"ECM unit has not responded in 20 seconds" wtf....

06 VLX with 220 hrs on it. It has been running fine all spring (20 hrs). Last night we were cruising home from dinner and the depth alarm starts reading 0ft. Then the main dash display starts flashing "ECM unit has not responded in 20 seconds" . Boat was still running fine at this point. We restarted and it cruised fine for about 5 minutes then started losing power, would idle fine and would rev high in neutral, but once we approached 3000 rpm or so it would bog down.

Made it home fine, not over heating, oil is fine, starts fine, will run at power for about a minute then bogs down again...

help!

Check the lanyard, wedge a small piece of cardboard in between the clip and the button. Sounds like it's loosing contact. Call your dealer and tell them you're having issues with it and see if they will send you an 08 lanyard, easy swap.

It may be going into limp mode. There are several sensors going into the ecm that can cause this. Temp, Oil Pressure, Water Flow for starters. I had a water flow sensor go bad once and blocked oil cooler another time. It could also be the ECM. It will be difficult to troubleshoot without connecting it to a computer.

sounds like she is going into safety mode.. ECM is picking up an error code or tripped? did you check both breaker boards? might be a popped circuit? either way, boat will not run as long as it is in safety mode. you need to get the ECM flashed it sounds like? dealership can usually do pretty easy. but it is going into safety mode for a reason and problem will need to be addressed.. in all our Bu's, i have never experienced this?

limp mode = safety mode

Hmmm, this could be it as we had a issue with the lanyard when we first launched it this year. But wouldn't the lanyard shut the engine off entirely?

so I'm an idiot. The negative cable was off/loose the terminal on one of the batteries..........

Problem solved I hope......? On another positive note we got our primal seat covers in. Looks good and will protect the seats from my drunk friends.

You need to check the cannon plug on the back of the engine. This is where the wireing from the dash goes to the ecm. We had a few customers last year with the same issue and this plug is normally the cause. Just tighten it up and then see what the dash says when you turn the key to the ignition position.

I was thinking cannon plug too, but a loose negative cable doesn't help.

Boat ran great last night, stopped and restarted a few times. Will check the plug though thanks.

Ryan a little wd-40 in the plug will keep moisture out and what caused my problem last year.