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2009 LSV 23 idling rough


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I just bought a 2009 LSV 23 two months.  Tonight I took it out for the second time (the first time the boat ran great).  Tonight we loaded up the ballast (stock and 2 two 950lbs sacks in the locker, wedge down) for the first tiime and tried some surfing.  At first it ran great but then about 15 minutes in it started to run a little rough and lost a lot of power.  Nervous something serious might be wrong I emptied all the tanks and brought the wedge up.  After reducing the weight the boat seemed to run much better if not completely normal.  The one thing I did notice was that it is now idling rough at low RPMs but seems to go away with increased RPMs.

Is it normal for these boats to idle rough at low RPMs?  I didn't notice it the first time I took it out.

Any idea's on what would have caused the power to drop so much?  I'd think this boat should easily be able to push the kind of weight I had in the boat (only 3 people and the ballast).  It does have the stock prop.

Could old gas cause this?  

Thanks in advance.

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950s in the back is a lot of weight, especially if you didn’t have extra ballast up front. What engine and prop do you have? If it’s a 350 with a stock prop that’s your answer imo. 

 

Bad and gas could also play a factor. Change out the fuel filter for piece of mind and put new gas in. 

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I’m going with fuel also. I have a habit now if, even if I can get non Ethel gas to buy a bottle of alcohol or 2 and pour it in when I’m getting gas. It eats the water in the bottom of the tank. Pour a bottle of that or if it’s real bad go get bottle or 2 of heet I believe is what it’s called from the parts store. It’s in a red bottle. Let it sit overnight. If that doesn’t help then just spin off filter and redo. We have an 08 LSV with a 350 and I have 1100 in it. Did the exhaust smell like rotten eggs? If so that’s a Sign of bad gas.

good luck 

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Since they covered the fuel option (which is likely the issue), I'll throw some other possibilities out.  Check that all spark plug wires are tight and secure.  Make sure they don't slide out of the boot or off the plug itself.  Check to make sure the cruise wasn't on and controlling throttle response.

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if that boat was sitting for along period of time since you had it or before you had it, I'm going with gas as well.  Is it consistent when it idles rough or struggles when it's loaded?  If it's inconsistent then drop a few bottles of heat in the gas to rule out moisture in the tank.  If it's consistent then I would think the fuel filter.  However, I thought the fuel filter on that boat/year is inside the tank? 

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Thanks for the replies.  I definitely need to look into the gas and fuel filter.   

@JeffK Thinking back on it my wife was messing with the cruise, but I'm confused on what she could of done that would have reduced the power so dramatically.  When it was having the issue it would barely go 7-8 mph with the throttle almost pinned.  Sorry for my ignorance as I don't fully understand how the cruise works yet.  I understand what it does...just not how.

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1 minute ago, checkitup said:

Thanks for the replies.  I definitely need to look into the gas and fuel filter.   

@JeffK Thinking back on it my wife was messing with the cruise, but I'm confused on what she could of done that would have reduced the power so dramatically.  When it was having the issue it would barely go 7-8 mph with the throttle almost pinned.  Sorry for my ignorance as I don't fully understand how the cruise works yet.  I understand what it does...just not how.

The cruise will limit the speed to whatever it is set at even if you slam the throttle to the stops.  Eventually it will overpass the cruise, but you usually have to erratically move the throttle around to tell the system you need to get full throttle response.  The throttle is throttle by wire, so you aren't physically moving a cable and throttle body.  You are just telling the computer what throttle range you want, but it will control it based on all the inputs it is receiving.  Make sense?

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5 minutes ago, checkitup said:

Thanks for the replies.  I definitely need to look into the gas and fuel filter.   

@JeffK Thinking back on it my wife was messing with the cruise, but I'm confused on what she could of done that would have reduced the power so dramatically.  When it was having the issue it would barely go 7-8 mph with the throttle almost pinned.  Sorry for my ignorance as I don't fully understand how the cruise works yet.  I understand what it does...just not how.

Depending on what the cruise was set at, if you are too heavy & propped incorrectly for how much ballast you were running it isn't going to go faster than it can & will struggle.  If it was pinned but your RPM's were low it could be your perfect pass servo motor, there is a dial that needs to be wound back up.

It mostly sounds like fuel & ignition system related to me.  Replace fuel filter, run the heet as stated above, maybe fuel injector cleaner.  You're probably due for spark plugs & wires if that hasn't been done yet.  It doesn't sound you have anything major going on, just need a tune up.

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@racer808 I think it is probably a combination of both things.  1. Gas/Filter/Tune-up and 2. Me not knowing how to use the cruise properly yet.

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Try it without the cruise on. That will either confirm or eliminate as a cause. 

 

Assuming oil pressure is good and no alarms. It has a limp mode if the pressure is low. 

My 2010 has the 350 and idles smooth. If rough idle I would guess fuel filter. I would change that regardless since you don’t know what the previous owner did. 

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Just an update on this.  Definitely was an issue with the cruise.  Went out again today and had no issues with power.  Its still idling a bit rough but I still think that might be the gas (still the same tank).  I also upgraded from the stock prop to the ACME 1235.  Wow... what a difference!  It doesn't even feel like the same boat.  

 

 

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