Turned motor off before the water hose like an IDIOT

[Medic7857]

Hey guys, I am very new to the pwc world, well really the boating world in general. So I was told very specific instructions on how to flush my GTI SE 130....well I got to talking while I was doing so, and spaced out. Needless to say I turned the motor off before the water hose. I realized it as soon as it happened and ran over and turned off the hose. I fired the motor back up right away (which in hind-sight could have been a stupid move) and flushed all the water out. I called a few dealerships (because one word of good news wasn't enough peace of mind apparently) and they all said that if the motor fired up and ran right away with no hiccups, then it should be fine. They also said that, while there is no set time, the short time I left the hose on shouldn't have been enough to fill the motor up. They ALSO said that if there was water in the motor, that it would have hydro locked as soon as I turned it over. So, because I was obsessing over it...I turned the ski back on, with no water this time and let it idle a little while and let it run more water out. Well while doing this the ski beeped and the oil light came on. I assumed that this meant my time was up for running it dry. I turned it off. I guess my big question is, will that check engine light turn off once everything has cooled down completely? Is the check engine light normal for running out of water? Or did I turn no problem into a problem?

 

[Michael211_2000]

You need to read your bloody owner's manual!

You are NOT supposed to let it run dry either, the exhaust system heats up quickly without water and things start to melt! 15 seconds without cooling water flow is about the limit, after that you're playing Russian Roulette with the machine.

At this point all you can do is put it in a body of water and putter around for a bit and see if it works correctly or not.... if the light comes on or anything doesn't do right, then you'll know you did damage $$$$$. Or you can go ahead and pull it to your nearest dealership, tell them EVERYTHING you just did, and pay them to check it over completely $$$$$.

Good luck. Read the OWNER's MANUAL... cover to cover this time!

- Michael

 

[Medic7857]

You need to read your bloody owner's manual!

You are NOT supposed to let it run dry either, the exhaust system heats up quickly without water and things start to melt! 15 seconds without cooling water flow is about the limit, after that you're playing Russian Roulette with the machine.

At this point all you can do is put it in a body of water and putter around for a bit and see if it works correctly or not.... if the light comes on or anything doesn't do right, then you'll know you did damage $$$$$. Or you can go ahead and pull it to your nearest dealership, tell them EVERYTHING you just did, and pay them to check it over completely $$$$$.

Good luck. Read the OWNER's MANUAL... cover to cover this time!

- Michael

While I'm not sure how to take the tone of your reply, I do appreciate the advice. It could have been a costly mistake now that I have done some research, but thankfully I pulled out unharmed. Put it in the water let it idle a few seconds and the light shut off right away. No problems. I will most definitely read the manual, this is a whole new game for me and I have a lot to learn.

 

[red2blue]

Don't sweat Michael. He means well...consider it some good natured chiding.

 

[Michael211_2000]

LOL! My tone here was "I cannot believe he did that... and then he did THAT too!". LOL!

You went from 1 extreme possibly VERY costly mistake, to the other extreme possibly VERY costly mistake. That your machine didn't suffer any damage amazes me. You need to go bet on some ponies my friend, you are LUCKY!

Again though read the owner's manual this is covered as well as other important information to help keep you running in good shape.... there are plenty of ways to really screw up these watercraft. You found 2 ways so far. Possibly 3 ways even since you started it not knowing if you had water in the cyclinders or not. LOL!

ps. In the future if for any reason you think you may have gotten water inside the cylinders, do not start the engine... it can hydrolock and bend a connecting rod if there's water in a cylinder. Pull the spark plugs out and spin the engine to blow out any water that might be in the cylinder's 1st! This is very important. Also don't "space out" while getting ready to launch it at the boat ramp and forget to put the drain plugs in... more than a few PWC owners come on here every summer having sunk their watercraft because they left the drain cocks open.

pps. Go to Walmart or Home Depot or Lowe's or somewhere, get those brass quick-connect fittings and an on/off water valve for the end of your waterhose... makes it oh so much easier to hook up a waterhose to the flush port on the pump, and you then have on/off water control right there at the stern of the watercraft instead of running for a waterfaucet. Leave the quick-connect nipple on the flush port permanently.

Regards!

- Michael

 

[chucked]

You will be fine, it takes more then a few seconds for the exhaust to fill up

 

[Wenier]

If you read the manual youll see it states that you also shouldnt run the engine for longer than 30 secs without water on and you also shouldnt run it longer than 5mins total on the hose as the hose can only cool certain areas (other parts also require cooling which only happens when the pump is in the water).

Hope that helps a little. I found today that the aluminium rivets that hold the fuel tank down have come adrift in mine.

 

[Medic7857]

LOL! My tone here was "I cannot believe he did that... and then he did THAT too!". LOL!

You went from 1 extreme possibly VERY costly mistake, to the other extreme possibly VERY costly mistake. That your machine didn't suffer any damage amazes me. You need to go bet on some ponies my friend, you are LUCKY!

Again though read the owner's manual this is covered as well as other important information to help keep you running in good shape.... there are plenty of ways to really screw up these watercraft. You found 2 ways so far. Possibly 3 ways even since you started it not knowing if you had water in the cyclinders or not. LOL!

ps. In the future if for any reason you think you may have gotten water inside the cylinders, do not start the engine... it can hydrolock and bend a connecting rod if there's water in a cylinder. Pull the spark plugs out and spin the engine to blow out any water that might be in the cylinder's 1st! This is very important. Also don't "space out" while getting ready to launch it at the boat ramp and forget to put the drain plugs in... more than a few PWC owners come on here every summer having sunk their watercraft because they left the drain cocks open.

pps. Go to Walmart or Home Depot or Lowe's or somewhere, get those brass quick-connect fittings and an on/off water valve for the end of your waterhose... makes it oh so much easier to hook up a waterhose to the flush port on the pump, and you then have on/off water control right there at the stern of the watercraft instead of running for a waterfaucet. Leave the quick-connect nipple on the flush port permanently.

Regards!

- Michael

Thanks a lot! I appreciate every bit of help I can get. I have been reading, and even watching videos since this event. I don't want to be "that" guy that sinks 10k into the lake...literally.