Perfect Pass Problems

[proair133]

I have a 2001 Pro Air and the PP works great, except when I load it up. When only loaded with standard 400lb rear ballast people the PP is great, locks and maintains speed but does accelerate rather quickly, then just drops down to speed. However when I fill fat sacks, usually 1500-2200 depending on how many people, the PP will not hold a speed. If I set it at 23.5 it will accelerate off the start to about 28, then drop down to about 18, but then bounce around between 19-25? Anyone have any ideas about what could be wrong?

[NautiDave07]

You need to get your manual and adjust the settings for quicker response. I think it is the KDW setting. You need to turn it up to a higher setting. My 07 did that until I figured out how to adjust it.

[proair133]

Thank you, the boat is currently in storage, but once it warms up here in Wisconsin I will play with the settings!

[teamseal]

You might also want to think about a Star Gazer upgrade. Gets rid of the paddle wheel input and cleans up the overall control and response issues associated with the paddle wheel and it's location on the hull.

[shonuff]

Regarding the initial overshoot to 28 mph- the initial acceleration is controlled by the driver, not PP. If you give too much throttle and overshoot the target speed a lot, it will take longer for PP to settle down to the target speed. PP works by letting out slack in the throttle cable, if you have too much throttle to begin with it takes longer to close it and lock in the speed.

I'll give around 3/4 throttle to pull up the rider and get out of the hole. Once on plane, I will ease off throttle and regulate the rpm's at a set point until PP beeps to take over. This will minimize the initial overshoot and will lock in to your target speed faster.

If its still oscillating speed then play with your kdw settings.

[xlair]

Yeah like Jody said this may be more of a factor of the unique hull of the Pro Air interfering with the paddle wheel (if you don't have stargazer). This can be somewhat fixed by moving the paddlewheel back by the trans but the real solution is to just get stargazer and forget about it.

I have a 01 Pro Air and the stargazer upgrade was the first thing we did when we bought the boat used.

[proair133]

When pulling a skier up I never just slam the throttle and hope PP kicks in, I always work my way up and try to match the speed/rpm the PP is trying to match, would it work better to try to keep it consistent if the throttle was at about the speed, or a little passed? And how much would the star gazer upgrade be? I have been curious about that for some time.

[gphayes]

check your throttle return spring first

I had a very similar symptom with my PP Stargazer on a '98 - so don't assume that an upgrade will necessarily solve your issue.

Check this simple linkage test - direct from PP.

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This test should confirm whether the PerfectPass throttle cable & linkage connection is properly working.

With key OFF, push the manual throttle to 1/2 open position. Now take black knob on servo and slowly turn the knob in a counterclockwise direction, and then in a clockwise direction.

As you rotate the knob back & forth, you should see the throttle lever on engine opening & closing very smoothly with each step of the motor. As you turn the knob counterclockwise which lets out cable, the throttle will close back towards neutral. When you rotate it clockwise the throttle will open.

As you rotate the knob back and forth (slowly and quickly), the throttle should open & close very smoothly and the brass L Adapter at linkage should be rotating as well to follow cable. At no point should the throttle cable catch, hook or come into interference with any part that could disrupt the cable movement.

If the cable is rubbing against a decorative engine cover, fuel rail, motor box etc, adjust servomotor and cable to improve alignment. Many plastic decorative engine shrouds can cause this problem. Remove temporarily and run boat if you suspect this could be a problem.

Final Test: With key OFF, push manual throttle to full open position. Watch PerfectPass throttle cable to ensure it can move freely without binding or interference.


Boat Speeds Past Set Speed
If the system beeps to confirm engagement, but continues past set speed, perform a Servo Motor Test and Linkage Test. If these tests indicate all is well, it could be a Throttle Return Spring problem.

Throttle Return Spring: PerfectPass can open the throttle (by turning clockwise), but relies on the engine return spring to close the throttle when the servo turns counterclockwise. (The return spring is always applying pressure against the throttle back towards the neutral position.) If the servo turns counterclockwise to slow the boat, but the throttle lever on engine does not move or moves very slowly, the return spring could be weak, broken, etc.

If you feel the spring is weak or damaged, an external return spring can be added.
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