HELP! 2008 Seadoo Challenger 180 - Ran Out Of Gas & Now It Wont Go Fast

[joyride]

Help.

I recently purchased a 2008 seadoo challenger 180 and had the following services done.

New spark plugs.
Oil Change.
New Voltage Regulator.
New Impeller Boot.

First day on the water after these services, I ran out of gas.
I knew I was going to run out of gas so I was going FULL THROTTLE towards the marina.
While going FULL THROTTLE, we ran out of gas and the boat cut in and out a couple times before fulling shutting off.

We were then towed in at a low speed by another boat.

The NEXT DAY, I filled it up with gas and went to the lake.
We went to go and the boat wouldn't go over 12 MPH.

It felt like we were towing an elephant.
The engine sounded fine, no rough idle or anything.
The RPMs would climb to about 6000 RPM but we couldn't go over 12-14 MPH.

I drove around for a while thinking it would just need to get the gas through the lines
but the problem never went away.

I took it to a boat dealer / mechanic this morning and after they gave it a quick look over in the parking lot
said it sounded like it was running fine and it was nothing to do with the spark plugs, fuel lines, clogged fuel filter, clogged injectors,
or anything like that as you can throttle up and it throttles up smoothly.

Towing was under 15 mph so I don't think any water got in the engine.
Oil does not look like it got water in it... not milky.

They suggested it might be cavitation but they glanced at the impeller and said it looked ok.
the other thing they suggested was the supercharger might have gone out but both cavitation and the supercharger going out
were not going to instantly show up and have no relation to running out of gas.

They said to take it to the lake and see if it still does it.

Just trying to see what I can try while I wait the 3 weeks until they have time to look at it.

 

[RowdyRod]

I think you are much better to go slow and conserve fuel if you think you are going to run out rather then go flat out.

It sounds like your boat may be in "limp home mode" which can happen on low fuel. I thought limp home mode was reset when you remove the key and restart, but I could be wrong. Where there any beeps or error messages displayed?

If the dealer had buds or can do the should be able to read the errors.

 

[joyride]

[MENTION=75842]RowdyRod[/MENTION] there are no error codes or beep codes being given. It does not appear to be in limp mode.

 

[go_panthers]

HELP! 2008 Seadoo Challenger 180 - Ran Out Of Gas & Now It Wont Go Fast

I agree. Based on the dash display fuel consumption rates for my 210 Challenger, 5800 rpm is the optimum speed for fuel economy (8 gph). Fuel burn almost doubles at 7200 rpm (16 gph).

 

[joyride]

After some reading on the forums, I found a similar post about lack of power but it referenced the supercharger washers going bad. I pulled the elbow off the supercharger and if I stick my fingers inside the supercharger I can easily spin the supercharger impeller. I'm guessing my supercharger needs rebuilt and this is why I have no power.

 

[RowdyRod]

If it spins free then I'm pretty sure you need to rebuild the supercharger as the clutch has failed.

I would also check your jet pump wear ring as even at 6000 rpm I would have thought you would go more than 12 mph.

 

[joyride]

The TOP speed we got was about 16 MPH.
12 MPH was a pretty average speed.

The perfect description is "it feels like we're pulling an elephant"

The jet pump wear ring you are referring to is the wear ring for the main propulsion impeller. The impeller should be close to flush with the wear ring. Max distance should be no more than a dime width. I'll double check but I believe it's fine.