Engine shuts off at full throttle

Hey guys it been a long time since I visited but my boats been in storage for the last 3 years. I just replace the carburetor and fuel pump. My buddy and I took her to the lake to tune it and it ran very well with the new quick fuel carb right out of the gate.

We were both very happy with it after some adjustments and decided to do a couple laps around the lake. However, I would run it up to full throttle the engine would just shut off like you shut the key off. We first thought float level!!! nope all fine there. Seems very electrical in nature. We got it to repeat 3 times and decided to put her back on the trailer. Is this a symtom of the Protec dying on me? thoughts?

93 Ski Nautique

Ryan

Although protek is indeed suspect, dont dismiss fuel starvation, because it can behave similarly. Contrary to what one would suppose, can be very abrupt when at wot.

Its cost effective and quick to eliminate, especially if it turns out to be the issue

The obvious question would be ............"do you have spark right after it shuts down?"

Knowing the answer to that will at least get you going in the right direction

Why I don't suspect it's running out of fuel is that the float level is set at half way up the sight glass and you could see the fuel in there. We adjusted it after the first shut down. Smooth acceleration up to full throttle and then it just shuts off. Lucky for us it fired right back up after coming to a stop. I guess that would answer the question if we had spark. It would fire up immediately with the turn of the key.

I don't like to just throw parts at a problem, but I am wondering if it would be in my best interest to just replace the ProTech system with a DUI before it leaves me stranding on the lake waiting for the tow of shame...   (we did have someone hop in their boat and come over asking if we needed a tow)

I'll check that tonight when I get home from work.

I swapped out the protec with a DUI a few months ago. The protec had 1700hrs on it when I took it out. The boat still ran fine with the protec but everyone who has done the DUI swap has said how much better the boat ran with the DUI. I retired a few months ago so I needed a project and decided to swap it out. During the swap I noticed that I had one bank of spark plugs with a corrosion/rust. Turns out one of my risers was rusted through and I was getting a little bit of water intrusion into that bank of cylinders. With the DUI and new plugs/wires the boat runs better than with the protec. It starts quicker, idles smoother and I think I picked up a few hundred RPM's on the top end. I have also replaced the manifolds and risers so no more water intrusion which probably helped also. I actually had two protec modules so I had a spare in the boat if it ever crapped out. A member who had a problem he thought was the protec turned out to be a carb problem. He installed a DUI and gave me his old protec unit. I recently passed that one on to another member so he has a spare. So I don't know if all the reported protec problems are actually the unit failing or just the known wiring problems these boats have. Either way swapping them out for a DUI isn't a bad idea but if you are having problems with a protec boat it's worth checking the voltage and you may be able to get it running while you decide what to do in the long run. Hard to say whether yours was bad or not. Sounds like you added some accessories and the current draw went up which would cause the voltage to drop. Electronics don't like low input voltage. They draw more current and get hotter. So it is possible that the protec units that have been run with low voltage for a long time could degrade and ultimately fail.

Replacing the steering cable is a pretty easy job. The main problem is the cost. It looks like our boats use the same cable according to NautiqueParts. Here is a story: Way back when I hit a rock and had to have my boat repaired at the dealer he installed a new steering cable. Some years later it got stiff so I ordered another one from the same dealer. The one he sold me was a Teleflex SS13720. I removed the old cable and compared it to the one he sold me and they were the same. So at least he was consistent. That is not the correct cable for our boats. It's 20ft instead of 19.5ft. Other than the 6 inches in length and the significant cost difference the cables are the same. You can buy the Teleflex SS13720 for under $150 and it comes with a new helm. I have never used the replacement helm but it's still half the price of the correct cable. It's been a long time since the original cable was in my boat so I don't know if it steers any different than originally. There may be a difference in maximum rudder deflection but I have never thought that I had a problem doing tight turns.

Cheaper alternative cable