2004 Seadoo Sportster 4-Tec questions

[wlester]

I have had the boat for 2 years. I just wish we had bought a Challenger...

Anyway, I have a few questions that some of you may think are really basic, but I still consider myself a noob when it comes to any electrical or hull questions.

Since the radio and speakers are installed on this boat, if I have the radio on while driving the boat, will it deplete the battery? I was told by my uncle (the guy that sold me the boat) to not use the radio and just bring along a boom-box. Boom-boxes get wet and why have a radio and speakers installed if the battery can't handle it?​

The storage area below the windscreen is not draining, the cooler also doesn't drain when the ice melts, and when pop the trunk, or storage area in the back, there is a hole there to, but I have to shop-vac that area also. I went to plug in the battery charger tonight and there was a foot of water in the storage area beneath the windscreen. Also, if this storage area has a name, I can't seem to find it anywhere. There is a black tube-ish container in there for the fire extinguisher and tools. It looks like the drain is beneath it, but I can't take it out. What am I supposed to do here?​

When I plug in the battery charger at night, the light is red, meaning that it needs to be charged. When I get up and check it, the light is never green. It has worked fine for over 2 years, so what is the deal with the charger? Do I need a new battery or something, or is this normal?​

Where is the bilge pump located? When I bring the boat home after an afternoon of boating, I have to get my shop-vac and suck all of the water out of the engine compartment. Albeit, it isn't a lot and nothing is underwater, but if I turn the bilge pump on, where does it pump water out of? Actually, I tried turning it on today but I couldn't hear anything.​

Just what are those holes in the side of my boat for? Not holes like somebody shot it. I thought a couple of years ago I saw water pouring out of one while I was loading it up onto the trailer.​

The 12 volt outlet wan't working, so I took out the glovebox and saw that not only were the wires not connected, but the outlet was just rolling around. How can I remove this part of the boat so I can easily replace or repair the 12 volt outlet? Also, is it a proprietary part for this boat or can I go to Fleet Farm and buy one for $6.99? I would like to have it so that we can inflate some towables while on the boat. I asked the dealer if it could be fixed, and they said it would be $120.​

What is the easiest way to keep rain water out of your boat with the cover on? I have the factory cover and I bought a rain tower thing to raise part of the cover up so water won't pool in it. This is almost impossible to use because when I tighten the boat cover, it always falls down unless I have someone tighten the cover while I hold it in place the best I can through the boat cover. I thought the cover would keep the rain out, but like I said in question 2, I had that area beneath the windscreen full of water.​

That's pretty much it for now.

Thanks for the answers in advance.

 

[Andrew_lbreman]

I dont have much experience with boats but there is another forum link you can post on that says 4tec boats. This is the PWC side. The first question is as far as I read and that is definately a boat topic. I will look over and answer any i can but 4tec boat is the place to post these ?'s.

I read through the rest and the only generic answers I can give is pull the battery, take to auto part store and test for bad cells. also you should also only be putting a float charger with a max of 2 amp/h but I recommend 1 or .5 for a constant float. Oh and the water out the side is the bilge pump outlet.

Good luck and try the boat section. They will have more of your info.

 

[devonte007]

Welcome to the forum, I have the same boat as you so I'll try to answer your questions here:

1. Radio and battery: As with any car, motorcycle, boat, etc. playing the radio for an extended time can run down the battery depending on the circumstances. Best thing to have is a good, new deep cycle battery if you plan on playing the radio for an extended time period. On our pontoon boat we also have a solar charger hooked up to help keep the battery charged. Being out on the water with a dead battery is not a good situation to be in though. To solve this you could hook up a dual battery system with a double battery switch or carry along one of those jump packs to jump the boat in the event of a dead battery if you play the radio too long. If you are having battery issues, likely the battery is old and needs to be replaced. Playing the radio while the boat is running should not deplete the battery.

2. the storage area in front of the driver should have a couple drain holes that go directly into the bottom of the hull, ski locker and eventually the bilge area. If I remember correctly, there is a hole on top near the hatch hinge and also at the very bottom of the large storage area. There should also be a hole in the smaller storage area in front of the jump seat. I never have had water build up in any of these areas so maybe your holes are just plugged up? Try to blow them out with compressed air or stick something in there to free everything up. test the drainage with a cup of water? The little black cooler does not have a drain hole, so the melted ice water will just slosh around in there until you dump it. I just use that little thing for a dry storage area as it is too small for a cooler. I would just bring along a separate cooler. If the drain hole is below the fire extinguisher holder then you can remove it, probably held in with a couple screws. I don't recall this from memory, but next time I am in the boat I'll take a look for you.

3. If the battery charger does not charge the battery correctly, you probably need a new deep cycle boat battery. Get a good one and you won't be disappointed. Also, never charge the battery while it is hooked up to the boat. Some battery chargers can charge at a very high amp rate that could fry the computers in the boat. To be safe I always remove the battery from the boat to charge it, or at the very least disconnect the cables.

4. The bilge is located just aft of the engine and should be fairly visible by just looking into the engine compartment. If it does not turn on with the switch (main boat battery switch must be on) then it probably went bad and needs to be replaced. It is a very easy and inexpensive thing to do and you can get a new bilge almost anywhere. They are very quiet, so you may need to stick you head into the engine compartment to hear it or just touch it to see if it hums. Could also be clogged up if not pumping water. Discharge is the hold directly on the side of the driver. The hole on the other side of the boat is the vent for the gas tank. These boats (and just about all boats) will have a few inches of water in the bilge at all times that the bilge pump with not pump out, so keep that in mind. Remember that there are screw in drain plugs at the back of the boat and you should pull them to drain when on the trailer.

5. The 12v outlet should be easy to change but you may need small hands to get in there. Access should be through the hole that the little black cooler fits into. Remove the cooler bucket and you should have access behind the dash to re-wire. You will have to poke around in there to find out how to actually remove and re-wire as I have never done this personally.

6. As far as a boat cover, I and most of the members here use a Poppy Cover which is one of the best aftermarket covers you can get and is probably better than the OEM. These covers come with a pole that is held in place by 3 straps so it will not fall down as yours is doing. It keeps my cover up and taught so water never pools. You may want to contact Terry at Poppy Company and she can probably sell you just the pole system to help with your cover: http://www.poppycompany.com/

Hope this helps some, good luck and let us know if you have any other specific questions. Also, as the previous post mentioned you will want to post any future questions in the 4tec 'boat' section as you will get more help from us boat guys rather than the pwc members.

 

[wlester]

Sorry. Just saw the 4-Tec and assumed it was the boat section. My mistake.