Boat runs on hose, but dies in the water

[billoos]

Hi Everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the site. My name is Bill O and I am new to boating and jetboats. I bought a 2014 Yamamha AR190 with 76 hours on it a few months ago from a local resident. My first time out, a baseball cap got sucked into the cleanout trap and the engine overheated. When I got it home, I checked the oil and a plug and everything looked good. I fired it up with a water hose connected and it ran. So, I took it back out on the water. When I got it in the water, it died as soon as I tried to accelerate. My wife and I paddled back to shore. I took it to a local Yamaha dealer and they could only check it on a water hose. They said everything checked fine. So, I took it back out this weekend and it died again when I accelerated. So far, I'm 0 for 3 with my trips in the water. I called the dealer and they said if the cleanout trap safety switch is good, there is nothing else they can do. They had, also, adjusted the switch. says that is normal for the AR190s.

 

[billoos]

The boat seems to run until I accelerate and then it has no power and it dies. I don’t think it's the switch and I can't find anyone near me to work on it. I live in Pickerington, Ohio, near Columbus. I ran it with hose for 15 minutes today and accelerated off and on and it ran the entire time. It runs pretty rough, but the dealer saws that is normal for the AR190. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WREKS]

Possibly, remnants of baseball cap are lodged somewhere.

 

[billoos]

You could be right, but I couldn't find any.

 

[adrianp89]

I'd start by pulling the pump to see if anything got lodged where you can't see it. Takes less than 30 minutes.

 

[johhnyboat]

Can you give a little more information? when you say it dies, does the engine just shut off by itself? Is the overheating siren coming on?

 

[lazergeek]

Drive shaft could be not spinning (broken shaft or coupler) when engine is running causing lack of power and overheat due to no water pressure being forced into the engine.

 

[johhnyboat]

Drive shaft could be not spinning (broken shaft or coupler) when engine is running causing lack of power and overheat due to no water pressure being forced into the engine.

Could be, that's why I wanted him to narrow it down. If it's an overheating issue then he has a water restriction / leak issue. If it is shutting down without overheating it could be a number of things, fuel restriction, bad fuel, spark plugs, etc...

 

[lazergeek]

Could be, that's why I wanted him to narrow it down. If it's an overheating issue then he has a water restriction / leak issue. If it is shutting down without overheating it could be a number of things, fuel restriction, bad fuel, spark plugs, etc...

There is no water pump, only the pressure generated by the jetpump so if thats not turning its not getting any water into the engine at all.

 

[Scottintexas]

since this is a new boat to you we have to think if someone sold you a problem,

have you ever been in the boat and it ran well ?
when you sucked up the ball cap were you still at the dock or was at the end of a long fun day ?

It runs pretty rough ????

like the engine is shaking, stuttering or you just hear a lot of clanking ??

I'd pull the impeller/shaft out, run it on the hose at home and see what it sounds like (our boats sound like a can of rocks when run on the hose)

The engine running rough is a bigger question to me,

is there an rpm it stops at ? do you have to give it throttle to that rpm to get it off the trailer ?

maybe post a video of the engine running rough so we can get a better idea,

 

[johhnyboat]

There is no water pump, only the pressure generated by the jetpump so if thats not turning its not getting any water into the engine at all.

Right, that’s why I asked the OP to clarify if it’s overheating or not.

 

[billoos]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm getting ready to mess with it some more. It shuts off ( stalls ), but doesn't overheat. I ran it on a hose yesterday with no problems. It seems to o ly happen in the water. When I say rough, it does sound like a van of rocks. First time I took it out, it ran for about 40 minutes before Sucked up a ball cap. If I fire it up today, I'll take a video.

 

[billoos]

I opened the cover where the cleanout trap is and found the resonator warped on one end. It appears to have gotten hot. Probably when it over heated after sucking up the cap. Anyway, I'm ordering a new one. Does anyone think this would cause the problems I described? I think so, but I don't know much about these boats.

 

[johhnyboat]

could be, but I would also inspect the impellers and shaft. If the impeller is not rotating enough it may shut down before it overheats.

 

[billoos]

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[billoos]

Just a follow up. I bypassed the resonator with 3" pvc pipe until the resonator I ordered comes in. Also, there was a small plastic elbow, that leads to water going back out that had a hole in it. Replaced it and the boat seems to be running well. Used 3/4 of a tank of gas last weekend and it never gave me an issue. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[TeenGee]

I think you found the cause of you engine problems. Others have reported exhaust leaks killing an engine under the conditions you describe.
I suspect that the exhaust was leaking from the melted resonator and filling the engine bay. On the hose with low rpm there was enough fresh air entering the engine compartment to keep the engine running. On the water and under load the leak in the resonator was more than the engine could handle and it essentially suffocated itself on its own exhaust. You got rid of the exhaust leak and you should be good to go on the water. If you go out and it dies again under load, open the engine hatch and check for exhaust. If you find exhaust, run the engine with the hatch open.

 

[YoDaddy292]

Thanks for coming back with the solution. Too many times we never hear what ended up being the problem or what the fix was and it is like reading a book that wasn’t finished nor does it help the next guy. Good on ya’ for not just boating off into the sunset.

 

[billoos]

Thank you all for the responses. This forum is really helpful.