one motor sputters and dies after running nicely last week

[amcgarva]

have this posted improperly in the PWC forum. I'm new to this but need guidance.

ran my 97 speedster last weekend and it performed really well....until the very end of the trip when it seemed like it was out of gas (wasn't) and both motors died simultaneously (but then started again and i ran the boat full bore for a minute before loading it up) I've run through only one tank of fuel since i bought it. today we took it out. one motor started but the other didn't for a while then only ran up to about 2000rpm then sputtered and died...over and over and over again. Out of curiousity tried to see how it would run on one motor and it also didn't seem to want to rev all the way up. Nervous that i would be stranded in the middle of the lake I gave up and brought it home.
\
I know nothing about performing a compression test on a jet boat. my guess was a fuel filter but i didn't immediately see one. could someone refer me to a thread that helps me with troubleshooting?

thanks.

 

[amcgarva]

maybe i should just pull myself off the forum and start a new account... as i'm embarrassed to say that the likely problem is that i didn't turn the fuel knobs to "ON". it surprises me that one motor ran and the other didn't with both fuel knobs turned to the position marked by a fuel gauge with a red line across. i also failed to close the drain plug in the back and forgot to remove rear tie-downs before launching (pushed and pushed).

As i said, i'm new to motor boating (i have a 26' sailboat).

 

[bigJake]

maybe i should just pull myself off the forum and start a new account... as i'm embarrassed to say that the likely problem is that i didn't turn the fuel knobs to "ON". it surprises me that one motor ran and the other didn't with both fuel knobs turned to the position marked by a fuel gauge with a red line across. i also failed to close the drain plug in the back and forgot to remove rear tie-downs before launching (pushed and pushed).

As i said, i'm new to motor boating (i have a 26' sailboat).

No need to be embarrassed, every single member here has forgotten to turn on the fuel valve at least once.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Actually that's good that you found the problem yourself.
A good diagnose is the first step to solving issues. No matter how easy.

As Jake said many have also forgot their drain plugs in the skis or boats but the tie-down strap is a new one on me .

Grab a manual and read it 100% then read it again while looking at various part of the boat and motor is one way to learn.

OH, BTW, Welcome to the forum.

 

[m.colley]

Welcome to the forum... Luckily I don't have a fuel valve on my 98 Sportster 1800 but I have forgot the drain plug once, ended up taking a swim to put it in after finding the bilge rapidly filling with water, now I have a pre-launch check list I go through every time I hit the water..


Martin

 

[amcgarva]

thanks for your welcomes. ran the boat yesterday with no problems (except for a continuous beep at one point. i've posted details and am looking into overheating issues). Now i'm trying to figure out the new cover. It has 2 posts that are tethered together to prevent water pooling but i've lost the instruction and it's unclear where they go. (and no, i'm not usually such an idiot)