97 Challenger - No spark

[beachbum94]

Hi All, new here and hoping for some advice. I have recently purchased a 97 Challenger with the 787 engine. Could not start the boat when I took delivery as the starter motor was fried. I have now replaced the starter and the engine cranks over great, but will not start.:emoticonc (the seller did assure me that the boat was in great working order

I checked for spark and it seems there is none at all. So the question is, what to do now. Do I need to replace the MPEM, the coil? Any other ideas. If either of the above, where can I get one at a reasonable price? :emoticond

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: 97 Challenger - No spark

Thoes parts are very expensive so you would be smart to take it to a dealer and have them tell you what is wrong with it. Try to locate a dealership that works on Sea Doo boats alot. They may have a similiar model to rob parts off of to try on your boat. Guessing can get very expensive.

[beachbum94]

Re: 97 Challenger - No spark

Thanks for the advice, that was kind of what I was planning on doing, just feels good to know from someone "in the know" that I have done about as much as a "layman" can do.

Any idea what kind of price tag one can expect if it is a fried MPEM?

[frankey01]

Re: 97 Challenger - No spark

400-600 maybe less if used

[beachbum94]

Re: 97 Challenger - No spark

Update on the story; took the boat into the local dealer. He ascertained there is in fact spark and managed to get the engine going for a second or two a few times before the engine quit. He reprted horrible grinding noises etc. and has pulled the engine out and stripped it down.

Turns out the thieving lying mofo I bought from sold me a boat that could not have possibly been running. And this is a Police Officer (allegedley) from NYC.

The balancer shaft had thrown a bearing, which in turn sent bits of metal all over the place, in the process screwing up the crankshaft and scoring one of the pistons.

Well, on the bright side I will have basically a brand new engine by the time all the work is complete, on the down side I will be out of pocket by about 2k (canadian) in total.

What a nice feller to do business with, if anyone is curious you can look up the e-bay listing (just type in the number 4553729295 in the search field) and see what the listing said. "I Haven't started the boat this year last year it ran ok and everthing worked, it probable should I have a service done on it"

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: 97 Challenger - No spark

Moral of this story is two fold.
Don't trust your mother when buying used stuff. Always test drive whatever you are buying.