Boat was running good and then the other day I took it out and was running full throttle and it died all of a sudden. The battery tested good....I hooked the starter straight to the battery and the engine turned over but without the jump cables the engine will not turn over. I get a click in the engine. Bilge and lights work fine. Why would my engine just cut out at full throttle and then not start back up? Please help! Spark plugs are brand new and gap is good. Any suggestions? I asked a seadoo mechanic over the phone and he said the engine may be seized, but I don't want to result to that until last.
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97 challenger will not start
- Thread starter KHolco
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Dealerships?/.......
You never ask a dealership anything. They're going to make it sound like you have to replace the entire engine when all you need is a spark plug.
Look, before I help you out, I have to know something. Are you a Hanahan graduate? I'm a Goose Creek high alum so I want to make sure I ain't helping a rival!...............:rofl:
Not a bunch of info to go on here but can I assume the engine is not locked up. You said you can turn it over by jumping the starter from the battery. If so, then I need to know how many beeps you get when you put the lanyard on the post.
I believe your problem is the post. The DESS (digital electronic security system) is really sensitive. The post is a magnetic communicator that reads a ROM (read only memory) chip that's embedded in your lanyard cap. With the age of the boat, the magnetic ring around the post loses it's ability to keep the electrical, magnetic field for communication. When this happens, the motor dies. It may be at idle or WOT,......sometimes, if you pull the lanyard on and off several times, you'll get it to beep 2 times, then you can start it up again. But, when you go back to run it, it'll eventually die on you again.
Need more info from you before I can say for certain it's your post. Does the engine turn over? Do you have any blown fuses? How many beeps do you get when you put the lanyard cap on?.........gut feeling, your post is bad. I have the 97 Challenger and I had to replace mine a couple years ago. It did the same thing. Died for no reason.........it hasn't dies since then.:cheers:
You never ask a dealership anything. They're going to make it sound like you have to replace the entire engine when all you need is a spark plug.
Look, before I help you out, I have to know something. Are you a Hanahan graduate? I'm a Goose Creek high alum so I want to make sure I ain't helping a rival!...............:rofl:
Not a bunch of info to go on here but can I assume the engine is not locked up. You said you can turn it over by jumping the starter from the battery. If so, then I need to know how many beeps you get when you put the lanyard on the post.
I believe your problem is the post. The DESS (digital electronic security system) is really sensitive. The post is a magnetic communicator that reads a ROM (read only memory) chip that's embedded in your lanyard cap. With the age of the boat, the magnetic ring around the post loses it's ability to keep the electrical, magnetic field for communication. When this happens, the motor dies. It may be at idle or WOT,......sometimes, if you pull the lanyard on and off several times, you'll get it to beep 2 times, then you can start it up again. But, when you go back to run it, it'll eventually die on you again.
Need more info from you before I can say for certain it's your post. Does the engine turn over? Do you have any blown fuses? How many beeps do you get when you put the lanyard cap on?.........gut feeling, your post is bad. I have the 97 Challenger and I had to replace mine a couple years ago. It did the same thing. Died for no reason.........it hasn't dies since then.:cheers:
Some thoughts
I am by no means at Snipes level when it comes to Challenger knowledge, but here are some additional thoughts:
You stated that the motor died while at full throttle - this may be caused by an issue with the MPEM - check the 5 amp fuse.
Do you get any beeps when you stick the lanyard on?
It does not sound like your are seized if the motor turns over when you connect wires directly from the battery - if you were the starter would engage but not turn over the motor.
Make sure the battery connections are clean and secure too.
Report back with you findings.
Great group here and they are always ready to help:cheers:
BTW - I was typing this as Snipe posted - he beat me to it
I am by no means at Snipes level when it comes to Challenger knowledge, but here are some additional thoughts:
You stated that the motor died while at full throttle - this may be caused by an issue with the MPEM - check the 5 amp fuse.
Do you get any beeps when you stick the lanyard on?
It does not sound like your are seized if the motor turns over when you connect wires directly from the battery - if you were the starter would engage but not turn over the motor.
Make sure the battery connections are clean and secure too.
