97 XP Starting Trouble

[pwnzor18]

Here goes the first post !

My problem is this . I recently bought a 1997 Seadoo XP and was told that the starter needed to be replaced because it seized up over winter. To make sure it wasn't the solenoid, i crossed the terminals on the solenoid to bypass it and still nothing. I took the starter out and tried connecting a battery straight up to the starter outside of the seadoo and yet again....NOTHING. At this point I was pretty confident it was the starter. So today I replaced it and now it cranks but only for like half to one full revolution then nothing. I also put new spark plugs in today at the same time. I hooked the positive and ground cables to my car (engine off) to see if i had a bad battery but it did the same thing as it did with the seadoo battery. I took the plug out and turned the shaft free hand and it turned no problem so i know it isn't seized. Any ideas on what it could be and how to troubleshoot if it is that or not ?

 

[Coastiejoe]

When you turned it by hand, did you turn it a full revolution?

You can still have a bad battery, and if so, hooking a good battery to it will not normally solve the issue.

If it turns a full revolution by hand with the plugs out, try it again with the starter.


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[XP 787]

Where did you get the replacement starter? When you bench tested to old starter did you run a ground to the housing? If it did nothing with the old starter and now it does half a crank with the new one it sounds like another bad starter. If it is a new starter the grounding point on it is usually painted so you should grind that off before attaching the ground cable.

 

[Coastiejoe]

I was going to touch on the starter after we got an answer. But,,, lets do this.

Aftermarket starters are almost always junk. They will normally do the job but for only a short time. You are better off to take your original, assuming it was an OEM, open it up and see what it needs. Normally just a brush kit.

In your case, we need to find something that we KNOW to be good. Right now you have a new but somewhat unknown starter, maybe a bad battery, maybe bad cables and or connections.

If it were me, I would probably remove all of themain cables, clean the ends and where they mount, put it back together with dielectric grease. While you have them off, wiggle the ends. If they crunch or white powder comes out, the cable is junk.


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[pwnzor18]

the starter i got was an aftermarket from my local seadoo dealership. The old one really needed relacing... i opened it up in hopes of slavaging it but half the magnets were broken to pieces, it was corroded and nasty looking...it was due for an upgrade. I turned it over without the plugs in it and it turn over no problem. I thought maybe bad cables too....is there anyway to check this beside just going to buy new cables and seeing if that fixes the problem?

 

[XP 787]

With the new starter did you again try to jump it? You could have had a bad starter and bad battery and/or cables. Make sure you can turn the PTO atleast one full rotation not just a little bit.

 

[pwnzor18]

is it possible that the starter and engine would turn over with the spark plugs out but still be a bad starter ?

 

[XP 787]

With the plugs out there is no resistance to the motor. You really need to check grounds and battery? If the old starter was obviously internally bad and now it "somewhat" cranks you're getting somewhere but it sounds like there is more that one starting issue.

 

[pwnzor18]

now when i started it with the spark plugs out, this greenish yellowish snot looking gew was shooting out of one of the plug holes....does this mean anything to anyone ?

 

[Coastiejoe]

This is exactly why I wanted to know if it would do a full revolution turning it by hand.. I think you have a mix of oil and water,,..

First, any 2-stroke ski that sits for some time, and has a bad or weak crank seal will allow oil to seep into the lower crankcase of the engine. As soon as you crank the engine the oil is basically sucked into the cylinders. Since yours is green goo, I think you also have water. Which would indicate a ski that was sunk and or sat a long time with no cover and it allowed water into the hull to the point that it got into the engine.

What you need to do now is, have a few sets of new spark plugs and see if you can get it running. If you can, then it would need to get out onto the water and run for 30 minutes so the block gets hot enough to get rid of the residual water that is laying in the block.

Now,, there is a good chance your crank will be junk if the water has sat in the block. But until you either pull and open the the engine up, you will not know that. If you get it running and the crank has rust, it will fail which means you still would be in a position of needing to pull the engine.

Not much matters right now until you get it running and on the water to get the block warm. If this is fresh, and in recent and not old water, water that got into the engine, you may be able to save it. If the water has been there for some time, it is likely trashed.

 

[pwnzor18]

so should i pull the spark plugs and turn it over until there is no more oil coming out of the spark plug hole ?

 

[Coastiejoe]

Yep. You need to get rid of the goo.


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[XP 787]

Yep. You need to get rid of the goo.


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The gunk inside is preventing a full rotation of the engine. Don't crank it with the plugs in anymore. Pull the plugs and crank it till the goo stops coming out then put fresh plugs in it and see if it will start, then bring it to the lake.

 

[XP 787]

One more thing. If and when you do bring it to the lake check for water leaks. If the motor did injest water at some point there may be another underlying issue.