Smoking Issues

[mike2587]

Hello,

We just brought our Jet Ski out of storage for the year this past weekend and were having some issues trying to get it running. It is a Sea-Doo 96 GTX and was stored in a garage all winter. I put the battery in it this weekend and tried to fire it up and for a little while it would crank and crank with no fire then all of a sudden just started clicking when I would try to start it. I figured maybe the battery was drained so I threw it on our charger overnight and came back out the next day and tried to fire it up again. I connected the terminals and went to start it and all I hear now is a click/thud when I hit the power button. If I keep pressing that button I noticed the battery terminals started smoking and got incredibly warm so I obviously stopped.

Now there is a little bit of corrosion on the battery terminals (which I cleaned off as best as I could) and am kind of confused as to maybe the battery is just junk from last year (with the corrosion) or if it's something else like the starter? Any ideas on how I can test to see what's going on, or if you have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Mike
mike2587@msn.com

 

[kustomkarl]

Mike, I would first test the battery with a load test to see if the battery is any good. Than I would check all the connections -Grounds and +Positive wires for a good connection. If the battery is junk replace it. If it still gives you problems go to the solenoid and jump it across the 2 large wires with a 14 guage insulated wire and see it it rolls the starter over. If not, it is the starter that is bad if it does rollover it is either the switch or the solenoid. Keep us posted on you progress.

Karl

 

[mike2587]

Sorry for not being 100% confident in what I'm doing but could you elaborate a little bit on what you mean by jump across the terminals on the solenoid? I would just like to make sure I'm doing it right so I don't mess it up. I have an idea about how to do it but again.. Just want to make sure.

 

[kustomkarl]

No problem Mike. Follow the Red + cable from the battery to the electrical box. Open it up. In the box is a solenoid. It has a Red + from the battery and across is another cable that goes to the starter. Jump across from the battery side to the starter side. Use a insulated wire to protect your fingers. Just touch the connection and it will bypass the solenoid and make the starter turn over. if the starter rolls over it is the solenoid. If it doesn't roll over with a direct line it is a bad starter. Make sure the connections are clean and not corroded. You battery must be in real good shape too with a full charge on it. I hope this guides you closer to the problem...
Let me know if you still need help.

Karl

 

[derek]

you hit starter button and click and wires heat up? i think you burnt out your starter. they are cheap on ebay. usually good as they don't die all that much.

 

[seadoolover]

starter

take out your plugs... does the engine crank over now..if so put plugs back in and try again..if no joy then starter is KAPUT! Make sure the battery is fully charged before you start.

 

[mike2587]

Well last night I ventured out to my cabin to try bridging the solenoid to see if it was indeed the starter or the solenoid and I still got the same wires smoking and the solid 'click' coming from the starter with no attempt to turn over. I will try the plug idea for I don't feel like investing money in a starter as well as putting it in. I'm assuming it's not a big deal to really put it in but I figure why not give it a try?

I am curious... I bought a new battery last year and it sat in our shower at our cabin (dry) all winter (no heat) and there must have been some moisture in there because the terminals were slightly corroded. I charged the battery and it charged pretty quickly which was kind of suprising to me, but cool. I don't really want to invest in a new battery if I have to but at the same time I don't want to invest in a new starter if I don't have to either. Are there any suggestions short of buying a new battery just to find out it's not that?

Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Mike

 

[kustomkarl]

Mike on the back of the engine is a shield with 2 wingnuts remove it and the wing nuts. loosen the clamps on the black boot and slide it back,exposing the shaft. With the spark plugs out of the engine, see if the shaft rotates counter clockwise by turning it by hand. If the starter just clunks, It might be a good thing to be sure the engine isn't locked up. If it won't turn by hand use a pipe wrench to see if it will turn over. Let us know what you find.

Karl

 

[mike2587]

Hello,

After going to my cabin tonight and tinkering around with my jet ski, I was able to finally get it to want to attempt to turn over. I took the plugs out, tried starting it with no go. I found out it was not the starter and (scary) there was a good amount of water in the block. Unfortunately it is not my jet ski otherwise that water would clearly not be in there... I had to twist the crank back and forth a little bit and after a few tries finally got it to want to attempt to turn over rather then just hit and do nothing. I left the plugs out and cranked it for awhile with water constantly shooting out of one cylinder more then the other. Now that I can get it to attempt to turn over, what do you recommend I do to get 'all' the water out and get it to the point where I can try to put the plugs in to run it?

Ugh!

-MIKE

 

[seadoolover]

water in engine..

With spark plugs out and leads on grounding posts turn engine over and spray wd-40 into each cylinder whilst holding throttle full open.. do it a couple of times for about 10 / 15 seconds each time .. no longer as this will burn out your starter motor. Continue until you see no more water coming out of the plug holes. Insert spark plugs attach leads and try to get it to fire. You may want to charge your battery at this point. It may take awhile before you get it running properly and all the water dispersed... i'd be using NEW plugs as it only takes a day for the old plugs to start oxidising from contact with the water. Any ideas how water got there in the first place??

 

[mike2587]

Sooooo I got some new plugs, did the whole shoot water out of plug holes and then put plugs in and run and can't get anything going. Not even a sputter... I can tell that there is still some residual water in the block because it sputters out when I try to start it and when I have the plugs in, one of them is completely soaked when it comes out.

What do you recommend?

