Anyone had a fire on 175 Sportjet?

[davisk12]

I had an electrical fire on my 2003 175 Sportjet. Just got word from the shop and they think it was the voltage regulator. $3300 in damage. Anybody heard of this problem on Sportjets or Mercury motors? Thanks.

[HOOKUP]

what kind of boat was it in? any pics?

Never heard of a SJ fire...they are really bulletproof

[cmb1998]

Originally Posted by HOOKUP

what kind of boat was it in? any pics?

Never heard of a SJ fire...they are really bulletproof

X2. It's just a 2.5l merc block. Same as the rest of the OB's with a different crank.

What year?

Later,

Chris

[baitsauce]

Originally Posted by davisk12

I had an electrical fire on my 2003 175 Sportjet. Just got word from the shop and they think it was the voltage regulator. $3300 in damage. Anybody heard of this problem on Sportjets or Mercury motors? Thanks.

Uh, no I haven't heard of this before and I'm sure I would have. I also see this is your first post.

[Twitchs_Tackle]

Originally Posted by HOOKUP

what kind of boat was it in? any pics?

Never heard of a SJ fire...they are really bulletproof

When I was looking up a problem I had with my 240, I found several references to 175's catching fire from a poorly placed wiring harness that is exposed to high heat. I just tried looking it up, and can't find anything useful yet... but I know I did come across several instances of this happening. I remember thinking at the time "glad mine isn't a 175, between the fire hazard, and higher rates of hydro locking"

[davisk12]

Originally Posted by davisk12

I had an electrical fire on my 2003 175 Sportjet. Just got word from the shop and they think it was the voltage regulator. $3300 in damage. Anybody heard of this problem on Sportjets or Mercury motors? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. It is on a 2003 North River, I will have to get the pictures from the shop. Other than this issue my sportjet has been great. I bought it new and pretty much use it for everything.

[cubsfan]

That sucks man, sorry. That's a crappy first story for you. Hope your luck changes. Maybe think about mounting that new harness under and to the side of the helm. That is where they put it on my new Boulton. Seems to get lots of air and stays cool. Always check them periodically, no matter where they are.

[fishgetter]

Not a sport jet but I have my 1992 mercury 175 catch fire under the cowling, I replaced the harness, starter cables, rectifier, and black box. The cause of the fire was the rectifier went bad and shorted. A $25 rectifier caused a ton of damage. I repaired it all myself for $500 or less but the shop would have asked 4 times that for sure.

Good luck and I hope they find out exactly what caused it so it will not happed again.