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99 gtx rfi won’t start in water

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Redsled

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so I have a 99 gtx rfi won’t start in the water. If I put it half in water. StRt it on the trailer then put it in reverse and drive off trailer it will run great all day. But if I shut it off it won’t restart. I need to take it out and do it again.

Any ideas?
 
Compression was 140 and the battery tested good on the load tester but when I started it out of water it dropped from 12.7v to 11.2v. It was charging while running at 13.8.

I wonder though how much more it would drop in the water?

Also the rotary valve clearance is that a tough one to do ? Or do I bring it to a shop ?
 
Compression was 140 and the battery tested good on the load tester but when I started it out of water it dropped from 12.7v to 11.2v. It was charging while running at 13.8.

I wonder though how much more it would drop in the water?

Also the rotary valve clearance is that a tough one to do ? Or do I bring it to a shop ?

The service manual outlines how to check the rotary valve (RV) clearance and what the spec needs to be. The more hours on the ski the more wear and further it'll fall out of spec until hard start and run problems in the water.

If you have a micrometer and some thin solder it's pretty easy to do. There's other methods, like the feeler gauge, but I prefer the solder method because it's the most accurate. The proper way to ck is cases, RV in, and cover together. Using my 97' service manual for my model, with a dab of grease, solder is placed on the RV installed, torqued to 15ft lbs with no oring. Then undo and measure the solder pieces for how much they are squashed. Refer to the SM for spec tolerance. Without measuring, some people feel they'll drop the cover off and get it machined, but it's not that simple, you need to know how much to machine off. Also, buying another RV cover may not fix the issue because the cases wear also.

On my 787, after measuring and determining I was out of spec or worn, I brought the cover to a local machine shop and told them how much to remove from the cover lip and oring seat. I paid $100, but the rate may vary depending on the shop you visit.
 
Thx I found it in my manual. I am gonna check with another battery and if that fails I will do the test. Once it’s running it works great in the water. Just won’t start in water. I did find out that my battery seams small. It’s 12ah 325 ccs and according the the shop I went to to look at batteries it should be 19ah 400 Cason hope it’s just a simple battery swap.
 
I put it in water and put my booster pack on it and it started. So my battery must not be big enough.
What is the biggest battery that will fit in the ski? Rather go big to have some extra power and life
 
Well you better go buy a lottery ticket because booster packs typically fry the MPEM computer. You got lucky so don’t ever do that again. Your ski even has a sticker that says “Do Not Boost Battery “

You don’t need a bigger battery just a good new name brand battery like Yuasa or Napa and a battery tender.
 
Why would a booster pack be dangerous. Boosting it from a car that is running makes perfect sence but a lithium ion booster pack ? In parrelel the voltage stays the same. The current available increases but the food that dries is a voltage surge protector. So I don’t understand why it would affect it. I believe you just electronically speaking it makes no sence.
 
I know what it does except it’s not a diode. Ppl call it a diode but it’s not. I have a pack of 10 here if anyone one needs one. And I believe you that it happens it just doesn’t make any sence why. Like I said boosting off a running car makes sence but off a another battery it’s very strange. That’s all.
 
Yuasa ytx20hl-bs 320 cca. All you need.
Also you need the shim that makes it the same height as the 16's

140 psi is low IMO. Do you trust your gauge ?

Dropping down that low in voltage while cranking and running spark and a fuel pump does point to a bad battery since it is such high demand. But really that's not all that bad at 11.7v under cranking load. It was the 96's that struggled to spark below 11v.
The 97 mpem allowed down to 10 almost.

It's the boosters that put out 15v+ that you really have to worry about. Some lipo booster are like that.
Also from a running vehicle charging higher than the regulator can shunt will also damage the regulator.
It's the surges that damage the (reverse current protection diode causing it to short)
But hard to see how another battery in parallel with that one can do damage. However there is always the safety factor that says dont do it because there could be sparks or the battery could explode....
I'm struggling to think of how the mpem could be damaged from the electrical point of view unless it's the jump from say 12 to 13v when the pack is connected ?

Rotary valve clearance I can't see causing this for an rfi. It mainly affects the carburetor engines where the negative pressure signal from one cylinder leaks to the other cylinder and pulls air from there instead of through the carb which means it wouldn't draw fuel with it

But for an rfi, fuel is directly injected to the top of the cylinder and it doesn't care where the air comes from.

Thoughts ?
 
Hmmm it was 11.2v. Could it possibly drop below 10 in the water since out of water was 11.2?

When I bought the ski the owner said it would start right up and drive all day but when you shut it off it would start till it was dead cold. But since I have owned it. I found the starter was burnt and the crank sensor had a few fillings on it. Since I have owned it it would never start in water. Once I fixed those things it will start on the trailer then ride all day but won’t start in water after you shut it off but throw it on trailer and it will start again.
 
Well great news the new battery solved the issue.
I ended up borrowing a battery from a friend that runs a battery shop. He had a big battery that just just just barely fit in the hole. The terminals were in wrong spot but there was enough wire so it didn’t matter. The battery is a agm with 33ah and 650cca. Kinda over kill but I can get it really cheap since it was a good will warranty exchange but had nothing wrong with it. So I am gonna but it for 50$ can’t go wrong.
So now my only question is. When I start it on the water I have to give it some throttle like a carb one. What could cause this ? I figured a rfi would just start up. ?
 
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