Challenger 2000, Year 2000 Stalls after starting over and over

[rob4325]

Hi,
I have a year 2000 Sea Doo Challenger 2000, with an M2 Jet, 240HP EFI engine. When I took it out for the first run, it went fine for 20 minutes and then quit. It would restart, but not run. I had it towed back to the dock. Now it repeatedly starts and then stalls within 2-5 seconds. I have replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter. I believe it is an electrical problem now but don't know where to look. I have jumpered out the oil pressure relay and the problem is the same. My electrical loads don't change at all during the start and stall. It starts very quickly and runs fine until a few seconds have passed and then it stalls quickly (no sputtering, just stalls). Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. I have owned the boat for 4 years and other than difficult restarts when the engine is warm, the boat has been fine (I will pick up an engine temp sensor).

Rob

 

[El Toro 33809]

Welcome to the forum Rob. It's my understanding that the Mercury engines are finicky about good voltage/a strong battery. The other item is the temp sensor. Sounds like you are addressing those 2 items.

Is the steering assistance hooked up on your boat (does the engine rev up when you turn it to the stops)? This can help in starting your boat.

Try posting your question in the Mercury powered boat section of the forum. I'm sure Dr. Honda will see your question and have good answers for you. Good luck.

 

[Coastiejoe]

I will love this thread to the Mercury Boat Section.

 

[Dr Honda]

How's the battery? When the that battery get's old... and the voltage sags... the ECU isn't happy, and it will die. Put a meter on the battery, and start it. If it's getting below 11v during the start... and not instantly recovering to 12v (or more) then that could be an issue. Also... look for corroded, or loose power cables, and grounds.

 

[rob4325]

How's the battery? When the that battery get's old... and the voltage sags... the ECU isn't happy, and it will die. Put a meter on the battery, and start it. If it's getting below 11v during the start... and not instantly recovering to 12v (or more) then that could be an issue. Also... look for corroded, or loose power cables, and grounds.

I will check the battery voltage. Any idea if the resistor in a spark plug can fail? A marina suggested that someone might have installed cheap plugs without the resistor. I checked the part number and it is the correct one. I'm wondering if one of them has shorted out. Apparently the loss of resistor can cause interference to the engine.

 

[Dr Honda]

Even if you had a plug fail... the engine wouldn't shut down.


If you are thinking it's electrical... you may want to check the black/yellow wire, going back to the coils, for a ground. It's the kill wire.