Lost spark while just cruising....

[Idok]

so, were out at the inlet this past sunday....semi knarly conditions, one of those days when you are thinking to yourself "man, glad my boats' runnin' good today.....glad we dont have any tow-in's...)

5 mins later


my boat just shuts down...very abruptly, and out of the middle of nowhere....



so, after a slightly hairy tow to the beach and some muscle work we got the boat back on the trailer (btw, big props to butti for going back to the ramp 2+ miles, and bringing me all my stuff.....:woot: )







get her home, and she's got no spark.....


Here's what Ive tried:
different s/s switch--nothing
swapped out MSD for another--nothing
swapped out 2nd MSD for a stocker--nothing
changed coil--nothing

the inside of the E box was absolutely perfect...bone dry, no salt, no signs of water intrusion.....


Butt and motosurfer came over last nighht and they ohmed out the stator for me.........

I believe the greens tested out to 1.5 ohms....same as another stator I had sittnig on the bench.....



Ive just never had such an ignition failure when the boat was actually running, and running like a champ none the less.......


so, as of right now I have a ski that has yet to be flushed.....that was towed it and defintalty took in some water.....ive been turning it over 2-3 times a day and of course filled it with a bunch of pre-mix and straight oil....This no spark thing is really getting in the way of my de-foam project as I dont want to pull the motor until I get her running again!



Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Big Kahuna]

bad connection where start stop plugs into the electrical box......... also, check the wires going through the grommets into the electrical box, I had this happen last spring, it was giving me intermittent spark.......... wiggle the wires where they go in, you may can feel a break right where it goes through the rubber.

 

[Idok]

i will wire jiggle tonite.....the s/s switch though is no more than a month old...I just got it from legdrag.....

 

[sflsurfrider]

sounds stator related. the resistance of the green wires has very little to do w/ spark.

also, check the grounds in the box.... and not just visually. i had a bad ground in my ebox a few months back that wound up being a broken wire. the wire 'looked' fine, but the conductor was broken underneath the intact insulation.

 

[SkiDaddy]

Maybe just switch the entire electrical system w/a running one (I know you have the parts/can borrow) one section at a time (e-box, stator assy, s/s switch) until it runs & you can isolate where the problem is. At least you could run it in the pond for 20 minutes to chase the rust away....:cat40:

 

[RoyalFlush@PCB]

It must be some karma with that particular ski. When I first put it together, I only got about three or four rides in and the bendix bushing in the case broke which caused the bendix to be misaligned, therefore the ski would not start. I ended up taking the motor out and tearing it down so I wouldn't lose the crank.

 

[Idok]

It must be some karma with that particular ski. When I first put it together, I only got about three or four rides in and the bendix bushing in the case broke which caused the bendix to be misaligned, therefore the ski would not start. I ended up taking the motor out and tearing it down so I wouldn't lose the crank.

lol.....ive had this motor/electircs combo going now since august....been perfect, not even so much as a hiccup or fouled plug.....

before that, I ran it from the previous january with no problems.......





I will mess a little more with the electrics tonite, but I think if I cant get it fixed by tomorrow night Ill just pull all the electrics and replace for the sake of running the motor on monday.....


I will go and look for broken wires inside the conduit in the ebox, but is there any specific wire I need to look at?

im guessing I dont need to mess with the regulator...nor the solenoid...right?

btw, im no good with a meter...........I usually fix ski's by swapping parts :boggled:

 

[SkiDaddy]

I had the wire break where it went into the stator winding - it had been just barely hanging on apparently...

Given your ability with a meter, you might want to consider boxing the whole electrical system up & shipping it to Jet Ski Solutions & letting John diagnose/fix things.:burnout:

 

[Idok]

I had the wire break where it went into the stator winding - it had been just barely hanging on apparently...

Given your ability with a meter, you might want to consider boxing the whole electrical system up & shipping it to Jet Ski Solutions & letting John diagnose/fix things.:burnout:

i wondered if maybe somehow the edge of the flywheel nicked one of those wires....would be pretty uncommon, but I could see it happening......


who needs JSS....I got MOTOSURFER!


appreciate all the offeres on the parts homies....I should have everything needed though.......dont forget your talking with an OG parts whore :cool2:

 

[RMBC Freeride]

Do you still have the overheat sensor connected and running to the head? If so,... good. If not, the only ground connected to the e-box is the one in the stator harness. if that gets broken or corroded, then no sparky.

If you dont have the overheat sensor in place, run an extra ground from the blok or battery directly to the e-box mounting tab. And see if you have spark? Easy test.

Oh, and get that thing fixed & at least keep it running until Saturday the 9th when I come to visit!!!! :fingersx: :fingersx: :fingersx:

 

[RMBC Freeride]

Hey, some ppl swear by them for safetys sake and some throw them in the trash immediately (or when they get an aftermarket head). I was just covering all bases...





Mine go in the trash.

 

[Idok]

no overheat sensors.......they are for sissies!

 

[RMBC Freeride]

Agreed....Now go try my fix!!!!

 

[Idok]

Agreed....Now go try my fix!!!!

ill try it as soon as I get home!!!

never heard/thought of that before.........nice tip




Ill might have to work sat the 9th, but I told butti you were going to be in town and wanted to ride his conversion.......
I replaced the bendy in my square the other night as well...so that one is up and running so no worries...

 

[Rickster]

check the wires going through the grommets into the electrical box, I had this happen last spring, it was giving me intermittent spark..........

Yep, happened to me also. Running at WOT and the ski just shut down.:skull2:

 

[Rickster]

Do you still have the overheat sensor connected and running to the head? If so,... good. If not, the only ground connected to the e-box is the one in the stator harness. if that gets broken or corroded, then no sparky.

Yep, had that happen also.... :skull2:

I hate electrical gremlins...:frown:

 

[Idok]

Yep, happened to me also. Running at WOT and the ski just shut down.:skull2:

so what was it?

 

[Rickster]

The wires from the kill switch had a break right at the rubber grommet going into the electrical box.

 

[WAB]

I think you may have a loose nut behind the wheel! uttahere:

 

[sflsurfrider]

Do you still have the overheat sensor connected and running to the head? If so,... good. If not, the only ground connected to the e-box is the one in the stator harness. if that gets broken or corroded, then no sparky.

the overheat sensor isnt grounded to the head.