200 Evinrude FICHT Spark Plugs

I really like my Evinrude FICHT but I haven’t ever owned a motor that you have to change the spark plugs twice a year. After you change them it runs great, has anyone else had this problem? I run premium gas and XD 50 Evinrude oil.

My 115 is the same way if I am doing a lot of trolling. I would say that is one complaint for me as well.

Ryan

I ran a 225 FICHT for a few years and dealt with spark plugs twice a year also. If you make sure you index the plugs they will last a little longer. The ignition on those motors is very hot and thus wears the plugs out.

Thats another reason those motors are JUNK
have not talked to anyone that has one that has not had plug trouble or lower unit problems

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Thats another reason those motors are JUNK

have not talked to anyone that has one that has not had plug trouble or lower unit problems

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What a pile of baloney! Apparently, you must not talk to very many people who have owned a Ficht.

I’ve owned a 2003 Evinrude Ficht 175hp since July of 2004. Ran a guide business with this boat for the past seven years and I’ve never had a plug or lower unit problem with this motor. Yes, you may have to change the plugs twice a year, if you use it a lot, which I do. The lower unit has never, ever given me even the slightest problem.

Do you really think that running a guide business would be possible with this motor if it had those kind of problems?

I have to agree with you Joel I really like the Evinrude FICHT!! I fish tournaments so it gets used very often. Like I said the only problem is the spark plugs. Thanks for the info guys.

I had a 2001 150 Ficht motor for 5 years heavy river use 200 plus hours zero Problems.I now own 150 etec both have been great motors.

I have a 2002 200 ficht. I have made a switch to the QC10WEP plug from the QC12PEP plug. Much better plug life and run quality. They are not cheap, but well worth the money. It’s the Etec plug and approved for the ficht 3.3 liter blocks. Switch over to XD-100 oil. You can put in the ETEC thermostats to raise your motor temp while it ideals for better plug life. Also gap the plugs to .28 to start with. I switched over this spring and have yet to do anything to the plugs.
Go to bassboatcentral.com and look in the forums for the Evinrude board and there is a bunch of good info there on Evinrude’s.
Hope this will help you a bit.
M.V.

Thanks,

This site is awesome it’s a wonderful place to get insite on issues that I know very little about. I changed the plugs out last night with little problems. One thing I wanted a couple opinions on that I thought was strange was the plugs were all gaped different half were over .050 and the other half were around .040 I couldn’t find two the same. I had it done by a Professional, I won’t mention names but he is a Evinrude dealer. On the plate on the motor it says to gap them at .030 so that’s what I did.

Bryce,
The gap size of .40 to .50 sounds about right on used plugs. You can take your old plugs out and re gap them for some more use if you want. Make sure you index the plugs when you put them in. The FICHT motors will double fire the plugs up to 3000 rpm, so you can see why they eat plugs. You want to check your motors temp while it runs at the dock. Should see around 140 to 160. A bad thermostat and low temp will lead to poor plug life.
Also check and clean your exhaust pressure sensor on the bottom right side of the motor. It will be under the belly pan and have a small hose running to it. Take it out and clean it with carbon cleaner.
Hope this helps some.
M.V.

I thank you for the ideas but that’s getting a little out of my ability. This was the first time I’ve changed spark plugs. Believe it or not I’am a way better fisherman than a mech. Never the less I am getting more hands on every day, I will pop off the hood and see if I can see what you are talking about.
Thanks,

twice a year thats it? i have to change mine at least 3 or 4 times. use the champ qc12pep in my 03 ficht. run xd100 and still have to change them. now i dont let my get as bad as some people do. first sign of a rough idle or bogging down they get changed.

I have a 2000 225 ficht motor and have a hard time starting it in cold weather then when it does start when I put it in gear it dies or goes into gear then when I go to neutral it dies. it does this till I am able to keep it running in gear and make my first run across the lake then it is fine the rest of the day. there are no codes TPS and shift switch have been checked, plugs have been replaced and clocked. oil system has been checked. the only thing we have found is that it only gets up to about 110 temp and the 2 thermostats remain closed. spark plugs get carboned up. any Ideas? have spent close to 3000 now and issue is still there.

Thanks Kevin

I used to change and index mine ounce a year or if it started to get hard to start or seemed to stumble. Over all a good motor. I also recommend the updates handline 1 talked about.
Kevin ,I hade a cold weather starting issue also. turned out to be a bad starter, it seemed to work fine, but under starting load it would turn motor just slow enough to not allow the proper rpms required for the injectors to fire.
These motors also need a lot of juice to start them ,a good battery with a minimum of 1000cca. I would put on over 400 running hours on a motor in a year, and did go thru 2 power heads, but most problems came from lots of hours and hard running break downs that are typical of running 2 stroke motors . 1 power head was replaced because an oil line rubbed thru and the other a ring locater pin came out of the piston. Another important thing is to use the highest quality oil you can get( I ran amsoil )and de carb your motor ounce a year if you idle or troll alot.