A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

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March
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Location: Iowa, MacGregor 26X, Evinrude E-TEC 50 HP

A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

Post by March »

We launched at the Apostle Islands for the weirdest trip ever—the ETEC 50 engine died 4 hours after the launch – it was constantly popping the main fuse. I had BoastUS tow us back to the Marina only to find out the following morning that the ETEC main computer was the culprit—well! Where to find an ETEC dealer with the proper software in the area? There was one 80 miles north but he was backlogged, just one would expect. So we trailered the boat all the way down to Milwaukee since the Bombardier factory is somewhere in the area (next to the Harley one, I’d guess) We found a charitable mechanic who ordered the computer which was promptly delivered overnight, only to tell us that he had to access the old computer in order to figure out the engine hours. (Naturally, he couldn’t access the old computer since it was fried…) Why would the engine hours be so important? Well, it is as illegal to input the wrong engine hours as it is for a car dealer to change the odometer. And the ETEC support team? Couldn’t they reprogram the new computer? Evinrude/Bombardier no longer makes ETECS—they dropped this line two years ago and the support team is no longer very supportive since the engine has been discontinued—what could customers do? Promise they would no longer buy ETEC in the future? Damn!
After a lot of digging and being put on hold for days on end, the mechanic found a hacker in Australia who advised how to bypass this requirement—the engine was reprogrammed, but the mechanic sheepishly confessed that now it shows three cylinders—for some obscure reason. So he just disabled one of the three nonexistent cylinders and the engine purred back to life, We were able to relaunch at the Apostles after 10 days of twiddling our thumbs in lovely Milwaukee. The engine worked just fine with the phantom cylinder disabled, but we were caught in a storm two nights later, popped a fender, and twisted one of the cockpit cleats—of yes, and cracked the interior fiberglass lining.
But that is another story.
So… to make a long story short—anyone knows the source of MacGregor cleats?
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pitchpolehobie
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Re: A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

Post by pitchpolehobie »

2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
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March
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Location: Iowa, MacGregor 26X, Evinrude E-TEC 50 HP

Re: A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

Post by March »

Thank you so much! I was hoping to find a source for the original ones--you know, the ones covered in black plastic--just to be sure the holes match
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kmclemore
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Re: A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

Post by kmclemore »

March wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 6:22 am Thank you so much! I was hoping to find a source for the original ones--you know, the ones covered in black plastic--just to be sure the holes match
This one?

http://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/4204-1v0.htm
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March
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Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 7:54 am
Location: Iowa, MacGregor 26X, Evinrude E-TEC 50 HP

Re: A short crazy summer. ETEC woes

Post by March »

Yeah! That's it, thank you, Kevin. The site info is baffling--they have a couple in stock (it seems) but re-ordering is slow. I just need one--if it's the larger one. I'll try calling them tomorrow
The stainless steel one's looking good. Wonder if the holes still match?
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