Hitting the rev limiter

[cookerq62]

I have the stock ignition in my sj with porting and a b pipe. I was doing some short WOT runs and the ski was pulling really hard then it fealt like the rev limiter kicked in and I almost lost it. My ski pounds off the rev limiter when its out of the water but never when its hooked up. My question is, is this the rev limiter kicking in or something more serious? I did a plug chop today and its running a lil rich and there is no burn paturn on my pistons after about 15 hours. This is the second time this happend, the first time I skipped like a stone then had to swim my ass off to get back to the boat.

 

[meatball]

what exactly happens when you think the rev limiter is kicking in. You should know what it sounds like at 7100 RPM's. You may want to raise the limit depending on your mods, as just the B-pipe raises RPM's a bit. You can either remove it (the rev limiter, homedown or by pro-tec) or go MSD or a more expensive route. You shouldnt be letting it hit the rev limit out of water, let off the throttle when it stops hooking up.

 

[T-bone]

stock cdi's live at the rev limiter, 3 things you can do....1 get an msd enhancer,2 get pro tec to modify the rev limeter on your cdi and 3 do it your self. there are many posts around on how to do it.

 

[cookerq62]

I am sticking with the stock cdi for now I don't really want to mess with it. My main concern is is this the rev limiter or is it something else????? When it hits it out of the water it bounces this is more like a fuel cut on a turbo car when it over boosts it doesn't really bounce its more like I chopped the throttle. I know what the over heat sensor is like and it kind of bounces or like going through foamy stuff it hits the limmiter but it bounces and its not that bad. This doesn't bounce the power just cuts out for a second. But like with a car if you hit the limiter in a high gear it cuts out for longer. Its not fun when this happens its a VERY pronounced cut.

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

bouncing the rev limiter should not be that pronounced, it doesnt feel like hitting the brakes, it just feels like it wont gain anymore RPM.

you might be tripping the overheat sensor on those long WOT runs, OR somthing more serious...

 

[meatball]

yea thats def not your rev limit

 

[cookerq62]

I don't have an overheat sensor on my boat. I have dual cooling and the water temp was 65 yesterday so I doubt its over heating. My pissers always feel hotter when I am putting around vs. running it hard when they tend to cool down a lil. I am starting to think its air in the fuel lines because it was towards an end of a tank but there was still about a lil less then a 1/4 tank. I will do some runs on a full tank later today and see what happens.

 

[T-bone]

i had to switch back to a stock cdi from an msd enhacer for a few weeks, it was horrible the thing just as you descibe..........gas it hit the rev limeter.....gas it again hit the rev limiter .......on and on and on....it was very anoying. just ask ronny mac....he just modded his...said it was night and day.

 

[cookerq62]

I have never ridden a ski with an enhancer or rev limiter removed. I know the enhancer has an ignition advance but is there any advantage to a higher revlimiter other then hitting it when the pump is out of the water? Is it just more of an anoyance??

 

[ANT]

If its cutting out on top it sounds like a fuel issue you can start with changing your fuel filter and if that doesnt help then try turning out the high speed screw 1/8 at a time and if that doesnt help you might have to clean the carbs. The advantage to an MSD over stock is that it advances the timing on bottom and retards it on top-end so you don't detonate your motor, the higher rev limiter helps a lot because if you have mods done to your motor and your trying to do freestyle and you pin it it will just bounce off the rev limiter with a stock cdi. You will notice better midrange with it to, I noticed that the MSD removed a spot in the curve where power just fell off in the midrange. Just suck up the $220 and get one it's worth it.

 

[cookerq62]

I rode yesterday and didn't have this happen with a full tank. I did hit the rev limiter in some faster turns and its just a very tiny blip nothing like I wnt through on sunday. I am really tempted to get an enhancer, I just hate elec probs with a passion. Do they offer a good warrenty if you buy them new?

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

they are not worth the $200 plus in my opinon.

I run them in both my superjets, but I bought them years ago , USED for around $50 each.

Id mod a stocker, and advance the timing a BIT, its about 80% of the msd gain, at about 10% of the cost.

 

[cookerq62]

Id mod a stocker, and advance the timing a BIT, its about 80% of the msd gain, at about 10% of the cost.

Reliability and longevity are my main concerns. Saving 200 on an enhancer and risking the motor is not worth it to me. No rev limiter and more timing scares me. Wax's ignition looks pretty cool but the price is a little high. I'll have to ride a boat with an enhancer before I get anything. For now I'm just gonna put gas in it.

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

reliability.

the stock CDI is alot more reliable than the MSD, in my personal experience, and in that of several others.

rev limiter, you can set the factory CDI up with an adjustable one as well, or just vary the value of the resistor and set it wherever you want it.

the advanced timing, yes, that is not too reliable or safe.
but unless you hold it wide open frequently ( for long periods of time) and use cheap gas, and have HIGH compression, its not an issue for most folks.

the msd enhancer is a good little box, but it is NOT worth $200 in my opinon, and its NOT more reliable than a stock ignition setup.

 

[spinyard]

don't bag msd

:sneaky: You know I have been using these enhancers since they were new, never had a problem! I feel msd gets an unfair bad rap just because some people can't hook it up right... They work better then the stock cdi with a hole drilled into it thats for sure....give them a break... now if your talking msd total loss, I can tell you I have had problems with those, but if they are set up correctly, the problems mysteriously dissapear.... strange...:sneaky:

 

[Speedfreak]

:sneaky: You know I have been using these enhancers since they were new, never had a problem! I feel msd gets an unfair bad rap just because some people can't hook it up right... They work better then the stock cdi with a hole drilled into it thats for sure....give them a break... now if your talking msd total loss, I can tell you I have had problems with those, but if they are set up correctly, the problems mysteriously dissapear.... strange...:sneaky:

I 2nd that I have heard of a lot of problems and I bought a 4 or 5 year old box about 4 years ago and the thing is still running strong. I would buy another in a heart beat the timing curve is worth the $200 alone. But I am going with TL next year... Maybe a new boat:dunno: :dunno:

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

Ummmm NO

they arent nearly as water tight as the stock boxes.

I can hook one up, I can hook several up.

in my experience, if the E box gets wet, the stock CDI will survive, the MSD enhancer has less than a 50% chance of working if it gets wet.

Why cant they pot that over priced piece of crap at least as good as the japanese manufacturers?

the timing curve is great, it isnt worth $200 to me though, hell thats a lightened flywheel, a set of gaskets, and porting templates and abrasives.

MSD enhancers are COOL, if they are cheap, they ARE NOT worth $200 to me, they ARE worth the $50-$80 that I have paid for them.

:sneaky: You know I have been using these enhancers since they were new, never had a problem! I feel msd gets an unfair bad rap just because some people can't hook it up right... They work better then the stock cdi with a hole drilled into it thats for sure....give them a break... now if your talking msd total loss, I can tell you I have had problems with those, but if they are set up correctly, the problems mysteriously dissapear.... strange...:sneaky:

 

[Mark44]

f

I 2nd that I have heard of a lot of problems and I bought a 4 or 5 year old box about 4 years ago and the thing is still running strong. I would buy another in a heart beat the timing curve is worth the $200 alone. But I am going with TL next year... Maybe a new boat:dunno: :dunno:

Running strong :haha: :haha: New boat??? Yea you and screwy :haha: :haha:

Mark44