How to test to see if power is going to ECM on a 480CE?

[Michael]

How to test to see if power is going to ECM on a 480CE?The starboard 480CE fault code warning lamps do not illuminate as expected when engine is energized. Also Engine will turn over but not start.Battery voltage is 13.6 volts and engine cranks fast enough so it should start.Engine was running fine but quit as if someone shut it off. Engine hours no longer show up on systemview, fault code lamps do not light up during self test and voltage meter shows no voltage.Would like to test to see if ECM is getting power. Also is it easy to swap port and starboard ECM´s to see if problem follows ECM? Any other things I should check?Not a mechanic, but have a good voltmeter and am pretty handy.Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Topic

[William Walter]

Solved

Great to hear you figured out the problem.Especially without having a Cummins mechanic come out to the boat.Great to have a site like this where we can throw these issues around. I had to do similar with a trim tab wire that was shorted.Finally had to run a new wire from the switch to the motor.Bill 

[Michael]

Solved

Not a Cummins problem, but problem with Sea Ray wiring harness.  Two positive wires going to ECM did not provide reliable 12 volt power. Ran 2 new wires from  battery with inline 10 amp fuses and completed a successful 3 hour test run.  

Will implement a more permanent fix when I get home.  Plan to call Sea Ray to try and find out where their wires go. Their wiring diagram does not show and i could not find where they terminate or required fuses. 

I learned a lot working on this problem.  Appreciate everyone’s help. 

Mike

 

[Michael]

Clark, Ran a wire direct from battery with 10 amp fuses and engine has been running for 35 minutes. Will go for a sea trial in a couple of minutes.

Tried unsuccessfully to find route of original wires yesterday. Power source is a unswitched breaker, but wire from it and wires from ECM disappear into hugh bundle and appear to go to helm.  Will contact Sea Ray when I get home.

Thanks!

Mike

[Clark Leighs]

As a test  run a single wire direct from the battery to the terminal on the ECM which will bypass the existing wire.

Use a fuse of the same value.     THe wire does not have to be pretty or neatly run.    Just so you don’t trip on it.

If still no joy do the same for the negative wire.           If one or the other works then you know what the problem is but you just have to locate the specific problem connector/connection or permanently bypass it neatly. Just label it though.

[Michael]

Some progress

Corey sent me a picture of the 4 pin harness (2 positive and 2 negative wires) dedicated to the engine for the ECM (attached).  Found connector near bellhousing. Cleaned it, tested voltage, then reconnected it. Everything then worked as expected.  Went for a test run and it failed again, with same symptoms as before.   After it failed, I put my test lamp on the connectors and light barely lite up. Then i put volt meter on which showed 11.6 volts on each of the two circuits. Checked voltage at the battery and it was 12.6 volts.  So it seems like not ECM, but wire going from the battery to the connector.  Could not get it to work again, so I came back to dock on one engine. Will investigate wires some more.  Thanks to Corey and William for your help. Appreciate it.  Making some progress.     

[William Walter]

Ecm

I suggest you get Corey involved in your post. This is his area of expertise.I’m sure he can help you. Somehow I think I was checking for power also and was able to find the pins for power .Found out I had none which led me back to the battery which is when I discovered the un connected lead.your problem sounds different but a worthwhile test to confirm power.

[Michael]

The harness appears to be in good shape, but hard to know for certain as not all of it is easily accessible. But I did check the wires going into the ECM and there is no corrosion at all.  Engine room is dry. 

Some people say thy have swapped ECM’s for similar symptoms, but not sure if  this is safe to do.  Looks like the 2  ECM wire bundle connections can be removed with an allen key wrench and ECM itself has 3 bolts.   But I  am not sure if wise/safe to try the one from the working motor or not.  

Another test would be to see if 2  wires that provide power to ECM actually have 12 volts. But I can not tell which  2 of the many wires going into the ECM are supposed to have power.  There at multiple red wires going into the ECM. 

 

[William Walter]

Eco 480 ce

I agree .Doesn’t sound like that fuse I have.Sounds more like a corrosion problem.Did you check the harness going to the ecm for corrosion.

[Michael]

William, thanks for the information.  On Sea Ray battery is connected to a large 12 volt  panel with unswitched breakers.  Then the power goes on 2 wires from the unswitched breakers to two 10 amp  re-settable breakers near the after-coolers. From there it goes to ECM (or at least that is what i gather from looking at the wiring diagram).  

On my boat, one of the two wires going to the re-settable breakers near the after cooler has been removed.  This was done 4+ years ago before i bought the boat. So someone bypassed this breaker. 

In my case I currently have a hard failure. Before it failed the final time, engine quit 5 or 6 times with same symptoms, but would restart after a few seconds.  So it seems like not just a fuse. 

Note: We are currently doing the Great Loop and boat ran flawlessly for about 4000 miles up the east coast, thru Canada, down lake Michigan and the inland rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.  Then current problem started. Of course it failed in a very remote area of the Florida Pan Handle. 

[William Walter]

Ecm 480 ce

Michael On my 480 ce in a tiara I have fuse’s right at the battery that send power to the ecms.They are car like fuses. I neglected to put one of the terminals back on one time and I got the symptoms you have.my ecms are powered by the house side batteries.not sure why but maybe just a tiara setup. I would ck to see if you have those fuses. I bought extra fuses once I found out they were there because the engine will not start.Bill

[Michael]

Tony, Thanks for the diagram.  Was able to get a local mechanic to look at the chart you provided and the engine.  After 45 minutes or so he said he suspected the ECM and best to get Cummins to look at it. 

One interesting finding is that one of the circut breakers near after cooler has been removed. Other one is fine. Wires were cut and breaker is gone.  Not sure why breaker was removed or what was done, but has been like this since i have owned the boat for  last 5 years. 

I had called Cummins on Friday and they said it would be 3 to 5 weeks before they can send someone to look at it. They are really backlogged. 

[Tony Athens]

6CTA 8.3 480 CE Wiring

One solution… Study this diagram and take  the time needed to trace it down.

Also, look at  the two circuit breakers near the top of the aftercooler early on.

 

 

 

 

[Author]

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