need help! 96 challenger

[seadoo challenger newbee]

hey i just traded my old sled for a really nice looking 96 challenger single 787 but the guy i got it from said he was out on the lake with it and all of a sudden it died, he brought it home and it had no spark so he replaced the coil and didnt fix it then a buddy of his said to replace the trigger coil so he did and now it has spark and will start but is hard starting and runs rough he said he talked to a seadoo dealer and have to hook the boat up to a computer and have the trigger coil timed with the engine? does that sound right? im really new to pwc's and dont know much i do know about carbs and rave valves i have 4 ski-doo sleds and do all the maintenance to them but this is a whole nother animal... anyhting anyone has for me would really help thanks

 

[Dr Honda]

first of all... post in the boat section... you will get more responses.

second... no... the ECU on that boat doesn't do anything with the timing. if you have spark... hit it with a little starter fluid, and see if it fires.

You didn't say how long it was sitting, but if you have spark now... I'd say its carb related.

 

[voodoo]

You want to begin troubleshooting with a compression test, at this time the spark test is very easy at exactly the same time, read here about your model and what the numbers really mean - any overheating will spell trouble in the 2stroke units, it can be water starving or fuel starving that causes the overheating and pressure will fall off indicating the need to open the motor to evaluate internal damage.

 

[seadoosnipe]

carbs...

hey i just traded my old sled for a really nice looking 96 challenger single 787 but the guy i got it from said he was out on the lake with it and all of a sudden it died, he brought it home and it had no spark so he replaced the coil and didnt fix it then a buddy of his said to replace the trigger coil so he did and now it has spark and will start but is hard starting and runs rough he said he talked to a seadoo dealer and have to hook the boat up to a computer and have the trigger coil timed with the engine? does that sound right? im really new to pwc's and dont know much i do know about carbs and rave valves i have 4 ski-doo sleds and do all the maintenance to them but this is a whole nother animal... anyhting anyone has for me would really help thanks

Running rough can be from a few things. If the previous owner did any carb work, it's possible that he's got the pop off set too high. Running rough can also be caused by the sync bar being adjusted improperly.

Let the engine run for 5 minutes on the hose. Shut it down and pull the spark plugs. Read them. This can tell you if you've got carb problems.:cheers: