Fuel Pump relay.. rpm.. ect..? need help 2003 Correct Craft 206. 5.7L engine

[DUG206]

2003 Correct Craft 206. 5.7L engine..Dug

need some help. My boat cranked and would not start(after a long weekend of working perfect). Could not hear the fuel pumps running when key turned on to one click.. normally its loud enough to hear( played with Lanyard which is only a year old no change).
Following weekend... Test performed: checked volts at battery 12.7 volts, checked volts at fuel pump relay 12.7volts. check all 3 fuses near relays.. all good. jumped wires(on fuel pump relay plug) after unplugging the fuel pump relay as talked about on one of these threads(to test if fuel pumps work).. both fuel pumps turn on when wires jumped and sound great. Plugged relay back in .. everything worked perfect. Put boat in water.. started perfect. Happy it starts and yet I really only tested did no repairs.
At doc For kicks I pulled lanyard off , engine dies as suppose to.. plug back in starts and runs perfect. each time I click the key I can hear the fuel pump start up for a few seconds as is normal.
Go to leave the doc for a ride.. 50 feet away from doc at idle it dies. try to restart and yet cleary I cannot hear fuel boat and boat cranks and yet does not start. I anchor the boat and start my test again this time floating.
First thing: I unplug fuel pump relay and check power coming into relay , still at 12.7 volts.. I jump wires again on the plug that goes into the fuel pump relay.. both fuel pumps working loud and clear.. I plug wires back into relay.. turn the key one click fuel pump turns on for a few seconds as it should and I crank and start the boat. Once again excited the boat starts and yet no repair was done.. drive the boat for two days.. it happens one more time and yet I do nothing accept pull the plug out of the fuel pump relay and plug it back in and the boat starts and runs fine.. ?? whats Up.. any ideals.. I brought the relay home and want to test it, how? Can relays go out like this.. or is it something else? Extra note.. I also noticed while driving the boat this weekend at around 3500 rpm(as per the digital RPM's on the perfect pass)the RPM analog guage is not stable, it moved from 3500..up to 4700 back to 4200 , down to 3600 and just kept hunting around(at which time the boat was stable and running great). Can this be a Connecting problem or just another problem non related.. unknown.. need help?
Thanks
Dug

[core-rider]

I have no answer to your RPM gauge issue, but the fuel pump relays had a problem back in '03 on the Excalibur engines that caused the exact issue you're describing. Mine did similar as well. The relays are not the problems... The relay harness they plug into is. Some of the terminals in the relay harness did not make good contact with the relay terminals. After the engine runs awhile the terminals heat up expanding them causing poor contact. I had to remove each terminal from the back of the harness and pry the spring-loaded clip out a bit. I've never had the issue again sine 2003.

[slob02]

Replace the Relays..........keep an extra with you on the boat.

[DUG206]

Thanks for the heads up.. I will do what you described for sure. .. its strange that it would take 9 years for this to surface.. did you have this problem when the boat was new or years later?

thanks Dug

[core-rider]

New, but the problem wouldn't show up till the engine had been running a few hours. I agree the it's odd it would take 9 years to show, but the fix is free minus about an hour of your time. I'm real big on trying to solve the problem without just replacing parts. Not saying the relays aren't the issue, but doesn't sound like it in your case.

[DUG206]

Jason, I agree and like you I want to solve a problem not just replace parts. I just tested the Relay on my bench at home using instructions from several google searches on line. It passed all test.. It does not appear to be the relay. Im curious when you removed each terminal from the back of the harness , did you just pull them out or some sort of clip needs to be pushed to release them before pulling out(hope this makes sense).

Thanks
Dug

[DanielC]

This ius coming form somebody with a GT-40, and not the Excalibur engine, but I had very similar problems with my engine. I replaced the relays, and also bench tested the relays to see if I could "positively identify the root cause of the problem"
The relays tested good.
I think my boat is good now, but I would like a few more hours on it, without any problems before I am sure.

[DUG206]

This ius coming form somebody with a GT-40, and not the Excalibur engine, but I had very similar problems with my engine. I replaced the relays, and also bench tested the relays to see if I could "positively identify the root cause of the problem"
The relays tested good.
I think my boat is good now, but I would like a few more hours on it, without any problems before I am sure.

so did you do anythng other than replace the relays?

[core-rider]

It's been 9 years since I even looked at them, but IIRC the back side of the harness opens up and allows you to pull each wire out smoothly. I will try to get a chance to look at them this afternoon if you haven't figured it out by then.

[DUG206]

Jason Thanks.. my boat is 220 mile away from me and any dealer. So Im trying to gather as much info as possible, makes trouble shooting and working on it quicker when I get there.
Dug