[trinkevich]

I bought a 1986 Kawasaki 550 that had sat for 3 years. After new gas and battery, it started right up and I rode it 3 times. The last time I rode it for a long time in big waves and it took on some water (I think around the dryed out gasket around the hood), the motor seemed to have less power as I rode in but I could be wrong, ( I am still not good enough to drive it full speed yet.)

Now the motor is not turning over very well. After killing the battery because it was so hard to turn over, I took it home and recharged the battery. The next day I got it started for 30 seconds on the trailer. Then I tried to start it again and it drained the battery very quickly trying to turn the motor over.

What is causing the motor to be so tough to turn? What should I look at?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Tom

 

[Knightofwyte]

You might want to take a look at the starter and make sure the connections are clean. Sometimes after water gets in the hull it can begin to degrade the electrical connections, particularly at the starter. A bad connection there can prevent the engine from starting or just make it really difficult to crank due to the starter getting less power.