When it is in neutral, I couldn't get the RPM up to keep it running. I had to switch to forward and then push the throttle up to keep the engine going. Is the shift position somehow affect the engine? I though the shift position only has a mechanical link to the rear bucket.
I managed to get the engine running and boat was moving at low speed, and I got the boat out of the harbor no problem. What it is on the water running no problem. I was cruising around for 5 - 10 minutes. Worried about the boat will stop on me, so I drove it back to the dock. When I was close to the dock, I put the throttle to idle, it idled for about 30 seconds, then stopped.
Do you think I need to anything immediately?
I will get the Super Clean. When I wash the bay. Can I spray water on the engine? I guess I only need to stay away from the battery, the computer, fuse boxes, all the electronics stuff right? And I need to open the two small drain plugs at the bottom of the board?
I think you should plan on rebuilding the carburetors and replacing the fuel lines, basically clean the entire fuel system as best you can. The gray fuel lines tend to dissolve internally from fuel, and the pieces of dissolved fuel line are pushed into the carburetors, clogging them and making the engine run rough and lose power, rough idle, and generally poor performance. Plan on rebuilding the carbs at some point if the engine isn't running properly, easier and less expensive for a neubie to rebuild or even replace a couple of carburetors than troubleshoot an electric fuel pump and fuel injection system, IMO. Arguably, the carbs can rebuilt or replaced with new ones, we have this discussion on the seadoo board often (replace or rebuild), I rebuild many carbs on customer boats every year due to trash and gum building up in the fuel system over the period of a few years in the fuel system causing problems. This happens b/c of the moisture and lack of use, the fuel gets stale in just a few weeks and corrosive, so gum and varnish deposits occur. fuel conditioner like stabil can extend the life of fuel, and is a good idea to use during winter storage periods. Some people put stabil in their fuel at every fill-up, I think this is unnecessary if the fuel will be consumed within a few weeks.
The engine once warm, should not die at throttle idle, the throttle linkage can't be moved if the shifter isn't in full forward position, I think. The steering is also connected to the throttle and will increase engine speed slightly when the steering is at full left or right lock position, this feature assists the captain to maneuver the boat. Do you recall the engine idle speed? It may be set too lwo and needs to be increased slightly. I have mine set for out of water idling at 3000RPM, in water it idles slightly less than 1500RPM b/c the pump impeller is pushing water continuously and presents a constant load which slows the engine.
If you start the engine with boat on the trailer and the engine races, sometimes it cannot be stopped unless the choke is pulled. This is called a runaway and can happen under the right circumstances. So remember to pull the choke in this case, to stop the engine from racing.
Yes, open the two bilge drain plugs when hosing down inside the bilge, also it's an opportunity to test the bilge pump automatic function, so some puddle of water in the area of the bilge pump can help accomplish this. Avoid a large puddle of water to flood the electric starter motor under the carburetors, and avoid getting water into the plastic air box mounted on the carbs, also getting water in the carbs is undesirable. I hosed off much of the rest of everything, I removed the battery from the bilge and hosed it off too, to wash off any corrosive acid, and used a wire brush on the terminals of the battery and cables. Once clean, a light coating of dielectric terminal grease will help to protect the terminals from oxidation and delay corrosion.
My boat had salt inside when I brought it home, so I carefully hosed off all the water-resistant wiring harness including the MPEM. Otherwise, it should be avoided to get the electric harness and black MPEM "computer" wet.
Turn off the battery switch when charging the starting battery, some chargers can damage the MPEM computer with too much voltage. Many marine batteries die an early death from being over charged(I see this often, an owner will connect and leave a charger too long), so no need to go nuts trying to charge the battery, a good quality automatic charger should be used, and if the battery is in good condition an automatic float charger is all that's needed to keep it well maintained. I haven't needed to charge my battery since buying my boat, although I do connect my automatic float charger for one night after winterizing, and before restarting in spring, perhaps once or twice during winter. A battery in good condition and disconnected (such as by the battery switch) should hold it's charge for a couple of months before needing an automatic float charge to top it up. I sometimes forget to turn off my battery switch and come back a couple weeks later, the battery still has a good charge and the boat starts normally. Avoid jump starting the boat from another vehicel, for the reasons of too much voltage. We can discuss the details further as we go.
