96 SPX starts out of water, but not in water

[twolohon]

Last week the ski was working fine, it did sound a little rough but it still ran for several hours. At the end of the day we were out on the lake with it tied up to another boat. It wouldnt turn over at the end of the day so we towed it back. Towed it at a slow speed like your suppose to. I thought maybe it was the spark plugs since it was running a little rough earlier in the day. so I bought some new ones, it started up fine out of the water. As soon as I put it in it wouldnt turn over. I checked and found a rock lodged in the outtake. Took that out, still wouldnt turn over on the water. I also did find some oil in the hull, maybe from over pumping the throttle while trying to start it. What are my options here, im not a mechanic but Im not an idiot and can probably figure most stuff out before shelling out 200 dollars to get it fixed? Is this an impeller problem or what, is there a way to flush it out? There has been a lot of debris on the lake and my friends are not smart enough to avoid it. Thanks

 

[kustomkarl]

Welcome to the seadoo forum twolohon. What by chance is the compression of the engine? If the compression is low it will start on the hose but with the friction of the water on the impeller it might not be able to start under load of the water. You'll need a compression tester. Go to Auto Zone. I think they sell for like $25.00. The compression gage, will screw in the cylinder head in place of the spark plugs. To test compression, remove both spark plugs. Place spark plug caps on the plug cap studs near the cylinder head to ground the empty caps. This completes the circuit of the ignition electrical system and prevents any electrical problems from the caps being un grounded. Using the correct adapter for the threaded end of the tester,( same length of the spark plug threads length)Screw in the tester in one plug hole. Hold the throttle wide open. Push the start button. Watch the compression gauge, when it peaks out at the most compression, let go the start button. Read the psi number. I would do it 3 times to be sure it is accurate. Check both cylinders the same way. The ideal compression is 150 psi per cylinder. If it is less, it's not a problem as long as they are close to being the same. If the psi is less than 90 it might need be time for a tear down and a rebuild. If the psi in 1 cylinder is say 140 psi and the other is 80 psi you need to tear down and repair. This difference is a lot and there is a problem. I hope this helps you.
Do you have a seado manual? If not here is an idea for you. You could join as a "premium member". As a premium member you can down load a authentic seadoo manual from the seadoo manual library. In the library is a variety of manuals for almost all years and models. You can view as many as you like on line as a PDF file, or download it and print it for your personal and privet use. There are operator manuals and repair manuals for you to do your own repairs on your seadoo. The repair manuals have everything from troubleshooting, repair procedures to winterizing. It contains wire diagrams torque specs and pictures for disassemble and assemble instructions. In the spec sheets it tells everything needed to maintain oil changes, spark plug gaps, carburetor rebuilds and impeller wear ring tolerances. Click on the "Seadoo Manuals" link at the top of the page for more details. If you need any help or get in a jam, we are always here to answer your questions too. Premium members get priority when it comes to getting quick detailed answers.


Karl

 

[twolohon]

Thanks I'll check that out.