The evinrude E-Tec outboard motor is one of the great outboard around.
But this does not mean that they are without problems.
That is why evinrude E-Tec 115 problems show up at some point during the usage of your outboard motor.
When any of these problems show up, you must make sure that you try and fix them speedily.
This will avoid the problems from escalating to other parts of the outboard motor.
Some of the problems with an evinrude 115 E-Tec include loss of power, poor fuel economy, propeller problems, overheating, outboard vibrations, hard starting, etc.
In the course of this guide you will learn of all these problems and how to solve them easily.
Causes of Evinrude e-tec 115 Problems And Solutions
1)Loss of Power
When selecting an outboard motor to buy, one of the anchor points is usually the capacity of the outboard motor.
This is because a lot of boat owners make use of their outboard motors in different ways.
Some make use of it for personal trips.
Due to this less number of people will be required in the boat.
But some people make use of their outboard motors to run boats for commercial purposes.
When this happens it will demand outboard motors that have a higher capacity.
This will help in moving the boat with the Passengers easily and smoothly on the water body.
But if your outboard motor is not functioning well, you will always experience a power loss.
Causes
a)Overloading
Every outboard motor has a capacity.
This capacity translates to the magnitude of load it can comfortably carry.
When you exceed this capacity, your boat will suffer in performance.
One of the ways in which this will show up is in loss of power especially when accelerating.
That is why you have to make sure that you do not overload your boat and outboard motor.
b) Bad Spark Plug
Spark plugs are very essential to the performance of an outboard motor.
If you use a good spark plug, you will have a very good performance.
But if you use a bad spark plug in your outboard motor, then the performance will suffer.
This is because spark plugs help in power generation in an outboard motor by igniting fuel in the combustion chamber.
When the spark plugs are bad, this will not be possible in an effective way.
Due to this, the power output from the outboard motor engine will be reduced.
This will lead to a power loss from the outboard motor.
c) Poor Engine Compression
For an outboard motor to perform well, the engine has to be in top form.
This includes things like having a good compression level.
With this, there will be no leak of power from the engine.
But if the engine is low in compression, then there will be problems in power output from the outboard motor.
An outboard motor with a low compression score will always have a loss of power when used.
d) Bad Exhaust
When an outboard motor is working, there are always a lot of processes that occur.
One of these processes is the release of gases from the combustion chamber.
For this to be possible, the role of the exhaust in the outboard motor is very essential.
But if the exhaust system has problems like a leaked manifold or a bad exhaust gasket, then there will be power loss when the outboard motor is functioning.
e) Bad Fuel
It is always very important to make sure that you use a good fuel in your outboard motor.
This has a lot of advantages.
One of it is that it will help your outboard motor to perform well especially when you are accelerating.
But when you make use of a bad fuel in your outboard motor, you will always experience a power loss.
Solutions
a)Avoid Boat Overloading
If you want to experience a flawless performance from your outboard motor, you have to use an optimum load when running your outboard motor.
To make this happen, you have to avoid overloading your boat.
An outboard motor that runs with an optimum load will always perform well without power loss.
That is why you always have to make sure that you do not overload your boat when using an outboard motor.
b) Use Good Spark Plugs
For your outboard motor to produce power, combustion has to take place.
This is usually made possible with the help of a spark plug in the outboard motor combustion chamber.
With a spark plug in the combustion chamber, the fuel mixture is easily ignited to release power.
This will not be possible if you use a bad spark plug.
When the outboard motor is running a bad spark plug, this can cause loss of power.
To avoid this, you have to make sure that you always use a good spark plug in running your outboard motor.
c) Fix Bad Engine
Running maintenance in your outboard motor on time is very important.
This will help in showing some of the flaws that exist in the outboard motor.
With this, you can easily repair them to avoid more casualties from setting in.
If during the maintenance process you discover that you are having a low compression in your outboard motor engine, you have to make sure that you fix it quickly.
