example, that the motor was never run over 5000 rpm, which is really odd.
"A motor that never went over 5000 rpm might have a very conservative owner," speculated Von Plato. "Or it might be used on water that was always too rough to run any faster. But it might also have been used with a prop with too much pitch, which would not allow the motor to reach its operating range at wide-open throttle. And lugging a motor is not good. So in this case, if there's a prop on the motor I'd check the size. And try to trial the boat on the water to see if it can even reach 5000 rpm with that prop."
Fault Codes: Most late-model outboards record every instance that the motor generated a warning horn or a fault code. These would include over-revving the motor, over-heating, and over-charging the battery. Frequent instances of over-revving could indicate an abusive owner, or one who's been running too small a prop.
"The Verado motors even record the over-rev data in stages," explained Dan Jansen, a certified Mercury technician at Mr. Marine (www.mrmarineinc.com) in Fond du Lac, Wis. "It will show me if the motor was over-revved in neutral, just bumping the rev limited in gear, or what it calls abusive over-rev in several stages, which means someone was really hammering on it."
In the case of an over-heat warning, the Mercury computer will record the date it happened, and also the duration of the over-heat incident.
"It might show that the motor over-heated for 80 seconds, which means the owner noticed the warning and responded right away," said Jansen. "But if I see it was overheated for 8,000 seconds, that means the owner ran all the way home with the motor hot. And that could mean trouble down the road if he didn't get it fixed correctly."
The engine computer may also check systems, such as fuel pressure, water pressure, charging, and the function of fuel injectors, all basic diagnostics that a technician would use to quickly pinpoint a problem.
"A Mercury Optimax actually sounds OK on five cylinders," said Jansen. "It will just be down on power at full throttle. I can get a really good picture of how each system is working from the computer."
Each outboard manufacturer also has a system for tracking the history of each outboard it has sold. With Mercury Mercnet, for example, a dealer can see the motor's ownership history, the occurrence of any warranty claims, whether the motor has a remanufactured powerhead, and whether it is up to date on any recalls or service bulletins.
This is kind of background check I'll be asking for the next time I'm looking at a used outboard. Because the computer doesn't lie.

© Copyright 2008 Dominion Enterprises. All rights reserved.

[Angla]

That's a top bit of information to be armed with.

I will have to watch what I run My Optimax at in future. Not really. I run mine at WOT on a good day but also like to cruise and troll. I have hit the over rev alarm probably three times in 300 hours. I would think the report would be pretty good in fact.

Chris

[Jabba_]

Some E-tec software info if you don't mind me bringing up.... Not sure if it is possible on other motors, but on the E-tec software, there is a section in there that allows the technician to write notes about engine use and if the owner is abusive to the motor and it is all stored on the EMM for the nect dearler who services your motor to see....

[ozbee]

will even tell you how many times you have turned the key. it is great info for propping set up. the ability to fine tune the prop to the engine requirements/ hull characteristics is a great step forward. sadly in the hands of the untrained was also the reason some di engines failed prematurely in the early days of di motors.

[bobp]

this is not that new merc have been able to do the with opti for years and i think yami hpdi as well
most times i go out i give my motor a quick blast at wot not a prob more worried about a motor that has never been to wot

bob