Milehighguy303
Active Member
My trusty 2007 GTI SE 155 remains very bullet proof, even at 280 hours, but I am a little frustrated by the starter bendix intermittently not engaging to turn the engine over and start. The ski is well-maintained and runs 60 MPH, so it still nicely compliments my (slower 58 MPH) 2021 GTI 170 - Ha Ha. Occassionally I will start the ski, and I will hear the starter spinning, but the bendix is not engaged to turn the engine over. Pressing the start button once or twice more gets the bendix engaged and I am off and running.
I have removed and cleaned the grounds - the negative cable is new, and removed/cleaned the three grounds on the front of the engine. Replaced the starter solenoid. The starter was replaced 2 years ago at the dealer with an OE starter. The dealer has load tested the YUASA OE battery, and passes voltage reading of 12+ and the battery is 18 months old. As a precaution to ensure battery charging effectiveness, I replaced the rectifier last year. I am pretty confident I am getting all the voltage I am supposed to at the starter, and the dealer has confirmed the stator is charging properly. Still has the original battery cable, and no corrosion is visible at the connections. All of these checks hasn’t changed the bendix performance, other than the starter was replaced well before the issue started. When it starts, the engine turns over at normal speed to start.
So the dealer feels the bendix is starting to fail fail in the PTO, and that I shouldn’t be overly worried about being stranded and I should ride and enjoy the ski, but my OCD in me is struggling to accept it, but not ready to pony up $ to pull the engine to find out. As I talk with a couple other well-experienced folks, they say they rarely see a bendix issue, even in skis at over 300 hours In a salt environment.
So I wanted to ask the experienced folks in the forum - Do you think there is anything that is left unturned or something that could be preventing the bendix from engagement? Or is it time to pull the engine and see what is happening in the bendix? Note: the engine/starter area was submerged with salt water last February, but I think the bendix was starting to act up prior to that, and I don’t think the water can really get into the bendix? But this event made me wonder…
Thanks for any advice or opinions…
I have removed and cleaned the grounds - the negative cable is new, and removed/cleaned the three grounds on the front of the engine. Replaced the starter solenoid. The starter was replaced 2 years ago at the dealer with an OE starter. The dealer has load tested the YUASA OE battery, and passes voltage reading of 12+ and the battery is 18 months old. As a precaution to ensure battery charging effectiveness, I replaced the rectifier last year. I am pretty confident I am getting all the voltage I am supposed to at the starter, and the dealer has confirmed the stator is charging properly. Still has the original battery cable, and no corrosion is visible at the connections. All of these checks hasn’t changed the bendix performance, other than the starter was replaced well before the issue started. When it starts, the engine turns over at normal speed to start.
So the dealer feels the bendix is starting to fail fail in the PTO, and that I shouldn’t be overly worried about being stranded and I should ride and enjoy the ski, but my OCD in me is struggling to accept it, but not ready to pony up $ to pull the engine to find out. As I talk with a couple other well-experienced folks, they say they rarely see a bendix issue, even in skis at over 300 hours In a salt environment.
So I wanted to ask the experienced folks in the forum - Do you think there is anything that is left unturned or something that could be preventing the bendix from engagement? Or is it time to pull the engine and see what is happening in the bendix? Note: the engine/starter area was submerged with salt water last February, but I think the bendix was starting to act up prior to that, and I don’t think the water can really get into the bendix? But this event made me wonder…
Thanks for any advice or opinions…