pheidenreich
New Member
Please bear with me on this long post.
Ok, my problems started about two weeks ago when I was out on the water and my 1997 GTX cut off suddenly with no warning. After getting it towed back into the dock I noticed that the connector on the front cover for the magneto had come disconnected. I plugged it in and it fired right up, but the 12v low was illuminated. It ran fine for a few minutes until it died again. This time the female connector that comes from the magneto and through the cover had somehow gotten pulled into the case. I pulled the cover to inspect and saw no obvious reason why it would have gotten pulled inside of the cover, but the connector was understandably pretty beat up and so I replaced the connector a few days later when parts arrived. Also, (and I suspect that this is going to be very important) I noticed on the magneto that one of the poles was discolored and appeared to be burned. Parts guy told me that they are relatively bullet proof and to just replace the connector and to take it from there. Another thing that I can not figure out is, when I was replacing the connector and had the cover off, I found pieces of what appeared to be a very small spring sticking to the inside of the magnetic housing that the magneto rotates in. They looked too small to have come from the starter in my opinion, so I cleaned them out and hoped it was just pieces of the connector.
I got the connector replaced, hooked the hose up to it and it fired right up again. Just as I was about to declare victory and have a celebratory beer, I noticed that the large exhaust pipe had a leak at the plug and was spraying water right at the connector that I just replaced. I thought that might have had something to do with the connector jumping off. So, I had the pipe welded and put it back on yesterday and afterwards it would not start. Battery was completely dead. I put a jump box onto the battery and it was not cutting it still not starting. I did a little investigating and found that the magneto cover became hot. I pulled the battery out and connected an ohm meter at the battery terminals and it indicated a short in the system. I pulled the connector to the magneto and the short disappeared.
So I guess what I am asking is:
1) Am I right to think that the magneto should be my next step?
2) What could have caused the connector to pop off and then later pop off again and get pulled inside?
3) Did water shooting from the exhaust pipe have anything to do with this?
4) Where did those small pieces of spring come from?
I appreciate any help/insight into this. I suspect I know the answers to all that I have asked, but would like a little reassurance before I proceed further. Thanks Again.
Ok, my problems started about two weeks ago when I was out on the water and my 1997 GTX cut off suddenly with no warning. After getting it towed back into the dock I noticed that the connector on the front cover for the magneto had come disconnected. I plugged it in and it fired right up, but the 12v low was illuminated. It ran fine for a few minutes until it died again. This time the female connector that comes from the magneto and through the cover had somehow gotten pulled into the case. I pulled the cover to inspect and saw no obvious reason why it would have gotten pulled inside of the cover, but the connector was understandably pretty beat up and so I replaced the connector a few days later when parts arrived. Also, (and I suspect that this is going to be very important) I noticed on the magneto that one of the poles was discolored and appeared to be burned. Parts guy told me that they are relatively bullet proof and to just replace the connector and to take it from there. Another thing that I can not figure out is, when I was replacing the connector and had the cover off, I found pieces of what appeared to be a very small spring sticking to the inside of the magnetic housing that the magneto rotates in. They looked too small to have come from the starter in my opinion, so I cleaned them out and hoped it was just pieces of the connector.
I got the connector replaced, hooked the hose up to it and it fired right up again. Just as I was about to declare victory and have a celebratory beer, I noticed that the large exhaust pipe had a leak at the plug and was spraying water right at the connector that I just replaced. I thought that might have had something to do with the connector jumping off. So, I had the pipe welded and put it back on yesterday and afterwards it would not start. Battery was completely dead. I put a jump box onto the battery and it was not cutting it still not starting. I did a little investigating and found that the magneto cover became hot. I pulled the battery out and connected an ohm meter at the battery terminals and it indicated a short in the system. I pulled the connector to the magneto and the short disappeared.
So I guess what I am asking is:
1) Am I right to think that the magneto should be my next step?
2) What could have caused the connector to pop off and then later pop off again and get pulled inside?
3) Did water shooting from the exhaust pipe have anything to do with this?
4) Where did those small pieces of spring come from?
I appreciate any help/insight into this. I suspect I know the answers to all that I have asked, but would like a little reassurance before I proceed further. Thanks Again.
