Not cranking

[Bryson_Waters_07]

I am brand new to owning jet skis by the way. My 1999 GTI will not crank over it will click and turn over once sometimes. The oil light is on and flashes/dims when I crank. I have a brand new cheap Walmart battery in it because I just bought it and the battery was dead. I have honestly had good experience with the cheap batteries and I don’t want to pay double the price if I don’t need to. I heard that these can be picky about the battery, the key, or the starter solenoid can be the problem but I don’t really know where to start. There is currently no gas or oil in it. The battery tested 12.5 volts. Let me know if you have and idea what’s going on. Is it hydrolocked with oil? (Previous thread)

 

[Grim]

Go to auto parts store and have the battery load tested to verify it is good. Also, take out spark plugs , ground your wires and see if it cranks over easier, look for any fluid coming out of spark plug holes.

 

[artr]

There is currently no gas or oil in it

Before you do a lot of cranking of the engine, get some oil in it and make sure the oil lines to the cylinders are primed.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

So I tried cranking it with no spark plugs and nothing really changed. I also charged the battery over night. No difference. I’m sure it’s got some oil in it because when I tried cranking it the first time oil shot out of the plug holes and stained my garage ceiling blue. I plug the key in and there’s two beeps, and then I press the button and it just clicks, sometimes turns over once. Doesn’t sound great, but maybe that’s normal. I guess I could go test the battery at auto zone. Should I try a new battery or could something else be the problem?

 

[artr]

It sounds like there is a problem with the starter or the start solenoid. Check the starter by shorting across the solenoid. If it cranks reliably then test the start solenoid has zero resistance across the top contacts when energized. If not replace the solenoid. Otherwise load test the battery.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

Oh man check this out. The trailer lights weren’t working and the inside of them looked just like this. The box was really hard to move around and get a good look at. Haven’t tried jumping solenoid yet. How do I clean this.

 

[artr]

There are products available for rust removal. I have not used them myself. You could also use a soft wire drush to open and clean the connections. Hopefully the moisture did not internally damage the electrical components.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

Alright I cleaned the terminals and jumped the solenoid. It did the exact same thing. It tries to turn over but won’t. Sometimes clicks and sometimes cranks once or twice. Almost fused my screw driver to it. So what now?

 

[burtshaver2021]

Starter

 

[artr]

From your picture above there has been excessive moisture in the engine compartment. You can take a look at the 2 power connections on the starter (the red cable from the solenoid and the lower bolt on the front of the starter that has a black battery cable on it). If those connections are as corroded as the others then clean them up. When you disconnect those 2 you can try using a jumper cable on the 2 starter connections and touch the other side directly to the battery (charged and load tested) to see if the starter is really what is bad. If it spins reliably then replace the red and black battery cables which may be internally corroded from moisture. If it is the starter and the starter is the original seadoo part then your best bet is to internally clean it up and replace the brushes.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

Alright will do. I will update you on how it goes. Thanks!

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

I tested the voltage on the solenoid and it seems good. I might try and replace it and see if it fixes the problem before I replace the starter motor because it is more expensive and harder to do. I wish I could add a video here but I can’t. I added a video on Reddit under the r/jetski group. It sometimes turns over and other times just sits there and makes a squeaking sound.

 

[artr]

I don't use reddit, maybe you could provide a link to the video. If you short across the top of the solenoid and you still get the same result with the starter then it is the starter or cables and a new solenoid won't fix that.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

Okay I didn’t know that jumping the solenoid crossed it out as a problem. I guess will move to replacing the starter motor then. Hopefully that is the issue. Video

 

[artr]

I saw the video. While it does sound like a bad starter I'm not sure what the high pitched whine is. May be the starter pinion gear backing off and grinding on the engine flywheel. Before removing the starter you could check that the engine rotates freely by hand. Remove the plugs and the plastic flywheel cover at the rear of the engine. Rotate the flywheel by hand (probably counterclockwise) and feel that the engine rotates all the way around freely. If that checks out then it is time to remove the starter and bench test it.

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

Alright guys I have a big update. I was doing some more testing. Turned the “drive shaft” and confirmed it is not seized. We drained the oil reservoir and put a shut off switch on the bigger of the two oil lines coming from it and have it turned off right now. We pulled both spark plugs at the same time and put rags over them and pressed the starter. It cranked over for multiple seconds, the most it ever had, and then I stopped because of how much oil came out of the holes onto the rags. Seems like there is so much oil inside it and that is the problem. I would love some clarification on how the system works and how/why the oil is coming in to the pistons when I am hitting start. Should I keep cranking it over until the oil stops coming out or will the oil just keep coming out until the “crankcase” is empty because there are bad seals? It’s probably not the starter motor if so. I have no idea where the oil lines from the reservoir go so please inform me.

 

[artr]

Glad you zeroed in on the problem. I thought you had solved that in you previous post "Oil overload". I do not have any direct experience with leaking crank seals. I will leave it to other members who have used the shut off valve or replaced the seals to chime in and advise you.

 

[burtshaver2021]

Go to auto parts store and have the battery load tested to verify it is good. Also, take out spark plugs , ground your wires and see if it cranks over easier, look for any fluid coming out of spark plug holes
This is good advice

 

[Bryson_Waters_07]

I thought I had solved that too but apparently not. I only cranked it once or twice before to get oil out. What I did differently this time was pull both plugs at the same time. I thought I got all the oil out the first time but boy was I wronggggggg. I will follow the steps from the other thread and hopefully will get this thing running!