Hi. I recently traded for a 2004 gti rfi and a 1999 gti. I went to the lake a couple days ago unloaded both boats and idled them to the dock. the 1999 ran fine, but the 2004 would not start. The starter relay just clicks. The battery cable on the starter was loose. I was able to remove the starter and the brushes on the inside are cooked. I installed a new starter and it cranks and starts fine on the trailer. I hooked a hose to it. Started it up and turned the water on and let it run for a little bit. Turned the water off and shut it down. I tried to start it back up and the starter relay just clicks again. It doesn't even try to crank the engine over. I added a second ground wire from the battery and it did not help. I got a new starter relay coming in the morning to hopefully fix this issue. Is there something else i should check? It is no water in the cylinders.
2004 GTI RFI doesnt crank on water
- Thread starter Junkers
- Start date
Took it out on the lake again today with a new battery, starter and starter relay. Started on the trailer great. Fires up pretty much as soon as you hit the button. It got off the trailer and idled to the dock. I shut it down and tried to fire it back up and the relay just clicked. It didnt even budge the engine. Took out the park plugs and tried again, Nothing. got it back on the trailer and up on level ground to not back up the dock and it turns over just fine. Im really stumped on this one. This is my first PWC.
You got the first Jet Ski that is allergic to water. 
That's just a coincidence. No basis for not turning over on the water. Plug and unplug the Mag Harness at the engine. You got a bad plug or bad wire maybe corroded. How's your ground on the starter? Did you do a voltage drop on the pos and neg?
That's just a coincidence. No basis for not turning over on the water. Plug and unplug the Mag Harness at the engine. You got a bad plug or bad wire maybe corroded. How's your ground on the starter? Did you do a voltage drop on the pos and neg?There is no ground wire going to the starter. Should there be? There are no loose wires anywhere. When I replaced the starter I checked every electrical connector and added some dielectric grease. Nothing looked corroded or damaged. Would a bad mag prevent the motor from turning over while in the water?
I did a lot of research on dielectric grease and opinions vary so I'm a bit skeptical. As soon as I have electrical issues, I clean that crap off the pins I'm testing. to verify it isn't an issue. When troubleshooting electrical problems I take plugs apart for cleaning and adjusting pin tightness. My fear about dielectric grease is that I believe if pins are not making good contact to begin with the grease will further diminish current flow. I don't have any basis to feel this way other than dielectric grease is an insulator. Last thing i want between the two pins is an insulator. I'm not denying that the grease also protects pins from corrosion. Just a paradox for me when I'm troubleshooting. I use it to seal the rubber gaskets on the plugs and "sometimes" with great trepidation... I put a small amount on the pins I clean.
When troubleshooting electrical problems I take plugs apart for cleaning and adjusting pin tightness. My fear about dielectric grease is that I believe if pins are not making good contact to begin with the grease will further diminish current flow. I don't have any basis to feel this way other than dielectric grease is an insulator. Last thing i want between the two pins is an insulator. I'm not denying that the grease also protects pins from corrosion. Just a paradox for me when I'm troubleshooting. I use it to seal the rubber gaskets on the plugs and "sometimes" with great trepidation... I put a small amount on the pins I clean.
I was gong to suggest this but I doubt you have a water leak problem where liquid is getting into the cylinders. If that were the case water would shoot out when you removed the spark plugs. That does make sense but what you describe doesn't lend itself to that being the problem. Have you checked your impeller? Can you easily turn the engine by hand with the spark plugs removed? You could have a jet pump that is seizing up. Good Luck !
Well got the pump off it spins decently. Drained the oil out of the cone and it's pretty dark but no metal glitter. So I don't think that's my issue. Going to rebuild it anyways. I took the spark plugs out and I'm able to turn the engine over by hand and its the same resistanceall the way around. So I'm totally lost on this one.
I think this has may have been an issue for the previous owner as someone's been messing with it. There are leaves in the hull and tons of zip ties everywhere. Maybe they hooked up the waterlines incorrectly. I'll try to post some photos when I get done messing around with it. Maybe someone will see something wrong.
I think this has may have been an issue for the previous owner as someone's been messing with it. There are leaves in the hull and tons of zip ties everywhere. Maybe they hooked up the waterlines incorrectly. I'll try to post some photos when I get done messing around with it. Maybe someone will see something wrong.
Decided to just tear into the engine and glad I did. Looks like someone dropped something into the intake. Rotary plate is messed up. Hammering marks on head and pistons. Piston rings kinda seized and cylinder walls scored. The rotary plate drive shaft brass gear is mangled I think. It has tons of back and forth play. Big groove in rotary plate cover. I think the block, crank and connecting rods are still OK. I'm going to pull the block out tomorrow to verify. I'll post some photos when I finish cleaning up.
you called it. 2 crank bearings are shot with a third almost there. Im researching on buying a rebuilt engine or a cheap used crank.
I gotta ask out of curiosity. Which bearings are bad? Outboard or Internal?
The ones on each side of the rear (pump side) connecting rod
It's done for sure. I'd be tempted to send it to Competition Crankshafts for a rebuild. I haven't used him but I spoke with him and hear good things. Be careful if you go with an engine shop. I don't know of any that are reliable for delivery times and quality work.
hellz_wings
Member
Did you ever do a compression test on it (before you took it apart)? I would be curious to know what the numbers were with a motor that shot. I'm having an issue where my 99 rfi doesn't start in water when warm, so not quite the same issue, and it runs perfectly 150psi when it's running. I'm thinking something with timing so i'm pulling flywheel and seeing what's up there (I've heard metal shavings can short crank sensor or something, also flywheel keyway can have issues on RFI)
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