cylinder 1 no spark and cylinder 2 minimal spark

[zlat46]

thaught id stat a new post on this.

put a screwdriver at the end of the spark plug lead to see if spark is comming out

cylinder one: no spark, the odd spark here and there but very weak

cylinder 2: spark - but very weak

tried this on my brothers xp ltd, his had a very strong spark on both, almost threw the screwdriver out of my hand.

this all happened after some water was in the hull. there was water in the coil box, but cleaned this and put elec contact on terminals.

i thaught it would be the coil pack for sure, my machanic advises me not to waste my money on the coil pack as they are sealed and are not that common to fail. he thinks its a wireing issue/ground issue.

just wanted to see other peoples experiences and what they think? should i get a new coil? would a bad earth cause this problem?

it starts over sometimes, but will either run really rough or will run for 30 secs and die.

i finally sortedout my other issues, and now this...never ending issues this xp

any help would be appreciated

 

[griz400]

try this, pull boots (with spark plug wire end) off, then take and cut off approx 1/4 of an inch off end, then, screw boot back on, dont push it on, then secure with zip tie

 

[bigJake]

first try pulling the spark plug boots off and trimming back the plug wires 1/4" before you start replacing things.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

yup x3 then...

This is the 97xp correct?

I bet you have a ton of metal bits on your pickup causing it to almost short out. You need to pull the front cover off and check it out. Luckily its fairly easy on a 97.

Make sure everything is nice and clean inside. Put it on dry w/ two bolts and make sure that is the issue. Then, take it back off and put a bead of RTV on the seal then put it back together.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

One other test you can do is unplug the white wire off the coil and hook it to a test light. then crank it and check the light.

 

[zlat46]

Thanks for the response guys will try all this tonight

I've never pulled boots of plugs before, how do u re-secure re metal tip back onto the cable? Sorry might be a dumb question

Also when you say the pickup in the front box? What exactly is it? Just so I know what I'm looking for, is this inside the elec box?

It is a 97 xp 787
Thanks again everyone

 

[Minnetonka4me]

they are screw on/ screw off

Nope the front of the engine...the Mag cover. The pickup is hanging on the inside of the housing.

 

[zlat46]

Does this part just get cleaned or does it get replaced
I'll try find some
Pics of the part, as I'm
Not to familiar with the engine parts itself
Is it difficult to pull appart?

Thanks mate

 

[Seadoobuddy]

LOL....the motor is easy to pull apart, it's putting it back together that's the harder task......

 

[Minnetonka4me]

LOL no on the 97 it isnt that bad. Take the front motor mount out and prop engine up on a block of wood. then take all the 10mm bolts off and pop the cover off. Once you have it off it will be apparent.

 

[zlat46]

So does it just get cleaned? Or replaced

 

[Minnetonka4me]

prob just cleaned...take a pic once you get it off.

Its magnitizied so all the little bits of starter stick to it. If the pieces go between the two wires, you have a problem.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Minnetonka - thanks for the answer on the Pm i sent.

 

[zlat46]

Can I ask guys when I clip the cable back for the spark plugs, how do I reconnect it to the boot? Or the metal price which clips into the spark plug itself?

 

[bigJake]

just twist the boot off, cut 1/4"inch off to get a nice clean wire for better spark, then just twist it back on. you might want to take note of where the wire fits into teh boot before you take the boot off so you know when you have it all the way back in. The clip that connects to the plug will stay inside the boot when you twist the boot off the wire. look inside the boot before you take it apart to see what it looks like when it's together, the last 1/2" may take a little effort when putting it back on

 

[zlat46]

Great thanks for that, I read on tue forum it
Says to get the live wire
And fold it back when reassembling into the boot? Is that right?

Also just wanted to know if
Anyone knows what size the earth/ground wire is?

Just
Picked up a new batt. New terminals for everything and dielectric grease

So I'm going to pull it all appart clean all the plugs and put the grease on along with change earth cable and trim the spark plug cables

 

[bigJake]

Great thanks for that, I read on tue forum it
Says to get the live wire
And fold it back when reassembling into the boot? Is that right?

Sorry, I don't understand what it means to "fold back" the wire.

 

[LouDoo]

You don't need to fold back the wire just cut it off and screw the terminal into the "new" section of wire. The ground wires are various gauges, I'm guessing the battery ground is about a #6.

With all the trouble you've had I'm wondering if at sometime in it's life your ski was sunk? My brother in law once bought a used Mercedes that had all kinds of strange problems, turns out it had been in a flood.

Lou

 

[zlat46]

So when I cut 1/4 off the lead is it a straight clean cut? Or
Do I leave anything exposed?

