www.iFourWinns.com

I took my boat out (90 Horizon 220 5.. Solo launch was a pain (but luckily a slow lake day), Now granted I need to change the plugs but it only topped out at 40-42 mph (per gps), I thought the boat would have a little more up top, lake was smooth (well a small amount of chop, the tach was reading 4200-4500 and it is a stock prop). Is that a correct top speed or do I need to look into it? I really do not have an old baseline of top speed on this boat as I've only had it out once before. Whenever I was under way and adjusted the trim (both directions) the engine would bog down a small (but noticeable) amount. I've never experienced that before, what would cause that?

Other than that it was a nice day on the lake.

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'90 Horizon 220 5.8

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but it sounds like an electrical issue. Probably old batteries or a failing alternator. I would start by making sure you have fully charged battery(s) or even take the boat and have the battery and alternator tested. Hopefully someone with a higher level of mechanical skills will chime in.

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2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

SeaBoo - more data needed. 'Bogs down' to me indicates that the engine all of a sudden appears to take on a load that causes speed and RPM's to drop considerably - like trying to power through a hard turn at speed. I wouldn't think that at WOT small adjustments to trim up or down should cause significant 'bogging'. Fine tuning trim will allow for finding peak RPM, but the engine shouldn't bog. You running with fresh gas?

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

You are correct, that is exactly what I mean (any time I touched the trim button in either direction) although I'm ashamed to say I didn't look at the tach. to see how many rpm's the drop was. I was pretty much running with fresh gas--it had about an 1/8th of a tank left from last season(--stabilized of course) and I topped the tank up with fresh before hitting the lake.

Impulse--I believe you are on the right path. I had a new battery in it and have since learned (from a different bbs) that this problem could be a corroded (bad) connection/ground on the battery, alternator, or trim pump. To me this make ALOT of sense and I plan on checking/cleaning connections before my next test and hopefully it is just that simple. I believe the alternator is OK as the amp gauge read good although it did bounce around some (I don't think it was any more than normal-but I will pay more attention to that on the next test).

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'90 Horizon 220 5.8

Try this.... You don't even need the boat in the water for this.

With the batt(s) hooked up, put a volt meter on the alt leads (as they should be "hot" even with the motor off. If the multi-meter is a good one, you can set it to capture the min or max voltage. See how low buss voltage goes when trying each "device".. ie Blower, trim/tilt, lights, etc. It's likely just a poor connection to the battery, and should show up with a large voltage drop no matter which component you are using. If only one device causes a severe voltage drop (ie trim pump motor) this should be examined. Remember, lower batt voltage during a transient will cause lower voltage to the ignition, and so on. If this isn't the problem, try again with the Alt/engine running.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

Just a follow-up, I think I've got it worked out. I cleaned the battery connections, cleaned and tightened the alt. connections (one wasn't exactly what I would call tight) and (at least on the muffs) it doesn't bog. I plan on going to the lake tomorrow and test again.

I also found out I have a small leak in my power steering cooler (it evidently was soldered once before and is seeping again). I patched it with some epoxy (only for a test run tomorrow) and have ordered a replacement.

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'90 Horizon 220 5.8