Kill Cord Issue?

[biffdotorg]

So we have a great weekend this week, and we are out on our second night of surfing behind our X20

I have a full boat, and a surfer in the water. I go to fire up the engine and it does nothing but crank. It's like the spark is cut as it sounded like it wanted to fire. I had no idea what to do as the engine was hot, and has run perfectly this season as it has in the past.

I had to assume it was electrical and started with the kill cord. I took it off and replaced it with no luck. I pulled it and pressed the kill switch button manually while cranking and it actually changed the sound of the cranking. By this time it may have been a little flooded if that is possible.

So I replaced the kill cord after hearing that change, and it fired right up. Is it safe to assume that button the kill cord is attached to may becoming corroded? If I don't want to hot wire it, can it be cleaned or lubricated? I could find a replacement part, but don't want to do that if it can be cleaned.

Thanks guys!

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... could be corroded. BUT... on these boats... SOME of them are a simple rubber nipple inside of a rubber cap. (Like the pre-MPEM Seadoo's had) Because of that... it could simply be that the rubber nipple is crushing, and the cap is getting weak. When that happens, it simply doesn't push the kill button all the way in. So, if your tether is in bad shape... you may want to get a new one. I have a nice one from Jet-Logic. It has a wrist band, and the price was good. (Have one for my Polaris too)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kwik-Tek-Ul...ack-/171808602894?hash=item2800973b0e&vxp=mtr

I've seen a few of the Merc Seadoo's have a lifting cap type kill cord. (like a Yamaha or Polaris) But I think those types were a generic replacement, installed by previous owners.


Now... as far as the "Could it be flooded?". Absolutely. On the Merc boats... the dead man cord is a simple ground on the ignition. So... if you crank it with that cord off... the injectors are still firing.

 

[biffdotorg]

That's so funny,I had that exact lanyard on my last waverunner!

Yup after it cranked with the kill cord pulled, I knew I didn't want to keep cranking as I thought it would flood it

After I got that button pushed in further it fired instantly. I thought it may be coincidence, but it has been perfect since then.

Now I need to consider replacing that cap or the entire kill assembly in the dash before it leaves me stranded. At lest we were surfing right out front of the cabin. I had plenty of kids on board to swim it in!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[biffdotorg]

Well, after thinking about this and pricing a new button, I dug around in our junk drawers. Many families have one, or two, we have plenty.

And there it was, the spare kill cord that we got when we purchased the boat. The cap was in near perfect condition, and possibly in better shape than the slightly sun-dried one on the keychain now. I will swap it this weekend in hopes of not getting stranded.

I priced the new assembly to find the SeaDoo part is very common on a number of BRP products. Of course the list price is $98!!! F-that. No wonder people find generic parts in it's place. I will hotwire it before that and cover the hole in the dash with a nice decal. Hopefully swapping the cap will cure my issue.

Thanks again for any advice!