Huge Power Loss

[AboveTheBest]

We’re in the middle of our family vacation and this morning after trying to pull me up from the depths on a slalom ski my boat started making a whining noise at all RPM’s.

It lost a little power but still pulled me and others fine all morning, but when we loaded up with 8 adults to go to the restaraunt on the lake it felt like I’d gone into some kind of limp mode.

Even though the Tach read 7500 it sounded more like 4000 and the boat would hardly move at all.

Then it died, and after restarting it the boat died again about 60 seconds later.

Then the battery didn’t have enough juice to turn it over and I had to swim it back to our dock.

Does anyone have any idea what’s going on? I feel like the whining and initial power loss was due to air entering the pump, but that doesn’t account for the loss of volts and the shutdowns... or does it?

 

[ruztew]

Check the pump for obstruction? Clean out plug seated correctly? Definitely sounds like a cavitation issue

 

[d_coyne1984]

I am going to assume that you checked the jet for obstructions, because lets face it, it's the most likely and usual problem. My first thought was that the jet was clogged at the intake by a large thick clump of weeds, cutting off flow and cooling water to the engine. My other thought, and this is just a guess based on my very limited knowledge of these engines, is that maybe the supercharge clutch crapped out. It doesn't sound to me like one of the notorious timing chain failures. I would think that would be an all to nothing on the power in a very short manner. I hope I am wrong and it is just something simple to resolve. I have nightmares about these kind of scenarios. Good luck.

 

[AboveTheBest]

I checked the clean out and there was nothing there. No supercharger, so thats (luckily) not the problem.

I’m going to have to limp it over to the marina and pull it out to see if there’s something big I can’t find from in the water.

If that’s not the problem then I’m assuming I have a massive amount of air leaking in from somewhere.

 

[FLBulldogger]

I know it may sound unrelated but have you checked all battery/s connections? May have a loose connection causing the loss of voltage, make sure all the battery connections are tight and connections are not corroded. Did you go through the onboard diagnostics to see if the boat is throwing out codes? Good luck !

 

[Julian]

I’m going to have to limp it over to the marina and pull it out to see if there’s something big I can’t find from in the water.

You aren't looking for something big...it can be something TINY stuck between the edge of the impeller blade and the wear ring. Small like smaller than a dime. Reach in there before you go anywhere....and feel those edges carefully! I'll bet you find a little piece of drift wood stuck in there. Then carefully cut it out if you can.

 

[boudin]

As @Julian says, it can be very small. My buddy caught a small 1" long piece of hardwood between his impeller and wear ring on a long waverunner ride a couple of weeks ago. No way it would come out--we had to pull off to a sandbar and pull the pump off.

 

[AboveTheBest]

Can anybody link me to a good thread/tutorial on pump removal?

 

[boudin]

I'll take a crack at this--looks like 2013 190 is pretty much the same as the others. Take a couple of pics so you remember how it goes back together. Obviously the boat should be on the trailer.

From memory as I don't have a boat or waverunner in front of me:

1. The ends of the reverse bucket are spring loaded and will slip off. You push back on the connector, and can unhook it. The steering cable should be a 10mm to remove.

2. Remove the reverse gate by removing bolts #35 (2 of them). (Note: you might be able to do this w/o removing the reverse gate, but it'll be easier with it off.)

3. Remove the four (40) long 14mm bolts #30, and pull off the nozzle. (You should not need to remove the deflector #31.)

4. At this point, you'll probably be able to see the offending wood wedged somewhere.

5. The pump is now no longer bolted in (#8). You should be able to pull it straight out. If it gives problems, use a small pry bar.

You should not need to remove the wear ring #4. But if you do, it'll be four (4) 14mm bolts and then a 10mm on the pump strainer side.

6. Assembly is the reverse. Be careful not to overtighten the smaller bolts. Don't use any loctite -- I usually smear a little bit of grease on them so they come out easier next time.

-Greg

 

[AboveTheBest]

Awesome thanks!
I’m currently charging the battery so I can get it over to the marina to pull it out.

 

[FLBulldogger]

I am so praying for a positive outcome for @AboveTheBest right now.... but I would like a bit of an education of how a piece of FOD (foreign object debris) could/would cause an electrical interruption to the point that the unit would stop from providing power...is it because the impeller stops moving thereby it would not enable the generator not to produce power and cause the power interruption? Also if the impeller is prohibitted in its motion is there other point of damage that one would need to look/anticipate? I don't mean to hijack the thread but this is a big deal for all of us owners that aren't that familiar with the jet motor's on our boats. We are constantly running over/through/over stuff out on Tampa Bay, I try to avoid most but sometime we can't. Again, good luck @AboveTheBest let us know how it goes.

 

[txav8r]

@FLBulldogger , the two issues s are unrelated...unless one issue created the other issue. FOD as you referred to it, lake debris, can and will cause cavitation. And cavitation will cause overheating. Loaded with 8 adults, cavitating, overheating, and then while hot, they can be vapor locked easily. And we all know a vapor locked engine won’t start easily. So crank crank crank, and the battery is weak. Add to that a boat that possibly isn’t on the charger after outings, and there is the recipe for two problems that aren’t directly, but indirectly related. Many feel they just don’t need to maintain their batteries, yet they use them for a power source, without the charging system support. If the key is on and your draining the battery doing anything hit engine running at cruise or better, your draining the battery. Keeping the battery on a charger when not in use is a solution to almost 99% of the battery issues faced by boaters.

Hope you get to the bottom of it fast! But before you take it to the marina, if you get it started, go for a test run with an average compliment of passengers, say another adult and two kids. If it runs good, don’t bother with the marina, you were just too heavy for a single engine boat. This is a common occurance on the early 210 model boats, and they had two engines. A 240 would see a reduced performance loaded as I said vs 8 adults, but it would be far less noticeable. Anyway, in the infamous words of Chief Brodie, “were going to need a bigger boat”. Hope this helps. @AboveTheBest ave a great remainder of your vacation!

 

[AboveTheBest]

Do I need to take off the cone? Part #22

It feels like the pump is stuck on something behind it.

 

[Chip F.]

Check the spark plugs and make sure none are loose. I had a similar issue but it did not seem to be as bad as what you are experiencing and it was due to one plug not seated. Good luck!

 

[AboveTheBest]

@HELP Is the impeller supposed to come off with the pump?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

View attachment 77046 @HELP Is the impeller supposed to come off with the pump?

Yes as long as you removed the 4 bolts.

 

[Bruce]

View attachment 77046 @HELP Is the impeller supposed to come off with the pump?

Yes

 

[AboveTheBest]

In the picture above my impeller is separating from the pump, is that bad..?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

In the picture above my impeller is separating from the pump, is that bad..?

Yes! There are 4 bolts that hold the housing and shaft in place. Looks like yours broke.

 

[Bruce]

View attachment 77046 @HELP Is the impeller supposed to come off with the pump?

Is your impeller not coming out with the pump? If not you have a serious problem...

This is the pump with the pump housing removed so the impeller is visible. It looks like your pump housing may be stuck to the boat. That is not a problem.