Interesting Problem

[GK5188]

Good Evening.

I had my 1995 GTX our this evening. I put about an hour on it doing some plug checks to make sure things are working well with the break in of the new short block. It ran great. I am still getting a little bit of loading at idle when cold, but it gets better after I let it warm yup.

Interesting thing happened.... I stopped to chat with a friend at his dock and when I did a quick start and stop to reposition at his dock after sitting for a few minutes I could get it to start. Hit the start button and all I got was clicking. After about 10 minutes of sitting there pulling plugs and turning over the motor by hand to make sure nothing was bound up, I got it to start.

Starter is pretty new. Anyone else have this issue? Ran like a champ getting home.

Thanks

 

[mikidymac]

Is it an aftermarket starter?

 

[GK5188]

It is a fairly new SBT starter that I pulled off my 94. I am rebuilding the factory starter that died on the 95 now. The starter is an ugly mess that needs repainting before I rebuild it. The SBT starter has been strong up to this point. Cheers,

 

[mikidymac]

The SBT are not known to be good starters and can be bad out of the box.

 

[GK5188]

Strange how it was working flawlessly up to that point. I put it on the 95 GTX so I could get hours on the rebuild. I will rebuild the OEM and replace it. I guess it really is hit or miss with none OEM parts and components especially on items that are no longer produced. Thanks for the reply. Cheers,

 

[mikidymac]

Pretty much all the aftermarket starters are junk, not sure why nobody can make a good one, I guess cheap China junk.

 

[GK5188]

Pretty much all the aftermarket starters are junk, not sure why nobody can make a good one, I guess cheap China junk.

It really is shameful that most things made today are made to fail.

 

[etemplet]

I decided to go with the SBT premium starters when I do replace one. I've rebuilt 10-15 staters over the past couple of years maybe more but I sure don't enjoy the work. The biggest problem is resealing the starter so no moisture gets in. If moisture gets in there, I don't care how high quality the parts are the brushes are gonna corrode and stick. Also, there are good and bad rebuild kits and problems with assembly. All of this equates to premature starter failure. I encourage everyone to keep the bilge as dry as possible.

Some starters suffer just plain abuse with people grinding the starters and melting the internals. Since the ski moves with the starter engaged they just use the starter as the engine till it doesn't work any more. LOL

I change out lots of brushes as that is mostly the problem with starters. If you take apart a cheap staters you'll likely find a magnet or two out of place. LOL I had one of the new SBT starters apart not long ago. It is very robust internally. YMMV. Good Luck.

 

[mikidymac]

I have personally seen about 8-10 of the SBT starters fail. Half of them had the shaft break in half and the others had the magnets come loose. A lot of the other aftermarket ones I have seen just quit and go in the trash after about 1 season. A few of them have come apart because the end cap is cast wrong so the rear support bracket doesn't fit so people leave it off, this added stress seems to make the starter cases come apart.
Most of the skis I see come to me from word of mouth after cheap parts fail.
I hate knocking a specific brand but the failures I see keep happening and don't seem to be corrected by places like SBT. If they made a quality part that I didn't keep seeing failures I would love to recommend them. Like WSM, I have used their aftermarket stuff of over 30 years and have no problem recommending them. Although not their carb parts.
I really wish someone would make a quality aftermarket starter, it can't be that difficult to use good parts and charge a little more.

 

[etemplet]

I have bought cheap starters where the magnets failed after only a couple of months and fairly new starters that were full of water. I've removed starters that don't fit properly but yet people install them. I'll never buy a cheap starter again. If there is a zombie attack all bets are off. Whatever I can get in there quick goes on. Ha ha.

I'll say this, if you can keep those starters dry, they would last a whole lot longer. I love the OEM for staying dry. They are sealed very well. After you open them and do your work.. it all depends on you and I have failed in this area enough to whip out the gray RTV when I put a starter back together.

 

[GK5188]

Thank everyone. The information and discussion on this has been great. Agree that starters take a beating and moisture can shorten the operational life of any starter. I will give the rebuild a try for now since we are late in the season and decide what to do for next season. Oh, and I found another issue this evening. The battery is toast. It came with the Seadoo, so I am sure it's about 5 years old. I will get a new one tomorrow then make sure the charging system is working like it should and hopefully move on to just riding the darn thing until the weather turns cold. Cheers.

 

[etemplet]

Batteries..... ha ha... that is another matter. Good Luck !!