In Hot Water with 98 Sportster 1800

[PhilJet]

Hi All, new member here and glad to be aboard. We use our 'doo mostly on Lake Belton in central Texas. I have a condition with my 98 Sportster twin Rotax that I am not sure is normal. I have hot water coming out of the small hole near the tie off cleat on the rear deck. I have read in another post that water exiting here is normal, but I'm not sure it should be 'hot'. I observed the engine compartment with the engines running at the launch and saw no water spraying there, altho there were a few residual drops on the top left side of the starboard engine (black plastic housing area - not sure what you call that part). She runs pretty good up to 7k rpm and I can get 45 mph or a little above. Please advise if I have a problem or not, so I can get looking for the cause - or relax and keep scooting.

Thanks in advance,
Phil

 

[seadoosnipe]

Hot?....or warm

The water temp should get warm there, especially with speed. Although that water never truly runs thru the engine, it does circulate around the tuned exhaust before entering te engine...

I would check your water injection to the exhaust, at the small brass nipples. These are metered so that flow is controlled. The inlet is a bit larger than the outlets. It is not uncommon for a nice size piece of grit to get lodged in them and keep the from getting sufficient, which will lead to hotter exhaust gas.

When you flush your engines, make sure you see water coming from the exhaust pipe.

 

[PhilJet]

In hot water & lost tach.

Thanks for the speedy reply seadoosnipe. I would say the water temp is 'very warm', but you can put your hand in it. I use the boat only in fresh water so must confess to not flushing so far. I will give that a try right away, tho. You use the hose inlet connection near the gas cap, right?

I don't know if this would be related but I lost the tach on my right engine while running on the lake last week - about the same time we noticed the 'warm' water. I haven't had a chance to check for loose wire connections yet. Is that likely the problem, or could it be a fuse?