This will help your outboard motor to perform flawlessly when it is running and avoid power loss.
d) Use a Good Exhaust System
In running an outboard motor, you have to make sure that your exhaust system is always at top-level performance.
This will help in good power generation and also reduce high fuel consumption.
e) Always Use Good Fuel
To achieve a good performance from your outboard motor, you need to use good components.
One of these components is usually a good fuel.
When you run your outboard motor with a premium fuel, you will always have a good performance that will reduce power loss.
2) Poor Fuel Economy
Another evinrude e-tec 115 problem is poor fuel economy as complained by some owners.
When making use of an outboard motor, the level of fuel consumption is very important to be checked.
You don’t want to purchase an outboard motor that you will be spending a lot on fuel even when driving across short distances.
This is when the fuel economy of the outboard motor comes into consideration.
But irrespective of how efficient an outboard motor can be, flaws in some parts can increase the fuel consumption of an outboard motor.
Causes
a)Bad Fuel Quality
For you to have a good fuel economy in your evinrude E-Tec 115 outboard motor, you have to make sure that you use a good fuel in your outboard motor.
If you use a bad fuel in your outboard motor, then you will have a bad fuel economy.
b) Bad Exhaust Manifold
The evinrude etec 115 has more than one cylinder.
This requires a manifold to transfer all the gases from the cylinders into one outlet to the exhaust.
This is made possible by the exhaust manifold.
But if the exhaust manifold is bad like having a leakage, then this will reduce the fuel economy of the outboard motor.
c) Bad Exhaust Gasket
An exhaust gasket is very important in an outboard motor system.
This helps avoid leakage of gas released from the cylinder after combustion to the exhaust.
But if there is a leak in the exhaust gasket of the outboard motor, you will experience a significant drop in the fuel economy of your outboard motor.
d) Overloading
When you overload your outboard boat, you cause more strain on the outboard motor.
This will lead to the demand of excess power from the outboard motor.
For this to be possible, the engine will need to work more than it should.
This will lead to a higher fuel consumption from the engine.
Solutions
a)Use Good Fuel
When you are running your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you use a good fuel.
This will help you achieve a good fuel economy when making use of your outboard motor.
b) Use Good Exhaust Manifold
When you make use of an outboard motor that has a bad exhaust manifold, you will have some issues.
One of the issues in which you are going to have is usually a poor fuel economy.
To avoid this, you have to make sure that you use a good exhaust manifold in your outboard motor.
c) Use Good Exhaust Gasket
The exhaust gasket helps in avoiding leakage of gas from the manifold outlet to the exhaust.
But if the gasket is bad, there will be a leakage.
Apart from the leakage that will occur, there will also be a significant reduction in the fuel economy of the outboard motor.
d) Maintain Optimum Load
To have a good fuel economy when using your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you maintain optimum load.
This will avoid putting an extra strain on the outboard motor engine when it is functioning.
With this, you will always have a good fuel economy when making use of your outboard motor.
3) Outboard Motor Vibrations
Vibrations in a boat during trips can be very inconvenient.
This can lead to poor customer satisfaction especially when it is a commercially used boat.
To avoid this, you must make sure that you always trace the reason for the vibration and fix it.
Causes
a)Bad Spark Plugs
One of the primary causes of vibrations in an outboard motor is when the engine is not producing enough power.
For an engine not to produce enough power, one of the biggest culprits is usually a bad spark plug.
When a spark plug in an outboard motor is bad, then the cylinder will not function well.
This will lead to less power production from the outboard motor.
With this, there will be vibrations while using the boat as the engine cannot provide enough power to carry the load.
b) Bad Fuel
Evinrude e-tec 115 problems will show up if you use a bad fuel.
If there is a bad fuel in the outboard motor, then there will never be an efficient combustion in the combustion chamber.
This can be caused by water in the fuel of an outboard motor which is sometimes common when using your outboard motor.
c) Overloading
In using your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you do not go above the acceptable range of loading.
