Dave Witschger

We have a kawasaki 12f and lost the ignition key. The dealer was nice and gave us a 3016 key (Only one he had). Unfortunatley we need a 3018. popped the center cover off the key and it has 3 magnets and four holes inside.

We are currently in la Paz Mexico and the dealer said he can't get a new key for several weeks because of the holidays.

Does anyone know the correct position of the magnets for the 3018 key???

Thanks

shlbyntro

alright. heres what you have to do. i lost mine at lake powell once on my old 1100 stx. pretty much the same boat.

u pop the cap off like you said and pull the magnets out of your key.

you then place the magnets on top of the key pad on your jetski. theyre going to stick in the 3 positions on the jetski that have magnets underneath the plastic.

u then very carefully set ur open key on top of the magnets that are now sitting on top of the ski's megnetic key pad. (this can be very hard and you may be tempted to pick the magnets up off the magnetic key pad and put them inside the key. if you do this be extremely careful not to screw up or cross the orientation of the magnets as just one inside the key upside down or in the wrong position will cause it not to work).

then put your cap back on your key.

will be just as good as the correct key if you do it right

good luck!

Dave Witschger

Thanks. worked perfect
Dave

shlbyntro

glad to hear!

mgillie

I start my 1997 1100 STX by just turning the switch (without the magnetic key) because my key does not seem to be magnetic... it will not stay on the switch by itself. So why does the engine start if I do not have the magnetic key on the switch??

WYSIWYG

Hey Shlbyntro Mate you are a genius

I read your message after breaking our STX key and being told that had to buy a new one. A friend gave me an old one of theirs. We followed your advice and presto = new key and it was easy! Cheers

ggauvin

mgillie...
Your '97 does not have the same type of magnetized key.
The earlier Kawi's "magnetized" keys were simply a way to waterproof a simple on/off switch. Prior to about '94/'95 jetskis had no ignition switches at all. The first generation (including your '97) had only 1 magnet. The switches were simple in design. The magnet inside the switch only had to move enough to allow it to mechanically turn. They wore out (plastic parts). Many of them will turn by mere finger pressure, thus no magnet needed in the key, or in fact no key needed sometimes. Some owners deliberately modified the switch to remove the magnet since the removable key was a nuisance. Once worn out, or modified, you then simply turned the switch on by hand. Since all Kawi's had the same key, there was no particular "protection" feature anyway.