91 550 Charging System Issues

[chixwithtrix]

Just picked up a 1991 550 and took it out for the first time. Battery fired it up fine, seemed lethargic when riding, but could be that it is just slow overall haha.

Lanyard popped out after about 15 minutes of riding, went to start it and it would, barely turn over, then clicked. Dead battery. Later charged the battery and fired up strong. I'm guessing stator, are there other parts I should be looking at being an issue?

 

[Quinc]

Download the manual and check the stator. I had one and the wire had come off the stator. Soldered it back on and was charging again.

 

[veedubs]

Make sure the battery is not your issue first. Many people ride all day with total loss without starting issues. You can test the charging system as outlined in the repair manual as piece of mind but, I’d rule out the battery first. Keep it simple.


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[chixwithtrix]

Definitely not the battery. Put a fresh one in there and took out on the lake. Rode even worse, started cutting in and out and finally died and wouldn't restart.

Got it back in the garage, took off the stator inspection plug and it was pressurized. Bad front seal letting in crankcase pressure?
Also throwing water out the inspection hole. So obviously I have at least a few issues haha. What bothers me is there isn't that much water in the hull to get into the front stator cover, where the heck is it coming from? Starter seal, front stator cover seal?

 

[veedubs]

The thing to remember with 550’s is that the newest one is from 1995. It’s going to need crank seals at minimum. They kind of snowball when you start tearing into them. The last two I’ve had have had stator/ CDI issues causing weak spark. Go through it step by step and see what you are working with. Your going to have to spend some time and money to have a reliable 550. It’s worth it though.


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[chixwithtrix]

It is kind of what I figured, I mean really what can you expect from a 27 year old ski. Not furious or surprised, a bit miffed it is going to take longer to start racing it. And I absolutely hate the diagnosis process. I honestly just want to replace everything, but that makes an expensive 550.

 

[_evan]

if the stator case was pressurized the crank seals are bad.

That's an old school trick to figure out if crank seals are bad.




also, https://www.ebay.com/itm/kawasaki-5...430419?hash=item25f7c14cd3:g:qO4AAOSwru9bDD78

 

[chixwithtrix]

That's pretty sweet, if I wasn't doing an IPD race graphics kit and repaint I go that way I love the old school graphics.

 

[_evan]

do yourself a favor and rebuild the motor with new pistons rings and seals and it will NEVER let you down again.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Ashley, first thing to check is the plug wires. Pull the caps off. (They unscrew). Take needle nose pliers and try and grab the wire strands and give a tug. See if any strands pull out, if they do, cut back the wires to the longest length then give a tug. if no wires pull out, go for a test ride. I had this happen with my old 91. I wish I had known about this trick. Learned about it after I had my SJ about 2 or 3 years when those wires started breaking down. Many times this happens and it will have you chasing down everyting under the sun. It is a quick 5 minutes check.

 

[chixwithtrix]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I know it is the charging system causing the main issue. TONS of water in the front cover, not good for electronics. Just haven't had time to take it off and test stuff n things.

 

[mbrick]

How's the reed 550SX coming along? I've got a mint 1992 and it's never let me down.
I just did a carb rebuild with OEM Keihin kit and it starts up like a dream now, first press of the button.

 

[chixwithtrix]

Terribly! I haven't had the time to even look at it. Probably this winter the way work is going.