330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

[Brownie]

I have the 330hp Excalibur in my 2003 SAN, just lately it is sluggish out of the hole and sometimes see a bit of black fume out the when taking off.

Anyone got any ideas?

[skinautique]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

Are you drawing water? It could be going into limp mode. Any indicators from your guages?

[Brownie]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

it still goes alright just seems a little hesitant and has a small flat spot. My temp is lower than it used to be and doesn't budge, cant remember exactly what it is.

[skinautique]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

take a look at what the temp is reading and get back to me.

[Brownie]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

i am not sure what the temp values are, but it used to sit in the middle of the gauge. Now it only moves one increment and wont move all day. Might be a couple of weeks before I get the boat out again.

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

Sounds like your thermostat is stuck open. You didn't remove it during winterization and forget to put it back in did you? I have heard of people doing that before.

My 2003 Excalibur runs all day long at exactly 161*. That's about where yours should be. Do you have the digital gauges? If so, switch the display to engine temp so that you really know where you stand.

[Brownie]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

Jeff, just coming into winter over now. Think I will source myself a thermostat. Are they generic of does it have to be PCM?

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

I'd stick with the PCM 160* thermostat. You can get one from Mid-Ohio and have it sent over with the other items you mentioned. That's what I would do.

[AbunDiga909]

RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

My 2003 Excalibur runs all day long at exactly 161*. That's about where yours should be.

Hmmm.... that may explain why my antifreeze coolant was boiling and evaporated while the digital readout read 236* and rising, while the analog guage topped out... Sorry for the intirruption, but you aren't the only person having a problem first time out...

[NautiqueJeff]

Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

My 2003 Excalibur runs all day long at exactly 161*. That's about where yours should be.

Hmmm.... that may explain why my antifreeze coolant was boiling and evaporated while the digital readout read 236* and rising, while the analog guage topped out... Sorry for the intirruption, but you aren't the only person having a problem first time out...

Austin,

It is quite common on the first trip out for the year for the thermostat to stick closed. It sounds like that's what happened to you. It happened to me last year. NORMALLY, once it frees itself, you're cool for the rest of the year, but I'd go ahead and replace it just to be sure. Did the audible alarm and red light go on?

[AbunDiga909]

RE: Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

I actually have no clue what the thermostat stick is... sounds like it has to do w/ the digital readout, but thats it...

The red "Check Engine" light did not go on,but the digital readout on the tach flashed "ENG HOT." Thats when we stopped. Since the coolant was boiling/exploding/evaporating out of its resevour, we figured the problem had to do with the cooling of the antifreeze, like the impellar or something. I actually got to talk to the service managar of our dealer today and he said that they think the problem is in the strainer, and that it may have slipped out of place. But they can't be sure until they water-test it.

Sorry for hijacking this thread, please PM me Jeff...

[Brownie]

RE: Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

I didn't use my boat for about a month, then the next time I took it out it wouldn't warm up. Hope to hear from Mid Ohio soon about the decals then I will ask them about a thermostat. Dont worry about hijacking the thread it is all still relevant what I am experiencing.

[bkhallpass]

Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

My 2003 Excalibur runs all day long at exactly 161*. That's about where yours should be.

Hmmm.... that may explain why my antifreeze coolant was boiling and evaporated while the digital readout read 236* and rising, while the analog guage topped out... Sorry for the intirruption, but you aren't the only person having a problem first time out...

Antifreeze? Coolant? Do you have a closed cooling system?
If so, be careful that you are comparing apples to apples. I wouldn't
expect a closed cooling system to run at the same temperatures
as an open cooling system.

Just curious.

BKH

[AbunDiga909]

RE: Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

Yeah we have the closed cool ZR6, but I thought that the numbers would still be the same still.

[skinautique]

RE: Re: RE: 330hp Excalibur is sluggish, whats going on?

Your temp will be close to the same as the excalibur. Check all of your hoses and make sure they are on and tight. Also, make sure the water strainer has an o ring and that the bowl is screwed on tight. There was an issue with the thermostats having debris in them last year but you should have already experienced the issue last year if your boat was going to be one of them to have this problem.