Engine Hesitation

[firemandave]

The boat is a 92 SN with a PCM 351. The problem is that when I try to accelerate quickly the engine sputters, sometimes backfires, and dies. If I accelerate slowly it runs up to speed smoothly and runs at high speed great. I just had the carburetor rebuilt and changed out the fuel filter. Is this a timing problem? Spark advance?

Any ideas?

Dave

[s_kelley2000]

Yes that sounds like a timing advance issue to me, it might be advancing too quick. Is it a mechanical or electronic advance distributor? Does it idle smoothly? If so that points even more towards an advance issue. If that is the case get it in the water with a buddy and a timing light and check out the timing when it is advanced. If that doesn't solve the problem then the cap, rotor and points may need to be checked/replaced. Good luck!

[desertskier]

I have had the same boat for 20 years and experienced the exact same issue a few years ago. In my case I fixed it by beefing up the wiring for 12V and ground going to the dash. Do you still have the Pro-Tec ignition module? The problem was that the Pro-Tec ignition module was not getting enough operating voltage. The 12V for the module comes from the dash. The wiring issues and fixes for this era Nautiques has been discussed in detail on correctcraftfan.com. There is thread on that site that we have been discussing Pro-Tec replacements and wiring the last few days. Once I fixed the wiring which is pretty easy to do I haven't had this problem again.