2003 seadoo sportster 155 - white smoke?

[mat305]

Hey guys, props on the very informative forums you have.

Can't seem to find a solid answer or how to troubleshoot this issue. I bought a 2003 Seadoo Sportster this weekend. It runs and idles great. That being said here are the issues I have found.

1 - Speedometer and fuel gauge aren't working (fuel stuck on full, and speedometer stuck at 0mph). Any ideas? Read it could be F1 fuse, but looks like a pain to replace.

2 - I ran the boat for 2 hours, at the end of the run (about halfway through a full tank of fuel) it started to produce white smoke. I read online this doesn't really mean anything major, I just want to be sure. I checked the oil it still reads full, also checked the coolant, its about 1 inch below the full cold line after letting the boat sit for a day (going to fill it up before the next time). Is there any way to test everything on land before taking it back out? The boat runs and idles perfect, and I have thrust all the way to max.

3 - The hatch in front of the steering wheel no longer holds... where do I buy a replacement gas shock (not sure if that's the right name for it).

4 - Reading through the owners manual I see it has an oil injection system... does this have a separate oil tank, where do I check the level? From what I understand I just need to run 87 octane fuel, there is no oil mix... does the oil injection system need refilled (does it burn the oil as a mix?).

Thanks guys!

 

[dothadoo]

I had an 03 Sportster 155 and my tach got stuck all the way up. I hit it a few times and it came unstuck. Not sure if that will work for your speedo, but worth a try. When you put the key in, does the needle move on the initial startup?

As far as the white smoke goes, it could be moisture in the oil. When was teh last time the oil was changed? If you change it, look for a white milky substannce and that means it has water in the oil. If that is the case, there is a more serious problem. You need to figure out how the water is getting in.

You could try a variety of different places for that gas shock. Sea Doo dealer, ebay, seadoo warehouse, etc. That part is not too expensive, as I recall, so there may not be that much of a variance from online and the dealer.

It does have a separate oil tank. there is a dipstick sticking out of the top of the engine, right in the middle of the plastic cover on top. I believe it has a yellow circular grab "ring". You do not have to premix the oil. I always changed the oil at the end of the boating season. I believe it is recommended every 20 hours by Sea Doo. I know the old two strokes burned some oil, but I did not have any issues with my 2003 4-tec.

 

[devonte007]

Hi and welcome to the forum, congratulations on the new boat.

First and foremost though, we need to clear up a few things. From the pictures and your descriptions it appears you have a 4-tec 155 hp boat, not the 2-stroke version? Just want to make sure because your last question indicates you have a 2-stroke motor yet it appears that you actually have the 4-stroke version. I believe in 2003 they sold both versions so we need to know what engine you have before we can accurately help you. If you have the 155hp 4-tec then I have the exact same boat only a year newer, and would be glad to help.

1. Gauges are not working - When you first insert the DESS key (lanyard) onto the post the tach and spedo should jump all the way to full then back to zero. Does this happen on your boat? If not, then it is likely they are not receiving any power at all. I would start at the fuse panel behind the dash and do some investigations with a good multi-tester. Electrical gremlins are a bitch, so you need to take it one step at a time and be systematic. Trace the wires back to the source fuse block and make sure it gets power then try to figure out why it does not go all the way to the gauges.

2. Test boat on land - Simple answer to your question is no. These boats are not designed to be run out of water. They can be run for a couple of minutes out of water if you have a hose hooked up (be sure the hose is never on unless the engine is running or else you could flood your engine with water). The drive shaft seal is cooled when the boat is in water, but on dry land cannot be cooled and will heat up if run too long. Also the engine heat exchanger does not work out of water. The coolant level in the reservoir will fluctuate when the engine is hot as compared to cold, just as in your car, when the fluid heat up it expands a bit. Also, the correct oil level is right in between the two notches on the dip stick. Do not over fill the oil or it will hurt your engine.

3. Gas shock - Yep just order a new gas shock either OEM from seadoo or you can get an aftermarket one a bit cheaper. See this thread: http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?47624-Speedster-150-storage-hatch-gas-spring-replacement&highlight=gas+strut

4: Oil injection system - If you have a coolant reservoir, then you have the 4-tec motor which is 4-stroke and no oil injection. I trust you know the difference between a 4-stroke and 2-stroke motor? If not you need to educate yourself. You do NOT have any oil injection on your boat based on the information you provided.

I hope this helps you a bit, if you are unfamiliar with these boats it may be helpful to download the shop/service manual and give it a good read. You can download by clicking the 'manuals' link at the top of this web page. Just make sure to perform all of the maintenance at the recommended intervals and you should not have any problems with the engine or propulsion system. Since this is a new boat to you and the previous maintenance be be unknown, it might be good to go ahead and replace all the fluids and inspect all the items in the maintenance checklist to be sure the boat is ship shape. Good luck and happy boating!

 

[mat305]

Thanks devonte007 and dothadoo.

It is the 155hp 4-tec engine... it came with a CD with multiple manuals on it and I was reading the wrong one.

The fuel gauge is stuck on full at all times (when the boat is running or not). Ill try your suggestions to track down the issue.

The speedo is stuck at 0 at all times also. This is not a huge deal because I am buying a marine GPS anyways.

Devonte007.... does your boat produce white smoke after it has been ran for an extended period of time (2 hours?). I'm thinking its just steam, but want to be careful about it if it is a major issue to not make it worse.

I'm going to troubleshoot this on saturday in the water.

 

[devonte007]

The fuel gauge is a separate issue from the tach and spedo, if it is always stuck on full check to make sure it is getting power first. If so (which is likely since needle is on full) then it could be the sending unit on the fuel pump in the tank. Pretty easy to get at, under the center seat cushion. Few screws and you can pull the whole unit out. You will need to check the service manual to diagnose the gauges and to figure out where the problem is, electrical issues are a pain!

As for the white smoke coming out the exhaust hole back of the boat? That is normal and all boats do this. In order to cool the hot exhaust (so it can go into a rubber hose and not burn the back of your fiberglass boat) they inject a small stream of water into the exhaust as it leaves the boat. The process of changing the cold water to steam effectively cools the exhaust enough to not burn the inside of the engine compartment. Once the engine warms up you will see some steam coming from the back of the boat, this is not only good but normal. As long as you are not loosing engine coolant there is no problem.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
--Deven

 

[ID62]

Hi mat305,

just read this in the link below......
http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?52455-Speedometer-repair&p=272281#post272281