Unable to hold speed with 2007 Outback

[MasterMind3002]

I have a 2007 Moomba Outback with the 325 Indmar engine. The boat has 40 hours on the meter. It had its 20 hour service about 3 weeks ago and everything looked good. I love everything about this boat except the throttle control.

It's hard to explain, but I can't make small corrections in speed while towing skiers. If the speed drops or increases and I need to make a small adjustment, I "bump" the throttle a bit and the boat may or may not respond. If I "bump" the throttle a second time, the boat appears to recognize both throttle "bumps" at once and either surges or falls off drastically. Sometimes 5 or 10 miles an hour all at once. I'm a very experienced driver (I pull a ski show on the weekends) and I have attempted to adjust to this by driving the boat differently but nothing seems to work. The throttle never responds the same way twice.

My dealer has been awesome and is working on the issue . I was just curious if anyone else has had this same issue and what the problem might be.

Thanks

[04OUTBACK]

Not sure what you mean by Bump, but I recommend you use your thumb and forefinger to adjust throttle.. Keep your wrist on the side pad by the throttle and ease it up/down. 325HP is a lot to operate this boat and if I understand what you mean by bump, it probably from moving it too much.. hope I am not misunderstanding/oversimplifying this....

Good luck..
BW

[MasterMind3002]

Thanks for the reply 04Outback. I appreciate your input but I'm not sure I did a very good job of explaining this issue.

When I say bump the throttle, I mean to make a small adjustment. To pickup or reduce speed so that it feels like a constant ride for the skier.

I have tried several ways of adjusting the throttle including your method of thumb and forefinger...............the way I hold the throttle lever has nothing to do with this issue.

The boat just doesn't respond to small adjustments and any adjustment large enough for the boat to respond to results in a drastic surge or fall off in speed. This is annoying to tournament and show skiers and its certainly not normal behavior for a AWSA Tournament Certified Tow Boat. I know this because my last boat didn't do this nor does my brothers Supra with the same drive train.

Thanks again for your post and I hope this explains the issue better

[JesseC]

Isn't your boat on the new throttle by wire system. Sounds like the sensor or actuator is not functioning properly. I agree with you that wat you are experiencing is not normal. Let the dealer figure it out. I would also look into adding perfect pass in the future. I could not do without it. Now I spend more time watching my skier/boarder than I do the speedometer. No more "bumping" of the throttle followed by staring at the speedometer.

[MasterMind3002]

Hi Jessie

You are correct.........my boat is throttle by wire. However, there is a cable that runs from the throttle lever to the transmission linkage and a servo located near the transmission that controls yet another servo located in the fuel injection that actually controls the speed. I agree that the problem is probably in one of the servos. The dealer is checking it out and I'll post the results. Apparently they can check voltage readings in the servos to determine if they are functioning correctly.

As for Perfect Pass, its a great tool but I prefer to drive the boat. My brother's Supra Launch has Perfect Pass and its can be a problem when your trying to run double ups on turns. I would rather drive the boat than have the boat drive me............just my humble opinion.

Thanks for the help

[Engine Nut]

Hi Jessie

You are correct.........my boat is throttle by wire. However, there is a cable that runs from the throttle lever to the transmission linkage and a servo located near the transmission that controls yet another servo located in the fuel injection that actually controls the speed. I agree that the problem is probably in one of the servos. The dealer is checking it out and I'll post the results. Apparently they can check voltage readings in the servos to determine if they are functioning correctly.

As for Perfect Pass, its a great tool but I prefer to drive the boat. My brother's Supra Launch has Perfect Pass and its can be a problem when your trying to run double ups on turns. I would rather drive the boat than have the boat drive me............just my humble opinion.

Thanks for the help

Who is your dealer? Is your boat there now? I would like to give them a call to see if I can give them soms assistance. Generally the throttle response on these engines is pretty sensitive and a amall movement in the throttle handle results in a small change in RPM. If you want to PM me with your dealer information and your name, I would be happy to give them a call.

[MasterMind3002]

Thanks Larry!

That would be awesome! I won't talk to the dealer again until tomorrow but when I do I'll let the head technician know that you have extended the offer. I don't want to force anything on him since they have been so awesome about everything. I'll let you know!

Thank you very much!

[cab13367]

I would rather drive the boat than have the boat drive me

When I read in your post that you drive for tournament and show skiers, I figured that you probably can hold speed better than PerfectPass so I didn't suggest it. Same reason that race cars drivers prefer not to have anti-lock brakes and other electronic driving aids - they can operate the car better than the electronic devices can.

I was thinking the same as JesseC, that your boat has an electronic throttle. You'd think that there'd be a way to adjust the sensitivity of the lever.

Glad that Engine Nut is on the case - you are in good hands!

Al

[MasterMind3002]

Thanks for the post cab13367. I don't want anyone to think I'm dissing Perfect Pass............its a great tool.........I just prefer to be in total control of the boat. My brother calls Perfect Pass the marriage saver. He can wakeboard with his wife driving and no harsh words are exchanged.

I appreciate your input

Thanks

[04OUTBACK]

MasterMind..
true on the last post.. I thought about suggesting maybe my wife was driving your boat... HA HA....
She would probably enjoy PP... she might not hear me fuss as much..

Hope you get it figured out..