If you do then your outboard motor will suffer in performance.
One of the ways this will show up is in vibrations while using the outboard motor.
This is because the power produced from the engine does not match the load imposed on the outboard motor.
d) Bad Propeller alignment
For an outboard motor to move, the propeller has to function.
But for you to have a smooth ride then the propeller has to be well aligned.
If the propeller of the outboard motor is not well aligned then you will experience some vibrations while using your outboard motor.
Solutions
a)Use Good Spark Plugs
To enjoy a good boat ride, you have to make sure that you use a good spark plug.
This will help your outboard motor cylinders to fire well and produce the needed power.
With this, you will not have vibrations when using your outboard motor.
b) Use Good Fuel
For the outboard motor to function well, it needs fuel.
But not just any type of fuel quality.
You have to make sure that you use a good fuel quality if you must have a good performance.
This will help the spark plug to easily fire the fuel mixture and produce the needed power.
With this, cases of vibrations while using your outboard motor will not occur.
c) Avoid Boat Overloading
Always make sure that you do not exceed the capacity of your boat and outboard motor.
With this, some problems like vibrations of boat while being in use will be avoided.
d) Align Propeller Well
To avoid boat vibrations while being used, you have to make sure that the propeller is well aligned.
This will help avoid some shaking or vibration of the boat when the outboard motor is functioning.
4) Overheating
Overheating is a very serious issue in an outboard motor.
This can lead to the destruction of a lot of parts in the outboard motor.
To avoid such destruction, you have to correct issues that can lead to overheating in your outboard motor.
Causes
a)Bad Cooling System
When an outboard motor is functioning, there is always a lot of heat that is produced.
This is due to the fuel mixture ignition that takes place in the combustion chamber.
But to avoid damage from the heat produced in the combustion chamber a cooling system is designed to function well in the outboard motor.
This is made possible with the help of the impeller.
This helps in drawing in cold water to cool the outboard motor.
But if any of the outboard cooling system part is bad, then there will be an overheating.
b) Bad Oil Pump
When an outboard motor is functioning, there is always a lot of heat that is produced.
For the outboard motor to still continue in functionality, the heat has to be cooled down.
One of the ways of achieving this inside the engine is with the help of an oil.
Apart from lubrication of the engine moving parts, the oil also helps in cooling down the engine.
But if the oil pump is bad, then there will not be good circulated of oil to cool down the engine.
Solutions
a)Repair Bad Cooling System
If you discover that one of the parts of your outboard cooling system is bad, you have to make sure that you replace it.
This will help avoid overheating when you are using your outboard motor.
b) Fix Bad Oil Pump
A bad oil pump can cause evinrude e-tec 115 problems.
If you have a faulty oil pump in your outboard motor then you have to make sure that you replace it with a good one.
This will help give a good temperature control in your engine while making use of your outboard motor.
5) Propeller Problems
The propeller is one of the most important parts of an outboard motor that helps in pushing a boat in the desired direction.
If the propeller is bad, then the boat will have a problem functioning properly.
This can be due to situations like having a bent propeller.
Causes
a)Use In Shallow And Rocky Water
In making use of your outboard motor, you have to be conscious of the water depth.
Apart from the depth of the water, you have to also consider how rocky the water is.
This is because if you use your outboard motor on a very shallow water, it will hit the bottom of the water easily.
This will lead to the damage of the propeller.
b) Bad Quality Propeller
When you make use of a bad quality propeller in your outboard motor, it will easily have problems.
This can lead to early wear and tear and excess heat generation.
With this, the propeller will easily get faulty.
c) Poorly Aligned Propeller
When installing a new propeller or after maintenance has been performed on your outboard motor, you have to make sure that the propeller is well aligned.
If the propeller is not well aligned, then there will be problems in the performance of the outboard motor.
A poorly aligned propeller will always cause vibrations when making use of your outboard motor.
