99 Speedster takes on water in center compartment, right engine wont turn over

[ice2121]

Hi- I have had constant problems with my 99 speedster which i bought last summer. I have taken it out on the water 5 times. Each time i take it out, it starts up just fine off the ramp. But if i get out on the water and anchor for while, only the left engine will re-start. The right engine tries to turn over but it wont. I have taken it to the dealer 3 times. Each time they say it is the rave valve which they replaced the first time and cleaned it out the next 2 times. Same result, starts fine, but while on the water, right enine wont re-start. Today I noticed that the center locker was almost full of water and it took an hour to drain. Can someone help identify what the problem might be? I assume it is taking on too much water and the right engine has too much water in it to turn over. Would just like to know what I can tell the dealer so they can actually fix the problem. Getting tired of having to come home on one engine.. any help is much appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[RFoster130]

Well you may have 2 different problems or it may be connected. First we need to take care of the water issue. How long is it on the water before you notice the ski locker has water in it? I had a problem once where the boat sat overnight and the next morning the ski locker was full. Luckily i didnt get the engines full of water. This incident made me realize that when the battery switch is in the off position the bilge pump is also off. I consider that to be a defect in the design. I disconnected it from the back of the battery switch and moved it to the post that is always hot. Now I can leave the boat in water and the pump kicks on. Your pump obviously isnt coming on. you need to deal with that situation first.

If the water was affecting the engine, you have bigger issues and that engine is probably damaged. If it doesnt restart while on the water, how do you get the boat back to the dock? I hope you arent using 1 engine. You have to be careful and go very slow or you are ingesting water into the non running engine.

Sounds like you have multiple issues. We need to fix them individually. Lets walk through them. The dealer will cost you a fortune. We can help ya take care of it. If you are getting that much water in while sitting anchored, that is another issue you need to deal with. Some water is normal, but not enough to get in the ski locker. Fix the bilge pump so you dont get filled up again. Then we can deal with the leak and the non starting issue.

 

[ice2121]

I did not notice the water until i was on the way back. So it may be a result of running on one engine or maybe it was taking on water the whole time, just not noticable until i was headed back. Yes, i had to come back using just 1 engine...kept it around 2500 rpms. i wasnt very far from home, but it took about 30 min. I agree that the bilge is not functioning properly. The right engine fires normal on land and when first in the water...just doesnt re-start after ive been on the water for a while. i mis-used the term "turn over" above...it always turns over, just wont fire on the water. I will take careof the bilge pump first, any idea where to go form there regarding the engine?

 

[RFoster130]

I would make sure you dont have water in that engine. You can only go 5mph or less without the engine running. Otherwise it will feed water into it. Did you get it running again after that? If not try to get it to start now. Sometimes my engines are a little bit of a pain to restart. Are you reapplying the choke?

Once you get the water issue resolved, I would do the same stuff that always would cause it to run bad. Change the plugs and if the carbs havent been cleaned, do that. Do you have newer fuel lines?