2006 Challenger 180 oil/temp/chk eng

[patrickj64]

The COVID/quarantine thing with two young kids has been tough on us so we decided to get a boat just to get out of the house. Searched around for a few weeks and tried to decide if I should just go cash and get something less expensive or go all out and finance something newer. Decided to go the relatively cheaper route and bought an 07 SeaDoo Challenger 180. Went and looked at it, drove it with the owner. Started up, ran it 20-25 minutes and all was well. Paid and on my way..

Now to this weekend. I went out Saturday, no real problems. Just some procedural things I needed to learn as it related to running the blower, etc etc. Sunday get on the water fires right up take it out and have a great day. Then the trouble starts. Right before the dock there is a bridge/no wake zone. So I slow down, go under the bridge, and when I get back on the gas its struggling. High RPM but just not going anywhere. Few moments later I get the long beep with check engine, temp, and oil lights on. Open the hatch to air it out and turn the blower on. After about 5 minutes it starts up fine, idle is fine. Try to just get it back to the dock. Anything over 2500k rpm and the engine starts to shake (like a limp mode) and the lights come back on followed by the beep. Repeat process 2 more times and finally I'm at the dock. Load her up and back home where she sits now.

Internet search leads me to believe temp sensors have gone bad and/or the jpipe is clogged. This is my first jet boat. I'm mechanically inclined so things like what I listed I feel confident I can do. I called the local jet boat shop and it's a 3 month waiting list which will certainly ruin the Summer. Looking for any and all help I can get, as this if my first jet boat.

 

[patrickj64]

Some follow up on this after going outside to look at it again. Boat is level and cold. I checked the oil and it is ABOVE the 2nd bend (too much oil). Could the pressure built up to give me the above problems? Would make sense why it idled fine and would drive smooth at very low RPM.

 

[dsm]

My thought is start with checking the jet pump. If you had high RPM but not going anywhere that would seem pump related not engine related. You might have sucked something up. The pump also supplies the cooling water for the exhaust system, so if the pump was obstructed or otherwise not working well you could expect to get an exhaust temperature warning.

Shaking could also be a indicator you've got something in the pump, because it's off-balance.

Too much oil is not good but I don't think is the only culprit. Check it using the procedure in the manual and take some out if needed. Not sure why the oil light would have come on just at that moment though.

Once everything else is checked out run the engine on the hose and see if the water runs freely from both the exhaust outlet and from within the pump. If not you may have a blockage. See the manual for the hose procedure, basically do not have the hose running unless the engine is running before and after. Don't run more than a couple of minutes at a time out of the water because the drive shaft seal has no cooling.

 

[patrickj64]

Thank you DSM! I should clarify about "not going anywhere". I was moving, it was just sluggish.

The more I read about oil froth and such, the more I'm thinking that's the case. I'm going to do the flush as well and see how it acts. I have a boat ramp nearby and family with another boat so I can get towed in if need be.

 

[dsm]

I am not really seeing how oil froth caused an overheat. The other way around if the oil was already too high and heat would expand it more, but then you still have to solve the root problem of the overheat.

Also if the driveshaft is spinning a certain RPM, the pump should be moving a certain amount of water. It doesn't matter what else is going on inside the engine at that time, overheat, oil pressure, whatever.

If it was me, I wouldn't put the boat back in the water without some more land checks. Get underneath it with a flashlight and check the impeller carefully, and the same through the nozzle. Maybe pull the oil filter and have a close look at it. Change the oil if you haven't, especially since you have to take some out anyway.

 

[Mister Magoo]

I agree with DSM, it is not coming from the jet pump. Pull/change the oil filter and oil. Pull/change the spark plugs. A compression test could tell a lot. It has a SC, right? If so has it been serviced? Might want to invest in a Candoo scanner,

 

[DooGuy]

Your first symptoms make me think you sucked up something in the no wake. A tiny piece as small as half a penny can cause everything you mentioned.

I had something similar with the rough idle. Ended up pulling out of the water pumps were clear. Pulled the oil pump and that’s where our summer play has been paused since end of June. Oil filter was crushed and metal flakes. Pulled the engine and opens the Pto to find shrapnel. I’m in process of tearing down but money is on thrust washer/bearing.

All to say. Could be simple piece of crap stuck in the impeller. Start there. Super easy and fast to check not to mention cheap. If pumps are clear the. Pull oil filter and check.

 

[4tec hoarder]

like DooGuy said check the jet pump first

 

[Mister Magoo]

Its easy to pull the pump assembly and you will get stuff stuck in it all the time. It does not take much to get good at checking and clearing the impeller. But, something stuck in the impeller will not set the check engine light. Engines with superchargers need extra maintenance that if not done in a proper and timely manner could cause major headaches.

 

[dsm]

Where my thought was going was more than a tiny piece in the impeller, it was more like a plastic bag got sucked up that was blocking flow through the pump. This would explain the vibration, lack of acceleration despite engine RPMs, and exhaust temperature warning if there was no open-loop cooling circulation. I suppose a small object could do the same if it was causing massive cavitation.

The symptom of high RPM without correspondingly appropriate acceleration leads to a pump issue no matter how else I try to think about it. If you turn the pump shaft at a certain RPM you should create a certain thrust, unless the pump isn't working.

Still not sure how the low oil pressure warning ties in but maybe high RPMs under no load from the pump combined with over-full oil caused a lot of foaming. Or maybe if the engine was completely unloaded due to pump blockage, the rapid increase in RPMs triggered failure of a supercharger that was on the edge already.

 

[Mister Magoo]

The engine exhaust inlet is outside of the pump assembly so a object in the impeller area would not have any impact on the intake of engine exhaust water. I've had lots of stuff stuck in my pump but I've never had any kind of check engine light come on because of it.. After changing the oil it is difficult to get the perfect amount of oil into it without over filling, which I have done. I just ran it with the oil level up over the top mark on the dip stick and had no problems or oil/check engine lights coming on. By all means pull the pump, its good practice. If your engine has a supercharger and you are not sure if any maintenance has been done to it, service it. If this is a fairly new boat to you I would rebuild the SC no matter what the previous owner has said was done to it. 2004, 2005 and 2006 superchargers and exhaust valves have problems.

 

[patrickj64]

Thank you guys for the help. I haven't gotten a chance to go work on it yet but my plans is to pull the pump apart, change the oil ( and fill to correct level ). Also make sure jpipe is clear and then flush with hose for short period of time. All out of water stuff that I can do in the backyard. Should that not go well, will get it to the shop which is currently a 3 month wait. Summer fun will be over but will have it fully serviced and back running for next year.