1994kawasaki

i am new to the forums and jet ski and this is my first post... my jet ski won't start once water enters the motor...i have to start it dry then turn the hose on for it to stay running....but if i stop in the ocean or i try to start it with the hose on it wont start....do i need a bigger starter or something? my battery is brand new and i hooked it to the charger just incase... help

1994kawasaki

.....anyone??

ggauvin

Maybe a bad head gasket... lets water into the cylinder and hydrolocks the engine. But if the engine is already running, then the water is "blown out" as fast as it leaks in. Does it hydrolock? Or does it spin over, but just fail to start?
Anyway, on-the-hose, you always Start engine, start water, stop water, stop engine. Do NOT run the hose with the engine stopped, as water backs up via the exhaust pipe and enters the engine.

1994kawasaki

it spins over but fails to start....how can i tell if its a head gasket?

ggauvin

You should pull the plugs and look at the plugtip, and down the hole... do both cyclinders look the same? Any sign of water? Then do a compression test... you didn't say what motor, but 750's usually run 120 - 175 psi.... but more important is that both holes are very close to the same reading. The question is whether water is actually entering the engine crankcase and/or combustion chambers, and interfering with normal start-up firing.

1994kawasaki

i just did the test and they are both at 150 almost the exact reading....as for looking down the holes they look fine now and are dry however that might be because i took all the water out of the engine bay..a few days ago they looked foamy....now what? is it entering the crankcase?

ggauvin

Foamy is not good. I would monitor the plugs/cyclinders for a few start attempts to see if the "foamy" re-appears. Compression is good... so head gasket is ruled out.
Some 750's have a crankcase drain. There is a "choke-like" knob on the engine or exhaust pipe. It opens a valve low on the engine (below the exhaust). If you have one, wait till you have a "no Start" problem, then crank the engine while pulling the knob, and look for water exiting the drain valve. Incidentally, these valves are known to fail, and create a crankcase leak... many owners remove the valve, and install a block-off plate.
Maybe it's not water at all. Maybe its just a hot-start issue. Weak stator windings, or ignition coils get weak or fail when warm. Then work better after cooling off. A weak coil might work well enough to keep running at normal engine speed, but fail to fire the plugs at cranking speeds when hot.
Anyway, I'm just guessing at this point. Good luck.

1994kawasaki

thanks a lot i'm pretty sure its your first guess for some reason i know that knob your talking about and pulled it and never seen water come out...i'm going to play with that a little bit right now. thanks again

1994kawasaki

i just started it again today and it started with no problem but lots of water shot out the back also....how do you remove that valve ? its a tight space and i really can't see..i want to install a block off plate

ggauvin

If you have average sized hands, and elbows that only bend one way, I've don't think you can put the block-off plate on while the engine is fully installed. At the least, I think you need to remove some exhaust pieces.
The "lots of water shot out the back" might be normal. Some water normally exits with the exhaust (these are water cooled exhaust machines). After shut-down, some water remains in the exhaust, but might get blown out with a few throttle "blips" upon start-up even if its on the trailer w/o any hose connection. A lot of guys routinely blow the water out just after retrieval on the trailer, so it doen't sit in there all during storage times.