2002 Seadoo Utopia 185 overheating alarm

[boboeser]

I'm having some issues with my 2002 Seadoo Utopia 185 jet boat and wondering if anyone here knows these boats and their jet drive and mercury optimax 200 motor especially well?

I noticed recently that I'm not getting much power when accelerating and when I get to about 5000rpm I am getting 1 solid beep alarm which indicates the motor overheating. I've experienced this in the past when some weeds or debris had been sucked up into the impeller and once its removed it runs normally again.

I checked for any debris underneath and there was nothing there. I did a flush on the jet drive with a garden hose at my house and tried it again and it initially seemed like it was running better without the alarm going off, but a couple hours later the same problem returned.

Something else to note is that I was low on oil a couple weeks ago and so I added 3L of the recommended oil. The overheating issue seemed to start after this, but I'm not sure if they are directly related.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

 

[Tim75]

I'm having some issues with my 2002 Seadoo Utopia 185 jet boat and wondering if anyone here knows these boats and their jet drive and mercury optimax 200 motor especially well?

I noticed recently that I'm not getting much power when accelerating and when I get to about 5000rpm I am getting 1 solid beep alarm which indicates the motor overheating. I've experienced this in the past when some weeds or debris had been sucked up into the impeller and once its removed it runs normally again.

I checked for any debris underneath and there was nothing there. I did a flush on the jet drive with a garden hose at my house and tried it again and it initially seemed like it was running better without the alarm going off, but a couple hours later the same problem returned.

Something else to note is that I was low on oil a couple weeks ago and so I added 3L of the recommended oil. The overheating issue seemed to start after this, but I'm not sure if they are directly related.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

Open the oil tank cap the has hoses to the engine. There is a molded-in strainer in bottom of that pickup tube. Check for dead dinosaur bits (thickend or contaminated oil) in the strainer. Clean strainer. Reassemble. Check oil level in header tank. Don't overtighten anything. It's all 20+ year old plastic.

 

[Tim75]

I'm having some issues with my 2002 Seadoo Utopia 185 jet boat and wondering if anyone here knows these boats and their jet drive and mercury optimax 200 motor especially well?

I noticed recently that I'm not getting much power when accelerating and when I get to about 5000rpm I am getting 1 solid beep alarm which indicates the motor overheating. I've experienced this in the past when some weeds or debris had been sucked up into the impeller and once its removed it runs normally again.

I checked for any debris underneath and there was nothing there. I did a flush on the jet drive with a garden hose at my house and tried it again and it initially seemed like it was running better without the alarm going off, but a couple hours later the same problem returned.

Something else to note is that I was low on oil a couple weeks ago and so I added 3L of the recommended oil. The overheating issue seemed to start after this, but I'm not sure if they are directly related.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

Not getting much power???
Enough power to get 5000rpm in the water.
Are you getting a good stream of water out of the pee hole on stern? If hot water can't get out, cool water can't get in (into the cooling system). Make sure there are no bug plugs in the pee hole hose.

May be time for a compression test.
All spark plugs out. Wide open throttle. Fully charged battery. Not in the water.
I don't remember the number, but they should be very close to the same reading.

 

[boboeser]

Not getting much power???
Enough power to get 5000rpm in the water.
Are you getting a good stream of water out of the pee hole on stern? If hot water can't get out, cool water can't get in (into the cooling system). Make sure there are no bug plugs in the pee hole hose.

May be time for a compression test.
All spark plugs out. Wide open throttle. Fully charged battery. Not in the water.
I don't remember the number, but they should be very close to the same reading.

That's the hole on the back beside the ladder right? There should always be hot water coming out of that when it's idling and accelerating?

I also noticed if I take the cover off the port where you can attach a garden hose, that water will come up through there when I'm accelerating. Is that normal? I usually have the cap on it but I noticed that when I took it off today and ran it.

Thanks again

 

[boboeser]

That's the hole on the back beside the ladder right? There should always be hot water coming out of that when it's idling and accelerating?

I also noticed if I take the cover off the port where you can attach a garden hose, that water will come up through there when I'm accelerating. Is that normal? I usually have the cap on it but I noticed that when I took it off today and ran it.

Thanks again

I just checked and there is a steady stream coming from the pee hole. It's warm but not hot. The first time I get on the water it seems to accelerate normally and I get up onto plane with no overheating or alarm but then after being in the water for an hour or so when I try to accelerate it has a hard time getting up onto plane and the overheat alarm sounds (one long beep).

 

[Tim75]

I just checked and there is a steady stream coming from the pee hole. It's warm but not hot. The first time I get on the water it seems to accelerate normally and I get up onto plane with no overheating or alarm but then after being in the water for an hour or so when I try to accelerate it has a hard time getting up onto plane and the overheat alarm sounds (one long beep).

 

[Tim75]

After your boat sits in the water a while, you said it has a hard time planing. Have you looked at the bilge to see if you have water leaking in?

 

[boboeser]

After your boat sits in the water a while, you said it has a hard time planing. Have you looked at the bilge to see if you have water leaking in?

I was looking around and found the bilge siphon hose leading into the bilge by the bilge pump and there's water coming out of the screened end into the bilge. Is that normal?

 

[Tim75]

I was looking around and found the bilge siphon hose leading into the bilge by the bilge pump and there's water coming out of the screened end into the bilge. Is that normal?

Absolutely NOT normal.
You may have found your problem.
From the screen end, trace it back. There should be a little plastic block in the hose. There is a small hole in it. This is a syphon break that is supposed to keep water from syphoning back into the bilge when the engine is off. The little hole must be clear (not clogged). The hose should be draped high on the engine. Zip tie if needed. The other end of the hose (no screen) should connect to a hose fitting on the inboard side of the jet drive. This is why you have a 12 year old boy right? Close quarters there.