Perfect Pass Classic Surging / Pro Ski Coach Water Ski Forum

aslalomboy · #1 Sat, Feb 20, 2010 12:21 AM

My ski buddy's perfect pass classic system was acting very strange today. It would surge up to +36mph and then slow down to 31-32 mph. There was no predicting it- it would do it at any point in the course -sometimes surge and then slow down and other times just surge. sometimes it wouldn't beep to let you know you'd advanced the throttle far enough. I know if you over- advance the throttle you can end up too fast into the course, but we're not doing that.

Anybody had this problem before? FYI - the boat is a 00 Malibu response. I don't know what chip he has in the perfect pass. But it's whatever came with the system when he bought it new.

thanks, AaronPer

h20dawg79 · #2 Sat, Feb 20, 2010 2:32 PM

I would say, if it doesn't beep, then it is "acting" the same way it would act if you did not advance the throttle far enough to begin with. But, since it sounds as though it's doing it sporadically then I would make a quick call to P/P and tell them exactly what is going on. They will have surely heard of and diagnosed your situation a Hundred times...

Any type of elec. or ing. interference will have a big impact on the system as well as the cond. of the paddle wheel. (They need to be replaced as needed...)

They are very Cool people and eager to help out...

Phone (902) 468-2150
http://www.perfectpass.com/perfect_pass_contact_us.html

WadeWilliams · #3 Sun, Feb 21, 2010 11:57 AM

On the original perfect pass models, there was a solenoid mounted on the engine that had the a throttle cable wrapped around it. It's important that this is spun up so that the cable is tight. When you start the boat, turn it to ON, let it beep, and THEN start the engine.... you can hear the perfect pass tighten up, this should stop it from happening in the future. This can happen if the cable is loose. So you can also open the engine box and just twist the perfect pass knob so the cable comes tight. (do that with the engine in neutral)

Hopefully that shoudl do it. Otherwise call PP. And let us know what happens.

aslalomboy · #4 Thu, Feb 25, 2010 5:05 AM

Thanks for your help guys ! My buddy talked to Perfect Pass and they feel the paddle wheel could be causing the problem. Even though the system is rpm based, they said bad signals from the paddle wheel can cause this type of problem. So we will unhook the wheel and see what happens.

H2O dawg mentioned the paddle wheel, and this one has had ten years of use now. Perfect Pass also
mentioned that this paddle is an older version they moved away from because of some issues.

I'll let you know the outcome.

Aaron

h20dawg79 · #5 Fri, Feb 26, 2010 12:32 AM

I'm no expert by anymeans. But, my understanding is, that some of the older P/P GPS Stargazer's are even filtered thru the paddle wheel and are not fully GPS controlled. They can be upgraded by P/P very easily. ( I need to get mine updated...) The other older P/P systems are completely dependent on the paddle wheel.

If yours is paddle wheel dependent, it might be a good idea to buy an extra one to leave in the boat. As these wheels "can" be damaged by anything in the water and even by towing the boat long distances...

Good Luck!

Last edited by h20dawg79 (Fri, Feb 26, 2010 12:34 AM)

2gofaster · #6 Fri, Feb 26, 2010 12:41 PM

You can buy paddle wheel rebuild kits from PP or Skier to Skier for about $25. Before we all got ZO boats on my lake, we'd keep a rebuild kit or two around. This only rebuilds the wheel itself which are known to break. If the transducer in the paddle pickup is bad, you'd need to replace the entire assembly.

aslalomboy · #7 Fri, Feb 26, 2010 10:44 PM

unhooked the paddle wheel today and each took a couple of sets. seemed to work fine. But I know he's going to do some upgrades to the system - i'm just not sure what they are.

Aaron