Problem with my Challenger 1800

[DirtyJerseyStroker]

Hey all, my name is Harold and i just joined up. Just wanted to introduce myself but i do have a problem. 01 Challenger 1800 will not go past 3500 rpms at WOT. Smokes lots but no power. I tried bypassing the neutral safety switch with a momentary switch to see if that was the problem, but no luck, it still wont rev past 3500. What could be another problem with this thing. I had it out at the beginning of the season and had no problems, but now it haunts me. Any help will be great, thanks in advance.

 

[El Toro 33809]

I have seen your question here for a few days with no responses. I wish I had an answer for you. Compression check? Electrics? Good luck.

 

[Irish1800]

Sounds like it's in limp mode. Are your oil caps tight on both tanks? Any issues with oil lines? Fuel filter plugged? Missing? I've never tried to just free rev mine so don't know if it will go above 3500 in neutral or are you saying it won't go above that in gear while underway as well?

 

[americanb&y]

Challenger 240

Must be going around - mine also will hit only 3500 rpm !! Done most all tests with no luck.

Please post your progress

John

 

[Irish1800]

Must be going around - mine also will hit only 3500 rpm !! Done most all tests with no luck.

Please post your progress

John

Not to get off topic, but do you know a guy named Scott Halstead or Denny Densford? Good friends of mine from Jeffersonville. Sometimes it's a small world.

 

[americanb&y]

Challenger RPM

Fixed mine this morning. Replaced the coil trigger located under the flywheel. River was rough today but did manage 5500rpm with plenty of power.

Irish1800 - We have a small town but I do not know either of the mentioned people. If they are boaters, we probably have passed on the water.

 

[Irish1800]

Irish1800 - We have a small town but I do not know either of the mentioned people. If they are boaters, we probably have passed on the water.

Yea they usually hangout in the cove. I'm sure you've passed them. Just curious.

 

[johnhibbs]

Did you ever solve the problem with not being able to rev above 3500 rpm? I tested my boat today for the first time this year and it won't rev above 3500 without dying. The fuel pressure is good. It starts fine. Has a new battery. I'm going to test the trigger unit tomrrow. The exhaust hoses are good so there's no exhaust blockage.

 

[americanb&y]

johnhibbs,

Replacing the trigger assembly cured my low rpm. Easy to do with the proper flywheel puller.

John

 

[johnhibbs]

I looked at the wiring from the trigger unit to it's connector and one wire broke off just moving it around. Very poor quality wiring material was used on these trigger units. I decided to cut the wires off at the connector and solder them at the other end. The wiring was so bad under the insulation I had to keep cutting the insulation back until I found something I could solder to. This was going to be just a temporay fix to get the boat in the water. I will replace the trigger unit this week. It still didn't fix the problem though. I want to replace it anyway. I'm testing the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) now. It isn't giving me the correct voltage readings. They are way too low. I have removed it and measured it with an ohm meter. The orange wire shows an open (9 V supply voltage). The resistance does vary between the blue(wiper arm) wire and tan (return) wire.

 

[johnhibbs]

Repaired TPS

The TPS (P/N 14851004) was bad but the great news is that I was able to repair it and saved myself $450. Just like the trigger assembly, they used really low cost wire. The wire is bare cooper with low temp insulation. When I cut the wires half way between the connector and the TPS unit the cooper wires were very badly tarnished and brittle. The corrosion must creep down the wires under the insulation from the connector. It gets all the way down to the TPS. This TPS is only 3 years old. In my case the orange wire had no continuity to the TPS.

Using my Dremel tool I cut a narrow path next to the orange wire through the black plastic. I finally found the connection point. I removed the orange wire and soldered a new wire to the spot. It now has a good connection again. See attached photos.

If I were installing a new TPS I would cut off the wiring from the connector to the TPS and replace it with some good quality wire. On Ebay, do a search for “tinned marine primary wire 16 awg”. Next I would cover the solder connections with a clear silicon sealant and also at the point where the wires go into the TPS and at the connector. For $450 these things should at least use some decent wire.

I found a top rated seller on Ebay that sells new TPS sensors for $433.62 + $15 for shipping. Do a search for: 14851004

 

[Dr Honda]

thanks for the heads up on that.

Are you using your boat in salt water?

 

[johnhibbs]

Yes I'm taking my boat to Mission Bay and San Diego Bay more often than I used to. The local lake (El Capitan Reservoir in San Diego ) charges about $50 for the boat and four people to go on it for the day.

I'm sure if they had used some good wire this wouldn't have happened.