Solutions
a)Avoid Extremely Shallow And Rocky Water
To avoid damage of your propeller, you have to make sure that you avoid extremely shallow water bodies.
This will help protect the propeller from hitting rocks or bottom of the water body.
b) Use Good Propeller Quality
When changing your propeller in your outboard motor to a new one, you have to make sure that you use a good quality one.
This will help avoid fast wear and tear or eazy destruction of the propeller.
c) Align Propeller Well
When your propeller is being mounted on your outboard motor, you have to always check if it is well aligned.
One of the ways you can make sure of this is to have a test drive and observe for vibrations on the outboard motor.
If you discover that the propeller is not well aligned, then you have to make sure that you align it properly.
This will help avoid problems like vibrations from occurring when using your outboard motor due to a poorly aligned propeller.
6) Hard Starting
Having an outboard motor that does not quickly start can be very inconvenient.
This is usually caused by a lot of factors.
It could be due to a poor fuel quality or a bad ignition system.
Causes
a)Bad Ignition System
A faulty ignition system will lead to evinrude e-tec 115 issues.
For an outboard motor to be able to start, there have to be an ignition in the combustion chamber.
It has to burn the fuel in the combustion chamber to produce power in the outboard motor.
But if one of the ignition systems is bad, then there will be problems in the outboard motor easily starting.
This can be due to a bad ignition coil, a bad spark plug, a bad stator or even a bad plug cap.
b) Bad Fuel
If you use a bad quality fuel in your outboard motor, you are going to have problems having a quick first start.
This can be caused by impurities in the fuel like water or dissolved solutes.
Solutions
a)Fix Bad Ignition Component
When you discover that you are having a hard time starting your outboard motor easily, you have to troubleshoot the ignition system.
when you discover any problem in either the stator, ignition coil or spark plug, you have to make sure you change it to a good one.
b) Use Good Fuel
When making use of your outboard motor, it is very important to always use a good fuel quality.
When you use a good fuel, you will eliminate some of the evinrude e-tec 115 issues you will have.
This has a lot of advantages attached to it.
One of the advantages is that you will always have a quick start of your outboard motor.
7) Engine Stalling
Boat rides are always very pleasant.
But the fun can be destroyed due to a lot of things.
One of these can be due to an outboard motor that stalls a lot.
When this occurs, you have to troubleshoot for the causes and fix it very fast.
Causes
a)Bad Carburetors
The carburettor is a very important part of an outboard motor.
This is because it helps in regulating the fuel volume that is being supplied to the engine.
When an outboard motor is performing, the level of fuel consumption is always different across all levels of performance.
At an idle mode, the outboard motor will consume less fuel.
But when it is accelerating, then it consumes more fuel.
The carburettor helps in sending the right volume of fuel at each level of the outboard motor performance.
But if the outboard motor carburettor is bad, then the outboard motor will also suffer performance lag when it is functioning.
This will show up in stalling of the outboard motor.
b) Clogged Fuel Line
When the fuel line of an outboard motor is clocked, it will reduce the volume of fuel flow.
This will lead to the starvation of the engine of fuel.
As a result of this, the outboard motor will stall.
c) Overheating
Overheating is very bad in an outboard motor.
It is one of the worst evinrude e-tec 115 problems.
This can easily lead to the damage of a lot of valuable parts in the outboard motor.
To avoid this damage, the outboard motor is programmed to stop functioning whenever there is an overheating occurring.
d) Bad Sensor
For an outboard motor to function well without damages, there are always sensors inside to help achieve this.
But a lot of times when these sensors are bad, wrong signals will be sent to the outboard motor.
This will lead to inappropriate functionality of the outboard motor.
At such instance like this, the outboard motor may stall.
e) Bad Fuel
When you use a bad fuel, then your outboard motor performance will be bad.
This may lead to cases like stalling outboard motor when used.