Report back with you findings.
Great group here and they are always ready to help:cheers:
BTW - I was typing this as Snipe posted - he beat me to it
Last edited by a moderator:
Snipe, I am glad you posted on this. Mine sorta did the same last summer one day. Ran fine for an hour or so, stopped for a beer, and it was just dead in the water after that.
I checked all the fuses, etc, and all looked good, but no beeps when I put the lanyard on.
So out of the blue, for no reason, all of a sudden it starts to beep and runs fine for the next 4 months (well, ran fine except for the engine blowing up...:reddevil
.
So, do i need to replace the actual post in the dash before it goes completely out?
Luckily, this happened right at the docks where the bar and beer was, so if it wouldn't have started back up, I could have pushed it back on the trailer, but I might not be that lucky next time it goes out.
I checked all the fuses, etc, and all looked good, but no beeps when I put the lanyard on.
So out of the blue, for no reason, all of a sudden it starts to beep and runs fine for the next 4 months (well, ran fine except for the engine blowing up...:reddevil
.So, do i need to replace the actual post in the dash before it goes completely out?
Luckily, this happened right at the docks where the bar and beer was, so if it wouldn't have started back up, I could have pushed it back on the trailer, but I might not be that lucky next time it goes out.
me again
Ok, I'm Stratford alumni lol. You probably hate me now! I get two beeps on the lanyard after wiggling it around a bit. I checked all fuses and all are good. My MPEM and carbs are extremely clean. I forgot to mention that now the engine has sort of a grinding sound when it's turning over. It's weird too, the engine will turn over maybe twice and then go back to nothing but a click. Does this help in the diagnosis?
Ok, I'm Stratford alumni lol. You probably hate me now! I get two beeps on the lanyard after wiggling it around a bit. I checked all fuses and all are good. My MPEM and carbs are extremely clean. I forgot to mention that now the engine has sort of a grinding sound when it's turning over. It's weird too, the engine will turn over maybe twice and then go back to nothing but a click. Does this help in the diagnosis?
You should not have to wiggle the lanyard to get the beeps - as soon as you place it on the post it should beep. So as Snipe said, there is an issue there.
Is the "a sort of grinding noise" new or did you have it when you cranked the starter with the cables? It is real hard to tell what that is when we can't hear it. I think it could either be a blown motor or the starter is bad. The starters are often overheated by running them too long and then fail.
Can you turn the motor over by hand via the flywheel with the plugs out?
If that works with no grinding noise, I'd be looking at the starter.
Is the "a sort of grinding noise" new or did you have it when you cranked the starter with the cables? It is real hard to tell what that is when we can't hear it. I think it could either be a blown motor or the starter is bad. The starters are often overheated by running them too long and then fail.
Can you turn the motor over by hand via the flywheel with the plugs out?
If that works with no grinding noise, I'd be looking at the starter.
Good info....
:agree: .......good info Robert. I don't think I could have said it better.
No, sorry, I left Goose Creek in the 80's......I live in Alabama now. But, I do miss Lake Moltrie. That's where I learned to slalom.
As Robert said, remove the PTO shaft cover on the back of the motor. With the plugs out, turn the motor over by hand. If you hear a grinding noise when you do this, it's in the engine (time to think about a replacement). If it's clean, then your starter is likely the problem. But one more thing. If you hear the grinding while turning the engine over by hand, listen closely to see if it's around the starter area. The bendix could be pushed out on it, engaged to the flywheel..........let us know!:cheers:
:agree: .......good info Robert. I don't think I could have said it better.
No, sorry, I left Goose Creek in the 80's......I live in Alabama now. But, I do miss Lake Moltrie. That's where I learned to slalom.
As Robert said, remove the PTO shaft cover on the back of the motor. With the plugs out, turn the motor over by hand. If you hear a grinding noise when you do this, it's in the engine (time to think about a replacement). If it's clean, then your starter is likely the problem. But one more thing. If you hear the grinding while turning the engine over by hand, listen closely to see if it's around the starter area. The bendix could be pushed out on it, engaged to the flywheel..........let us know!:cheers:
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