96 GTX No power at all

[artr]

Are these all brand new batteries that were load tested at the store before you used them?

 

[Astiles27]

The first one wasn’t and when I went to swap it out they tested the new one. I read somewhere that if the batteries are known to be good and the power draws down that much then the starter is toast. Mine is a used oem one but I went ahead and bought a kit to rebuild it. We’ll see what that does.

 

[artr]

I thought you had bought a known good one from westside power sports. I needed to replace the brushes in mine but it did not destroy the battery it just wouldn't turn over the motor. Advanced auto also tests starters. When you take the starter out you can test it by connecting jumper cables to it and directly to a battery briefly. Have something to hold the starter because it will move if not bolted to the engine.

 

[Astiles27]

I went to buy one from west side but he wanted 250 for it and there was a guy locally who was selling some for 50$ so I went with the cheaper option lol. But he had tested them and said they were fine. Thats why I’ve been stuck. Sorry I guess I’m leaving key pieces out. I’m thinking once the starter engages and has some resistance meaning the flywheel it just looses it power or something internally that would be fixed by rebuilding it.

 

[mikidymac]

I went to buy one from west side but he wanted 250 for it and there was a guy locally who was selling some for 50$ so I went with the cheaper option lol. But he had tested them and said they were fine. Thats why I’ve been stuck. Sorry I guess I’m leaving key pieces out. I’m thinking once the starter engages and has some resistance meaning the flywheel it just looses it power or something internally that would be fixed by rebuilding it.

Are you serious? I have nothing but good things to say about Westside but if that is what he is charging for used starters that is out of line. He is free to charge whatever the market will support but......

Brand new from Seadoo they are $234.

78001301
Starter Ass'y | Includes 1 - 17.
MSRP: $233.99
Dealer Price: $233.99

 

[Astiles27]

Yep that’s why I looked elsewhere. Would it make sense for the starter to be the reason why its bringing my voltage down on a known good battery? And why its acting like it wants to start but doesn’t.

 

[mikidymac]

It could if the starter is bad and pulling high amps. Typically it is the battery, cables or connections though. Typically bad starters will just clunk and not turn over the engine, assuming the engine isn't locked up.

 

[Astiles27]

So my best bet would be to just buy a roll of 4 gauge wire and just replace everything (input, output, ground, and positive). I’m saying this because the motor is not locked up and the starter will spin the motor just fine but then it will all of a sudden stop. And give me a whining noise as well as a click

 

[mikidymac]

IF it were me I would take apart the starter, clean the commutator and install new brushes. It could be landing on a bad spot every few starts. Just like in the old days you would get under your Chevy and smack the starter with a hammer to get it to start.

 

[TwoSmoker]

You are getting a massive amount of resistance someplace, are none of the wires hot or really warm after you get to the point of the starter stalling out?

 

[Astiles27]

I haven’t noticed any heat from the wires but then I again I haven’t held the start button down real long nor have I felt the wires. I think the rebuild kit from osd I got has brushes.
Edit I’ve tapped starters on older lawn mowers before I could give that a whirl lol

 

[TwoSmoker]

I had a similar issue where the starter would engage intermittently or turn and quit randomly, my positive battery cable was getting really warm, swapped it out and boom problem gone, was totally corroded on the inside.

 

[Astiles27]

So I tried it again this morning and it looks like both the ground and pos were getting warm. Tapping the starter seemed to help as well. So I’m thinking I’ll just buy a roll of wire and replace everything as well as rebuild the starter. Can’t hurt right?

 

[mikidymac]

Buy your supplies from Bestboatwire.com. You don't want to use just standard copper wire and crimp connectors as it won't last.

 

[bigJake]

Mikidymac - just spit balling here - could this possibly be a faulty solenoid not letting enough power through to fully crank the starter, or are solenoids either good or bad with no in between? Maybe a screwdriver on the solenoid test to see if it starts?

 

[mikidymac]

Could be the solenoid in theory.

Jumping it with a screwdriver just connects the cables so won’t tell you if the internal contacts are bad but if it cranks fine that way could point to bad contacts.

 

[Astiles27]

So I've rebuilt the starter and tested it before installing and I went ahead and replaced the cables and connections to rule that out. It cranks a lot better and doesn't cut out like before but then it "locked up" again. After brainstorming, I realized that there's probably too much oil in the crankcase and that I need a cut off valve in the feed line to prevent the case from completely filling up. My question is could there be too much oil in the case to prevent the motor from turning over? basically hydro locking it but with oil. I did push a lot of the oil back into the reservoir then plugged it for the meantime until I can go buy a valve. I figured I would let everything settle back down in the bottom of the case and try to push the rest out tomorrow. I'm realizing you don't need a ton of oil in the case just a good supply for when the motor runs.

What caused me to think of this was me randomly doing a compression test and one of the cylinders reading a lot higher than the other (still both being 150+) This is a refurbished motor from SBT still hasn't fired up LOL

 

[TwoSmoker]

Does oil come out of the spark plug holes if you pull the spark plugs after it locks up and you turn it over again? The crankcase can fill up with oil and lock the motor if the crank seals are bad, otherwise I wouldn’t run it without oil on the rotary valve.

 

[Astiles27]

Oil came out of the cylinder with the higher compression not both. I wonder if oil sitting in the bottom end for a week or 2 just messed the seals up.

 

[TwoSmoker]

I think you found your problem... the crank seals when they start to go will allow oil to leak oil into the case and cause the symptoms you are describing. What color is the oil you are using?

 

[Astiles27]

I'll be honest I'm using some blue synthetic 2 stroke marine oil from O'rileys. I know its probably not the right kind. So that seal being blown or close to just means its going to keep locking the motor up and keep the thing from starting?

 

[TwoSmoker]

That is the wrong oil, it tends to be thinner than Seadoo full synthetic. I have heard you might get lucky if you clean out the blue stuff and switch to the right oil, they might plump up and reseal once you get it running. Otherwise you can limp along with a valve on the line like you describe, turn it off when not using it and on when you run it. Longer term though the engine will need a rebuild.

 

[Astiles27]

I would think them being practically new seals (edit and especially since its never ran so the seals haven't completely set) I might be able to get away with that then. Worst that will do is just smoke a little more than a normal 2 stroke I'm assuming, but like you said eventually it'll probably need replacement. Do I need to use seadoos stuff specifically or does something like quicksilver pwc synthetic oil just as thick? This is probably a dumb idea but what about oil additives to make it thicker haha

 

[mikidymac]

Some have found that switching to the seadoo oil stopped the seals from leaking. Not really sure why or how but it has been confirmed in some cases.