GrupaNation
Member
I got my 1997 XP on the water Saturday and was out for a little over an hour in total (about 3/4 tank of gas) on 3 separate trips. It still would not start while in the water so when launching, I pulled it on the trailer backwards so the jet was out of the water, then started it and wiggled into the water then a buddy pulled the trailed out. The first trip lasted about 45 minutes working the entire rev range. It did idle while in the water but the idle felt a little low and Ii didnt want it to die so I kept a little tension on the throttle through "no wake" channels. The top end speed was great. I was faster than most other 2 strokes out there and kept up pretty well with the new PWC's. If I was doing sharp low speed turns then pinned the throttle there was no bogging when accelerating and getting on plane. Engine seemed to run great. I parked it in the water next to the dock for about 20 minutes afterward.
Second trip was only about 5 minutes and everything worked good again. To start it, we propped the back on a bucket so the jet was out of the water, started it, then I hopped on and went off.
Third trip was with 2 people on. We did the bucket trick again, hopped on and we were off. We hit a wave at one point and my girlfriend knocked the DESS key off and killed the engine. I plugged it in, pumped the throttle a couple times so the accelerator dumped some fuel in the carbs and pressed start and it started up right away in the water! This trip lasted about 20 minutes.
Then I left it tied to the dock over night (18 hours). I charged the battery over night then in the morning I tried to start it in the water. It turned over great and the engine fired a couple times but didnt catch enough to get going. We put it on the bucket again but it turned over but didnt catch. We pulled it to the landing (slowly) and put it back on the trailer. About a half gallon of water came out of the drain plugs but this was probably due to the welch plug leaking while driving. (I made another post about this.)
Now I havent been able to get it started again for the last couple days. As far as I can tell the spark plugs look great. First three pics are MAG plug. Next three are PTO plug. Starter turns the engine strong, both plugs have spark, all fuel lines have been replaced, fuel selector has been replaced, fuel filter/ o-ring has been replaced, fuel check valves have been replaced or verified to work, carbs have been cleaned/rebuilt with "OSD back to OEM kit", and compression read 135psi each last time I checked. (I will be checking compression again today to see if there has been any change.) I looked in the RAVE valve hole to look at the piston and there isnt excess carbon and the ring looks okay. The only slight concern is the side of the piston has a slight rust color (pic attached).
It will sometimes beep when attaching the DESS but most of the time it doesnt. This doesnt seem to have any effect on the starter, gauge, or engine. (VTS gauge works)
Can anybody tip me in to why I am still having starting issues? I'm guessing rotary valve is the next thing I should look at. (shouldve done that when rebuilding carbs.)
Second trip was only about 5 minutes and everything worked good again. To start it, we propped the back on a bucket so the jet was out of the water, started it, then I hopped on and went off.
Third trip was with 2 people on. We did the bucket trick again, hopped on and we were off. We hit a wave at one point and my girlfriend knocked the DESS key off and killed the engine. I plugged it in, pumped the throttle a couple times so the accelerator dumped some fuel in the carbs and pressed start and it started up right away in the water! This trip lasted about 20 minutes.
Then I left it tied to the dock over night (18 hours). I charged the battery over night then in the morning I tried to start it in the water. It turned over great and the engine fired a couple times but didnt catch enough to get going. We put it on the bucket again but it turned over but didnt catch. We pulled it to the landing (slowly) and put it back on the trailer. About a half gallon of water came out of the drain plugs but this was probably due to the welch plug leaking while driving. (I made another post about this.)
Now I havent been able to get it started again for the last couple days. As far as I can tell the spark plugs look great. First three pics are MAG plug. Next three are PTO plug. Starter turns the engine strong, both plugs have spark, all fuel lines have been replaced, fuel selector has been replaced, fuel filter/ o-ring has been replaced, fuel check valves have been replaced or verified to work, carbs have been cleaned/rebuilt with "OSD back to OEM kit", and compression read 135psi each last time I checked. (I will be checking compression again today to see if there has been any change.) I looked in the RAVE valve hole to look at the piston and there isnt excess carbon and the ring looks okay. The only slight concern is the side of the piston has a slight rust color (pic attached).
It will sometimes beep when attaching the DESS but most of the time it doesnt. This doesnt seem to have any effect on the starter, gauge, or engine. (VTS gauge works)
Can anybody tip me in to why I am still having starting issues? I'm guessing rotary valve is the next thing I should look at. (shouldve done that when rebuilding carbs.)
