wont crank over

[USA_PRIDE]

i bought a 1996 xp 787 a few weeks ago that had not been run in a few years. i put fresh fuel in it, cleaned out the fuel filter, topped off the oil, put fresh plugs in and a brand new battery. to my suprise it fired up after a few cranks. i let it run on the hose for a few minutes and gave it a few good revs. Took it to the lake for the 4th and it ran great all day. Last run of the night i got thrown off. When i got back on it would not start up. It would try to turn over but would just clunk. I thought it was a dead battery. Got towed back and swapped out batteries with another new one. Same thing, try to start it and nothing, just a clunk.

Anythoughts to what i should start looking at? Thanks.

 

[tshorty454]

WOOOW thats exactly what happen to mine. cant figure it out. did find the rotary valve was cracked a bit so i took it off but it is still catching on something. im in the same boat u are, any help guys???

 

[USA_PRIDE]

*update*

ok so i pulled the plugs and there was what looked like water droplets on the electrode part on both plugs. with the plugs removed i was able to turn the motor freehand by spinning the pto. i also found a 10 amp fuse in the rear black electrical box blown. i dont know if it was the cause or just coincidence. With the plugs out and a new fuse in, the motor cranks over smoothly. There is a ton of water shooting out of the plug holes. Now i'm new to the whole jet ski, 2 stroke thing but to me this does not seem right. Any thoughts on the water issue?

 

[semperfish]

get the water out

I can't say what caused the water to get in there, but I can say you need to get that water out ASAP. Without it hooked up to a hose, I would pull the plugs and spray some fogging or storage oil, keep cranking on a fresh battery and charge another to use after the first goes dead. Keep cranking on it until all water is out and inbetween the cranking, spray some fogging or storage oil in there. WD 40 will work also. Keep going like that until you think its dry again. Once you think its dry, then reinstall dry cleaned off plugs and put the wires back on. Try to crank/ if it doesn't crank, repeat until it does. When it does crank, run it on the hose for a bit and investigate. Then ASAP ride it like you stole it as much as you can THAT DAY or the NEXT DAY to cook out the rest of the water. If you don't do this, the engine could rust and seize in a day or two.

Also, did you have any water in the hull when you fell off. If you did, then maybe it was pumped out with the high/low pressure pumps that are common in jetskis while it was being towed. I would take it to teh lake and without a cover on see if there is any water coming on. Also, maybe a water line is leaking or a clamp is loose, running it in the water withour the cover on would be an easy inspection if it was still on the trailer sitting in the water.

 

[captain scale]

Had a similar problem the other day with fuel instead of water. I have a bad habit of leaving the fuel valve open and I think the pressure from the heat of the day forced fuel into my cyclinders. Got it out by pulling the plugs and cranking a bit! Ran fine with some fresh plugs in it.

 

[seadooya]

the rear ebox, should have a 7.5 fuse and a 15amp fuse.

 

[USA_PRIDE]

ok got it running again out of the water. thanks for the fast response guys. my ? now is before i put in back in the water, i want to make sure this is not gonna happon again. any thoughts or ideas of possible water entry points into the motor? anything to look for?

 

[seadooya]

bad head o-ring or base gasket?