Cold start

Hi
I have a 1992 pcm engine on my ski Nautique. It won’t start when cold. Complete nightmare wrestling match to finally get it fired up. Once fired and warm though, it runs great all day. I’m not a mechanic at all but wondering if possibly it needs a carb kit for the holly. Or an ACT sensor maybe?
Need help

Thanks

thanks--yes, there is fuel entering carb when i pump the throttle. timing is perfect.

Hi

How do I post a pic on here

Newbie😎

Doesn’t sound like a very good procedure... you’re likely flooding it.

Fuel + Air + Spark. No big mystery. What I look for:

- Good compression
- Good spark system (plugs, wires, distributor, resistor, cap, rotor, 12V feed, etc.)
- Good timing
- Not flooded

With all those working, a couple shots of fuel from the accelerator or pump should produce some "life" when you engage the starter motor.

JQ

No sensors like a fuel injected engine would have

I'm wondering if you're ever gonna answer the question a couple of people have asked already?   

That would be does it have a distributor of the pro tech ignition system?

Top picture has pro tech system with plug wires coming from the coil packs at the rear of the engine

Bottom has a distributor up front with wires coming from it.

David,
FYI, why several have asked about the ignition system is the Pro Tech is know to failure. There are actual kits available to convert to a common distributor and coil set up. There were so many problems with the Pro Tech that parts are even hard to find.

where can i buy a conversion kit?

Well it's ProTec, is it? You can see the tell-tale "hockey puck" where the distributor would normally sit.

To add a bit to what Pete said earlier...the ProTec engine management system was developed by PCM and was installed for several years in the late 80's and early 90's. The ProTec system was designed to monitor the engine and manage ignition timing. ProTec has sensors to detect low oil pressure and high engine temperature. If ProTec detects a low oil pressure or high engine temperature condition, then it will automatically go into "Limp Home" mode. That means that the engine will only operate at low RPMs -- and ony 2 or 3 cyliners will receive an ignition spark. As the name suggests, the Limp Home mode is designed to get you back to the dock withouth totally destroying your engine. ProTec also managed the ignition timing. The system was designed with 4 "coil packs" instead of a typical distributor and single coil. ProTec has a detonation or "knock" sensor to detect pre-ignition (pinging) and is designed to adjust the timing appropriately. For it's time, the ProTec system worked well. The problem is that PCM no longer stocks parts for the ProTec system. Parts are very difficult to obtain.

There are many who believe that the ProTec system is a "ticking time-bomb" and that failure is not "IF" but "WHEN". Some have reported intermittent glitches that became progressively worse. Some simply failed all at once. The symptoms of ProTec failure typically are reported to be:

- Intermittent hard starting (cold, hot or both)
- Intermittent engine stumbling or running rough
- Complete engine shut-down
- ProTec going into "Limp Home" mode without cause

My 1994 Ski Nautique had the ProTec system. I was experiencing the intermittent hard starting issues for a year. Then, my ProTec catastrophically failed during a ski run. One second I was pulling a skier at 32 MPH and the next second the engine completely shut down. I had to be towed back to the dock.

You may be experiencing ProTec fun with your cold starts.

JQ

David14 wrote: where can i buy a conversion kit?

Here's a conversion kit from Skidim

Kit

There are also some that have done conversions by just purchasing individual parts. More work but less expensive.

Hi-I am looking into getting a DUI distributor kit. wondering which one I need though? and which engine I actually have?

Thank you

I appreciate the help

Thank you, I will do that when rolling. Just wondering what wiring or additoinal parts I should buy?