I flipped it about a month ago and has never ran right since, water did enter the hull prob filled a good 20-30cm worth of water in it.

I'm starting work on it today, I'm just trying to think if it's worth getting a new coil while I'm at it, my elec box was half filled with water so the coil was right in there. Are they fully sealed or once it's been drenched in water would this cause issues with it?

Thanks Lou

Zlat

 

[LouDoo]

Just cut off the wire a straight cut.

I'm thinking maybe there was prior damage before you bought the ski. I have turned my 96XP over many times, I've lost count and not had any serious problems. The difference might be I use mine in fresh water, yours is probably in salt water.

Lou

 

[zlat46]

Yeah mine got full of salt water.

Would you just go ahead and change the coil lou? Just to be on tue safe side, I guess I just want to do it all so I don't have to go back and forward so many times

Do these coils fail often from your experience?

Also is the only earth/ground I should be checking replacing from battery to starter? Or is the other earth inside the elec box next to the coil? Where does this earth come from?

 

[seadoosnipe]

So when I cut 1/4 off the lead is it a straight clean cut? Or
Do I leave anything exposed?

I flipped it about a month ago and has never ran right since, water did enter the hull prob filled a good 20-30cm worth of water in it.

I'm starting work on it today, I'm just trying to think if it's worth getting a new coil while I'm at it, my elec box was half filled with water so the coil was right in there. Are they fully sealed or once it's been drenched in water would this cause issues with it?

Thanks Lou

Zlat

Your coil may be weak with the flooding of your electrical box. These boxes are designed to be water resistant, not "proof". The 787 coil fires both plugs at the same time. I've heard some call it a wasted spark, but it burns off left over fuel for cleaner emissions. So, if you got hot spark from one plug and weak from the other, chances are the problem is in your wire or boot. Follow the advice of Minnetonka. There is also a way to check the using a mult-meter. Maybe someone can walk you through the steps, or if you've already bought a new coil, at least check it before tossing it.

 

[zlat46]

Ok cool thanks for your response

I've ordered the coil and boots

So my plans for Tommorow:

Replace Batt terminals with new ones, old ones are corroded
Replace ground cable from batt to starter motor, is this the only ground that can be replaced?
Pull apart all plugs and cables, clean with contact cleaner
And then dielectric grease everything
Install new coil and boots

I was thinking of pulling out the whole computer from the front of the hull and pulling it appart, knowing it's been flooded before I'm guessing water has gone inside, have people pulled it all out for cleaning?

Fingers crossed after this we have success

 

[Minnetonka4me]

The computer (MPEM) is sealed...there isnt much you can do with it. What you should do is disconnect each connector and check for corrosion. The 97 was prone to it due to to being in the front. Be very careful as the pins are easily broken if they have corroded. If a important one comes off...you'll need a new MPEM.

If its looking ok, smear a bunch of dielectric in the pin holes and reconnect.

One other thing you can do....make some sort of deflector to put in front of the MPEM area. My bro cut up a 5gal bucket and ziptied it. Everytime you let off the gas the water shoots up the front of the hull and splashes the MPEM.

I highly doubt the coil is to blame...the ones I've seen that were bad had cracked housings. Believe me you are not the first to have water in the box...I almost always find some when I look.

I am still thinking slight short in the front housing. You might as well open it up cuz if theres water in there its only gonna get worse.

I had a jetboat come in that the dealer had thrown 4 starters at. Well...b/c they didnt fix the real problem...water...it built up some rust on the crank and that ripped the seal lip apart. then that water made its way into the crank bearings and destroyed it.

Wanna take a guess on what that stealership charged? $500 a pop and they used cheap chinese starters! So over 3 years he had $2g in starters, then $2g in a full engine rebuild. Ouch.

 

[zlat46]

ok so i started pulling everything appart tonight.

ive attached some pics of my ground/earth cable, which you can see is very badly corroded and mouldy.... i take it this would definelty have something to do with my weak spark issue???

Also... the coil....... to me it looks like someone has put superglue or some sort of glue over the spark plug leads, im guessing this was done as a cheap fix if the cables were damaged from the previous owner? all the glue you can probably see on the actual coil itself aswel.

do you guys think its worth changing the positive cables from batt to coil and starter? or is it mainley the earth that causes issues with weak/no spark?

the positive cable was sealed pretty good, so not sure if its damaged internally.

so far what do you guys think? pin pointed my problem?

ive sprayed all contact cleaner on all plugs and connections, they came out really clean.

my new coil arrives tommorow, so i will go and get new ground cable and put this baby back togeher

will post more pics as i go and results

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