96 XP suddenly quit

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DesertMat

DesertMat

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On an outing this weekend my brother in law's 97 XP fired right up and he was able to beach it while he parked his truck, fire it back up and ride a bit over to where we had setup 'camp' for the day. It was running like a champ! Right as he slowed down to enter the no wake zone it died and we were unable to get it going for the rest of the day. Before this ride, The entire fuel system has been re-plumbed, including cleaning the tank and the fuel selector. The carbs have been pulled and cleaned. Where should we start? The starter cranks, but the ski won't run.
 
You can isolate if it is a fuel or electrical issue by putting a small amount of gas/oil mix into the carb and then cranking it over...

If it wants to run it will be a fuel issue. If not, an electrical issue. This assumes that you don't have some sort of mechanical issue with the engine. But if you did, I think you'd know by how it cranked and if there was backfiring and what not...
 
I have a tool that checks the spark of up to four plugs at a time. Very nice to have as you can see not only that it is sparking, but the quality as well as the correct firing order...
 
It was running fine so I doubt it was a fuel issue but who knows.

I would follow advice from Lou and get a spark tester then check compression if it checks out.

Check all hose clamps and one to vacuum on block.

Can't be too many things than either no spark or no gas
:facepalm:
 
LouDoo said:
I think since it sounds like you just overhauled the fuel system, the first thing I would check is to see if it has spark. Use one of these it's much safer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/90-inline-ignition-spark-checker-69023.html

Lou
Click to expand...

Hey Lou,

Can I put two of those under my seat for a light show while I am driving?

[video=youtube;Y2sEs4apJPg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2sEs4apJPg[/video]

:lol:

Really though, follow the advice posted above, I don't have a harbor freight near me so I don't have this particular tool. Generally speaking I used a wire with alligator clamps to check for spark. I clamp one wire to the "nut" on the spark plug and 1 wire to a good source of ground on the engine block (a head bolt will work if not covered in paint). Then with the plug removed and the non used spark plug wire grounded to the rear electrical box. I turn over and look for spark at the plug tip.

Lou will tell you to be cautious and make sure the plug spark doesn't ignite any fuel vapor from inside the engine exiting the spark plug hole, and he would be right, but I find by keeping my distance from the fuel source using the wire method I have no problems.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
Lets see.....


800 engine...


New fuel system.

Runnin well.

Dies suddenly, and won't restart.

Will beep, and crank....



OK.... The pickup coil broke loose in the PTO cover. Check for spark... bet you don't have any.
 
i would check to make sure the fuel selector got turned to "ON" or "RES" before he pulled it off the trailer. did that to myself once and was really confused until i realized what i'd done.

but i'd also check for spark cause, Dr. Honda is not often wrong...
 
Doc,

I looked in the service manual for hints on what you might be describing, and I didn't have much luck. What should I be looking for?
 
Well I think we caught the Doc in a bit of a mistake, this hardly ever happens, but then again apparently I don't know my left from my right.

Anyway the pickup is in the mag. cover not the pto. There's a white wire that runs from the mag. cover to the rear e-box. It plugs into the top of the mag. cover through a connector. You'll need to remove the top of the rear e-box, I think you'll see the wire on the left side, put either a test light or a volt meter on the screw with the white wire, crank the motor over and see if your test light flashes. If the light doesn't flash your pickup coil has most likely come loose.

Here's a picture of the pickup inside the mag. housing.

Lou
 

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well you said 96 and 97.... if it is a 96 make sure the small wire that grounds to the battery is good and not corroted
 
We worked through a few things this weekend. Fixed some bad connections and wires, when we got to the MPEM we found a blown 15A fuse. Unfortunately replacing the fuse and cleaning up the connections didn't help. I guess the next step will be to look behind that MAG cover.

And sorry about listing 2 different years, it is a '96 XP.
 
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