Ran it some more .. no alarms. had a guy tell me it was probably a false oil alarm who knows. tried a 3 blade power tech 23 pitch. had a better hole shot but still not what is should be . top end wasn't there either I don't think, but I never could get a good run. lake was so full of Memeorial day joy riders I had to pack it up. was way to dangerous.
Edit : I was able to try a 24 pitch Tempest today . Best hole shot I've seen yet . About as good as I want . Top speed 51mph - 5000 rpm so making improvements . Ill be raising the engine a hole first thing in the morn.
Edit again: I couldn't wait until morn so with the help of a friend we raised it one hole just got done. As accurately as I possibly could I leveled the pad/motor and I ended up with 3 1/4" prop to pad. Test run in the morn but I feel im making headway now. and I'll have some real numbers to go with . Thanks for yalls help. I hope I'm not wearing you guys out with this. I know its becoming a long post but I was starting to think I was down on power or something. now Im feeling much much better.
Last edited by styler; 05-30-2022 at 08:12 PM.
Ok so tdt91 nailed this one. Today I figured out #4 cylinder is not firing. Tried swapping coils .no change .. tried swapping spark plugs no change even swapped wires . I had just put new plugs in it and this one was still looked brand new so no fuel to that guy. Just sick to my stomach on this.
Sorry to hear Styler. Hope you can get it fixed without breaking the bank. If you haven't already go over to the Merc boards and see what the Merc experts say about it.
2000 Javelin Renegade 20 DC.
Strong men create easy times, Easy times create weak men & weak men create hard times. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
In 1944 18-20 year old's stormed beaches, and parachuted behind enemy lines to almost certain death.
In 2015 18-20 year old's need safe zones so people don't hurt their feelings. "Author Unknown"
In 2021 18-40 year old's want to and work to cancel you out if you have a different opinion.
I cant leave it alone.. Swapped 2 and 4 injectors no change. revisited the coils. there's my problem. #4 coil is not getting power . Cant remove the coils and switch them but can swap the wires. when I did that #4 coil has power but # 6 does not. so its a signal thing . I have a mechanic coming fri eve who is able to hook a laptop to it and do some diagnostics. In the mean time ill ask on the merc board thanks for you input .
Hopefully it ends up being something simple.
'05 Stratos 200 ProXL, '05 Evinrude 225HO
Last edited by styler; 06-02-2022 at 11:27 AM.
After some more swapping we found today it's the coil driver that's bad and I have one on order. Should be up and running in a few days. Thanks to all who offered help here. I know it started as a prop question .. go figure.
'05 Stratos 200 ProXL, '05 Evinrude 225HO
Glad you found the problem. Did you raise the engine? 285s run best and handle the best 3.5 to 3.75 below the pad? 3 blade Tempest Plus is the prop to run for speed, for all around handling and rough water performance, Trophy Plus is the prop to run.
2004 Stratos 285 Pro XL / Yamaha VF150
859595T dual coil driver
If you over trim trying to get the RPMs up, you will lose water pressure, been proven on over hundreds of 285s, ~3.5 to 3.75 below the pad is the sweet spot. 6" to 8" of set back works best on a manual jackplate. Should get 62 to 65mph light. Once you get your engine fixed, if you set the below-the-pad to specs and you can't get the RPM to 5500, you need to reduce the pitch of your prop. If the boat starts to chine, below 60 MPH, you are over trimmed (trying to get the RPMs up). 285s shouldn't chime walk or will only chine walk if your getting the last couple of MPH out of them like 62 bump the trim to 63... or 64, bump the trim to get 65 etc.
Last edited by Musky Mike; 06-05-2022 at 05:44 AM.
2004 Stratos 285 Pro XL / Yamaha VF150
Thanks Mike. I had it at 3 1/4 I laid on the back while my wife ran it on plane, level engine and the anti-cavitation plate was above the water about an inch. Ive since lowered it back down to the original hole so i think its more like 4-4 1/4 now . to hit that sweet spot your talking about ill need a jack plate im assuming but who knows I may be happy with it . Another good thing we found when doing diagnostics is this engine only has 121 hours on it .
Ok guys finally its firing on all 6 and Im a happy man! Heres where Im at. Tempest pus 24pitch. Prop to pad 4 1/4" no jack plate. If I raise it a hole its at 3 1/4" anyway with this setup I got 58.9 (GPS) with my wife and I light load choppy water wind behind us. just a little over 59mph by my self. 53-5400RMP It wants to chine walk at that speed . Water pressure is 10 -12 but if I trim down a smidge its at 15+ and of course speed slows. I do have the unknown prop that came with it I've yet to try. What yall think of 10-12 lbs of water pressure ? good to run ?
Last edited by styler; 06-08-2022 at 08:34 PM.
Styler, I can't help with the WP on a Merc but in my experience improper setup will cause Chime walk. LU too deep, prop diameter too small or even improper boat balance. Not to mention it can be normal for high performance boats when they start to get up on the pad. For your rig, my guess is the jack plate would help immensely. I've also found that the Stratos/Javelin hulls like the ass heavy so see what happens when your tank is full and even try full live wells. All that may help but getting it set up right is most important and can take a lot experimentation. Be proud you stuck it out and figured out the engine issues. See about getting the JP as soon as you can so you can get the best performance.
Good luck and keep the informative updates coming. I'd like to thank you for providing all the info you have and being a good listener. I trust you will get the max performance out of her soon.
2000 Javelin Renegade 20 DC.
Strong men create easy times, Easy times create weak men & weak men create hard times. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
In 1944 18-20 year old's stormed beaches, and parachuted behind enemy lines to almost certain death.
In 2015 18-20 year old's need safe zones so people don't hurt their feelings. "Author Unknown"
In 2021 18-40 year old's want to and work to cancel you out if you have a different opinion.
Natalie your welcome Thank you for the help. I tried the prop that came with it today. it has a very nice smooth but quick hole shot. I can get on plane pretty fast with a very light throttle (think easing away from a stop sign) or wide-open throttle it jumps right on. Was a little slower than the tempest but now we did have a bit more fuel and both seats were on the pedestals. Now Im debating on a Z-loc 6" or going all in on an Atlas Hydro. I dont think I need to try any more prop till i get a JP on it.
Glad to see it turned out to be an easy fix.
Now go fish, enjoy the boat, learn it, then decide what you want to do about a plate.
'05 Stratos 200 ProXL, '05 Evinrude 225HO