 

[kustomkarl]

The WD-40 will helpdisperse the remaining water. I would turn the pwc on it's port side( left side) and hit the starter with the spark plugs on the grounding studs. this will allow almost all the water to exit the engine. Next add a small amount of injector oil to a couple oz of gas. Put about 1 oz of the premix of fuel, in each of the cylinders. Try to fire it up, it should start. If you want more information, you could get a seadoo manual to have for you model seadoo. You could join as a "premium member". As a premium member you can down load a authentic seadoo manual from the seadoo manual library. In the library is a variety of manuals for almost all years and models. You can view as many as you like on line as a PDF file, or download it and print it for your personal and privet use. There are operator manuals and repair manuals for you to do your own repairs on your seadoo. The repair manuals have everything from troubleshooting, repair procedures to winterizing. It contains wire diagrams torque specs and pictures for disassemble and assemble instructions. In the spec sheets it tells everything needed to maintain oil changes, spark plug gaps, carburetor rebuilds and impeller wear ring tolerances. Click on the "Seadoo Manuals" link at the top of the page for more details. If you need any help or get in a jam, we are always here to answer your questions too.

Karl

 

[mike2587]

Couple questions...

1.) What is the best way to turn the jet ski on it's side while on a trailer? Will I have to worry about anything leaking when I do this as well? Any other issues I should worry about. Basically I'm looking for the best way to approach this.

2.) How much WD-40 am I spraying in the cylinders when I do this? For some reason there is no water shooting out of the cylinder, but I can see this WD-40 residue liquid (not sure how to explain) that is still in there because it coats the plug and I can see it working it's way up the threads of where the plug goes when trying to crank it with them removed...

Back to you

Thanks for everything thus far!

-Mike

 

[kustomkarl]

If it is dock side it is a different story than on the trailer. Keep the spark plugs on the grounding post to prevent more electrical problems. Keep turning the engine over till it stops spurting out any liquid. Only use the starter for like 10 seconds bursts. Let it cool down between the bursts so the starter won't over heat. When it seems like no more liquid scuirts out install fresh spark plugs, a little choke and let it rip...it should start up.
Keep us posted.

Karl

 

[mike2587]

After realizing a couple things, I'm thinking there is water in the engine because I started the hose before I tried starting it "not thinking". I tore off the exhaust just to the header so that there is no worry about water still backfeeding into the engine when I try to start it. I'm still having issues and maybe I'm just impatient and think that it should happen quicker than it has.

I'm not even getting any bit of attempt to fire when I put the plugs back in, but one cylinder is still kinda wet because when I pull the plug out of it, it's soaked. I've cranked and cranked and cranked with them out for the longest time (even draining the battery) and it still seems like there is a small residual amount of water in one cylinder perhaps being the problem. Is there anything else I can do? Anything at all?

-Mike

 

[seadoolover]

water in engine

Sometimes it takes minutes and sometimes it takes days.... depends on how much water is in there... my advice is to keep going with this for a little while longer... if you give up it's then an engine rebuild as internals rust and seize up and thats that. Also make sure you have a set of new plugs handy.. the "new" ones you put in only take a day to start corroding once they are wet with the water and this can cause problems with your spark. Keep cleaning them.. sandpaper does the trick. Also check they are sparking correctly whilst they are out of the engine.. it really can be a big job cranking and checking... cranking and checking... charging batteries... pulling out your hair!!:redface: Been there and done it.

 

[mike2587]

Hello again..

Well I went out there last night and did the plugs in crank, plugs out crank, plugs in crank, plugs out crank, etc... I'm still noticing one of the cylinders coming out with a funky liquid soaking the plugs and think it might be a combination of water and wd-40... I'm not sure how to get this crap water out, no matter how long I sit there and crank it the plugs still get coated and I can't tell if maybe I put in too much wd-40 causing it to still liquify up like it is or what... How much is too much wd-40? I can't even get it to attempt to fire...

-Mike

 

[seadoolover]

water...

ok give the wd a miss for awhile... then you'll know whether its that or water thats on your plugs.... now did you check that your plugs are indeed sparking?

 

[mike2587]

I did the other day, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check again... Is there any particular 'preferred' way of doing it?

 

[timmyboy76]

One at a time, I would. In evening, so you see spark better, but 1 plug in the boot, other boot on ground post, lay plug on head, hit button...visaversa

 

[seadoolover]

spark at plugs..

:agree: i agree with timmyboy. The spark should be nice and whitey/bluey... if it is an orangy colour change the plugs and try again... if they are still orangy in colour you may have an ignition issue.

 

[kustomkarl]

To get the bad boy to fire up quickly add a little injector oil to couple oz of fuel.Kinda like pre mix...use a straw ans put some in the cylinders. Hold the throttle wide open and crank it. It should fire. Fuel, air, spark is the key...If it doesn't run yet... check the plugs to be dry, pull the choke...throttle open...let it run for just a couple seconds rev it a couple times. Shut it down...than put it on the hose...remember my post?
Run it for a couple minutes but not longer than 5!

This works for me all the time.

Karl

 

[mike2587]

Hey there again...

Alright, so I checked for spark and of course there was none at all... I do know that I have checked before and it did, but now there's nothing. Instead of investing in a ton of extra parts that might not be needed, how should I handle this situation?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[derek]

go back to the basics. recheck everything. all connections, the 5 amp fuse in mpem, heck, all the fuses. especially the connector on front of engine. it carries spark trigger signal to the mpem.