2006 Challenger 180 sputtering

[eggraid101]

HI, I'm new to the forum and new to Sea-Doo ownership. I bought a 2006 Sea-Doo Challenger 180 boat, and I'm having an issue, and I figured the Sae-Doo owners would have the best chance of figuring this issue out.

I used the boat 3 times at the end of last summer after I bought it, loved it, it worked great, no problems. I winterized it myself: ran antifreeze into the exhaust, changed the oil, fogged the engine and the spark plugs, added fuel stabilizer. That was pretty much it. Yesterday we took it out on the water for the first time this summer, and it started up well. We no-waked out a little bit, and then started to roll. The problem, when I pushed the throttle, it didn't accelerate smoothly. At RPMs above about 3000, it would rev, then slow, then rev, then slow. IT would jump quickly from 4500-5200 and immediately back down, and our speed never got above about 13 MPH. I thought maybe it needed to warm up from the season, so we idled for about 30 minutes or so. Then when I hit the throttle again, "Halleluia!" Angels were singing, the boat was back to it's old self. We cruised around for about 45 minutes, the RPMs were smooth, the engine sounded great and I was congratulating myself. We entered a no wake zone for about 45 minutes, and then when I tried to open it up again, I had the same problem with the engine. We went back and took it out of the water, and it never improved for the 45 minute ride back to the ramp. The engine sounded almost like it was running out of gas, or like it was sputtering. There were also a few 'knocking' sounds I heard during the initial problem, but not in the second one. When pulling the plug, the water that came out was very very warm, and had an oily sheen to it.

Here is the link to a video I took of the problem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM3TcHY1gU4

2nd video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fLJQD82_pk

I don't have a lot of mechanical experience with engines, I am comfortable winterizing, changing oil, etc, but am not particularly skilled or knowledgeble in this area. Did I do something wrong during the winterizing process? I did get the ratio wrong for the fuel stabilizer, and ended up adding way too much. Is this the problem? spark plugs?

Please let me know if you think the problem falls into one of these 3 categories:
1. take it immediately to a shop, you're over your head and shouldn't deal with this.
2. Easy fix, you probably forgot to do (X) during the winterizing.
3. This was a normal first time out, just take it easy next time and give it time.

Thank you in advance, I really appreciate your help

 

[devonte007]

As a first step, I would install new plugs and then test it. When the engine bumps up and down, it seems like a cylinder is cutting in and out. If you did not replace the spark plugs this season, now is the time to do it. The fogging oil you put in at the end of the season tends to foul up the plugs next season during first startup. Also, these engines are notorious for being hard on plugs and it is recommended to change them once each season after the first run to burn off fogging oil. I happen to bet this will solve your problem. The gas that is in there now, is is fresh or left over from last year? Old gas can cause this type of problem as well.

I didn't hear the knocking noise you describe, but check the oil level and coolant. Oil level should be right in the middle of the two bends, if it is too high you can have engine trouble (or too low). If you still hear a knocking noise describe it in more detail and we can try to figure that out.

As far as the very warm water you describe, this sounds normal as well. Any water sitting in the bilge can get hot just by contact with the bottom of the engine which is probably around 180 degrees. How much water was in the bilge that came out? Was it enough to trigger the bilge pump? If you are concerned about the amount of water getting in the boat keep and eye on it, and let us know how much how fast. It is normal to have some water get into the bilge during normal operation, but too much can be a sign of trouble. The temperature of the water and the oily sheen should be of no real concern. The bilge area and engine is usually covered in oil as a water repellant (wd40 and such) and some of that can be taken off with the water. A little drop of oil can leave an oily sheen to lots of water, so I would not be concerned unless you are loosing engine oil or coolant.

Post back and let us know how it goes!

 

[RFoster130]

I would start with the plugs also. A new set of plugs can cure a lot of problems like that. When i winterize, I always throw in new plugs since i already have them out anyway.

 

[eggraid101]

I would start with the plugs also. A new set of plugs can cure a lot of problems like that. When i winterize, I always throw in new plugs since i already have them out anyway.

Thanks for the input. :thumbsup: I just realized there is a sea doo boat discussion thread, sorry to post in the wrong place.

Anyway, I will change the spark plugs; where do you recommend buying spark plug wrenches and plugs for Sea Doos?

The knocking was very intermittent, I only heard it 5-6 times, about once every 30 seconds for a period of a few minutes. I wasn't too worried about the water, it didn't kick on the bildge pump or anything, but my wife was very concerned with how warm it was. I just I figured I'd mention everything I saw, the oily sheen I don't remember from last year, but we may have had a drop or two during the oil change.

 

[eggraid101]

New plugs solved the issue, it's running great now. Thanks