chuck743

I have an 1100 zxi that is giving me a fit. Little hard to start from a cold start, have to choke a little, play with the trottle a little, but once it get going, it fine. You can kill the engine at it will start right back up.
NOW here's the problem.

After being on the water and riding for a little while, say 30 minutes. And we dock somewhere for say 10 minutes and kill the engine. It does not want to start back up. You have to crank and choke and crank and choke and after about 10 minutes of cranking off and on, it will finally start. But when it finally does kick over, any gas you give it will kill it. So when it does kick over, I have to let it idle for a minute, then feather the throttle for about 20 seconds before it will take off like nothing was ever wrong.

One friend suggested vapor lock, another weak fuel pump. But as I said, it only give me real problems out on the water after it's been running for a little while and then sits for 10 minutes or so. Can someone help me diagnose the problem?

Texan78

Sounds like you need to clean the carbs...

GCwaverunner

It would be good to clean the carbs out. The reason this happens is because when it is sitting after you have been riding it, the engine actually heats up for a while vaporising any fuel in the inlet. So it is like doing a cold start again. Once you do get it started, you must idle for a while to let the fuel pressure build up. If you grab the throttle to early, it can back fire and blow holes in the check valves and anti syphon valves inside the carbs. This can lead to engine failure eventually. I would install a primer kit to the ski to make it easier to start. However, you must always let fuel pressure build up.

glockm22

Check and see if you may have any air leaks also.

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chuck743

OK, I'll pull the carb and give it a good cleaning,
GCwaverunner. Could you break it down for me a little more. I'm rather new at PWC.
Would I get a primer kit from Kawasaki specific to the make and model, or is that something I would just install inline of the fuel line?
Is not pumping the throttle the same as priming? When I pump the trottle I can hear fuel squirt into the carb.

And finally, you said "you must always let fuel pressure build up" can you elobarate on that statement. Are you reffering to when it does finally kick over and idle, I should always let it idle a minute before giving it the trottle?

Thanks for the replies all, this is helping.

GCwaverunner

Yes, idle for a little while before grabbing the throttle (you can half choke it with 1/4 throttle to speed up the process). Primer kits are generic. You can buy brass fittings to insert where the choke butterfly shaft goes, and other people leave the choke on and drill a hole somewhere in the body of the carb and install it that way. Other people like to install it on the airbox squirting into the carb. My preference is to leave the choke connected. The fuel you can hear squirting is from the accelerator pump. This is fine however you must crank the engine for a fair while to bring the fuel through the carbs and then to the accelerator pump which drains battery power. If you install the primer pick up close to the fuel sender, you are able to pump fuel much quicker and without flattening the battery.