Solutions
a)Use Good Carburetors
To achieve a good performance from your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you use a good carburettor.
This will help in sending the right volume of fuel at different consumption levels of the outboard motor.
With this, cases of having problems like stalling while using your outboard motor will be easily solved.
b) Replace Clogged Fuel Line With Good One
If you discover that the fuel line in your outboard motor is clocked or damaged, you have to make sure that you replace it with a good one.
This will help in delivering the optimum volume of fuel for combustion in the engine.
c) Fix Bad Cooling System
To help avoid cases of Stalling in an outboard motor due to overheating, you have to fix a bad cooling system.
This requires careful troubleshooting to discover the faulty part.
When you discover the faulty part, you have to make sure that you replace it with a good one.
This will help in cooling your outboard motor well while it is performing.
d) Use Good Sensors
To avoid miss information from your outboard motor sensor you have to make sure that you use a good sensor.
This will help avoid cases of Stalling while using your outboard motor.
e) Use Good Fuel
To achieve good performance from your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you use a good fuel.
This will avoid problems like stalling from occurring when using your outboard motor.
8) Inappropriate Alarm And Error Code
Inappropriate alarm and error code is one of the evinrude e-tec 115 faults you may likely face at some point.
While using your outboard motor, there might be cases in which an alarm blows.
This helps in quickly showing you if there is a part that is not functioning well.
But in some cases, this can be misleading especially when the sensor in the outboard motor is bad.
Causes
Bad Sensor
When the sensor in an outboard motor is bad, then the information it sends out will also be misleading.
This can be a thermostat sending out overheating information or alarm when there is no overheating in the outboard motor.
Solution
Replace Faulty Sensors
When you discover that you have a faulty sensor in your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you fix it.
One of the best ways of fixing a bad sensor in an outboard motor is to make sure that you change it to a good one.
9) Exhaust Problems
The exhaust is a very important part of an outboard motor.
It helps in sending out bye products from the combustion chamber.
But if there is a problem with the exhaust of the outboard motor, then the performance of the outboard motor will suffer also.
Causes
a)Bad Exhaust Manifold
In the evinrude E-Tec 115, there is more than one cylinder.
To send out the bye products from the combustion chamber, a manifold helps in combining all the cylinders to one outlet to the exhaust.
But sometimes this part can get damaged.
This can be due to leakage or being loosely held.
This will lead to poor performance of the outboard motor.
b) Bad Exhaust Gasket
The gasket in an exhaust system helps in avoiding leakage.
But when the exhaust gasket is bad, then there will be problems like having a leakage.
Apart from this, the performance of the outboard motor will suffer and also lead to high fuel consumption.
c) Corrosion
Corruption is one of the problems that occur in an outboard motor exhaust system.
When this occurs it can lead to blocking the exhaust system.
Due to this, the exhaust system will not be able to perform well.
This will also affect the performance of the outboard motor as a whole.
Solutions
a)Use Good Exhaust Manifold
When making use of your outboard motor, you have to make sure that you use a good exhaust manifold.
This will help in increasing the performance of your outboard motor.
With the use of a good exhaust manifold in your outboard motor, you will also experience a good fuel economy.
b) Use Good Exhaust Gasket
When making use of your outboard motor, you don’t want to have an unnecessary leakage.
That is why you have to make sure that you use a good exhaust gasket.
This will help in properly releasing bye products from the combustion chamber of your outboard motor engine.
With the use of a good exhaust gasket, you will also experience a good fuel economy.
c) Use Original Exhaust
Always make sure that you use good and relianle parts in your outboard motor.
This will avoid quick damage from setting in like having a corrosion in your exhaust system.
Conclusion
Evinrude e-tec 115 problems may show up once in a while while you make use of your outboard motor.
What is important is to apply the knowledge in this guide to solve them.
This will help keep your outboard motor longer in a good working condition.
Further Readings
Evinrude E-tec Fuel Pump Problems And How To Fix It