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2000 Polaris SLX 1200...NEED HELP...!!

18K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  fajkus1 
#1 ·
I'm having a little problem with my PWC....It runs fine from take-off and then about 20 seconds into full throttle it starts to die out.....acts like it not getting enough fuel....one thing is that I need a new battery.....the one that is on it now is deal....actually had to jump the PWC just to make it start.....so my question is it the weak battery causing this....or stator....or fuel pump....any help will be greatly appreciated thanks....
 
#2 ·
fajkus1 said:
I'm having a little problem with my PWC....It runs fine from take-off and then about 20 seconds into full throttle it starts to die out.....acts like it not getting enough fuel....one thing is that I need a new battery.....the one that is on it now is deal....actually had to jump the PWC just to make it start.....so my question is it the weak battery causing this....or stator....or fuel pump....any help will be greatly appreciated thanks
Would it be the gas tank vent?]
 
#3 ·
When the engine starts to die out, does the engine come back to life if you let up on the throttle? If so, it might be your fuel line...you may be getting a colapsed fuel line due to age. Check for any soft spots or tight curves in the line. Most of the time a colapsing fuel line is not detectable and unfortunately you just need to replace all the lines.
 
#5 ·
Good to see you over here JetskiMN!!! Welcome.
For those that don't know, JetskiMN is a Polaris fan with a lot of knowledge on the product. He's also friends with some heavy hitters in the Polaris world, so he has been, and still is, privy to some quality info. Awesome.

Fajkus1-
Have you tried this on "reserve" as well as "on" to see if it happens regardless of the fuel petcock position?
 
#6 ·
The Matrix said:
Good to see you over here JetskiMN!!! Welcome.
For those that don't know, JetskiMN is a Polaris fan with a lot of knowledge on the product. He's also friends with some heavy hitters in the Polaris world, so he has been, and still is, privy to some quality info. Awesome.

Fajkus1-
Have you tried this on "reserve" as well as "on" to see if it happens regardless of the fuel petcock position?

Well I had someone mention that....so I tried it....and nothing....so then I said I will just bypass it and run the fuel line from the tank straight to the fuel pump.....and still the same problem......I have also checked compression which was good....and spark....all was good with that......only thing it leaves is CDI or a bad fuel pump.......just don't know how to rule either one of them out....since I've already spent $500 and its still not running.....anyone know how to check the fuel pump......I pinched off the line going to the rear fuel pump and the Jetski still ran fine so that tells me that the front fuel pump is fine....but if I pinch off the front fuel pump then its not gonna get any fuel....so still in a lost as what to do next.....!!!
 
#7 ·
JetskiMN said:
When the engine starts to die out, does the engine come back to life if you let up on the throttle? If so, it might be your fuel line...you may be getting a colapsed fuel line due to age. Check for any soft spots or tight curves in the line. Most of the time a colapsing fuel line is not detectable and unfortunately you just need to replace all the lines.
Well the engine stalls out at half throttle....if I keep the throttle all the way down the Jetski will die....but if I start to pump on the throttle it will catch up with its self and start to run......but it only makes it to half throttle....and then stalls.....any ideas.....???
 
#8 ·
Dude if you clamped off the line to the rear fuel pump and the ski still ran fine I'd say you found your issue...See, on the domestic setup the front and rear carb have their own fuel pumps and the middle scavenges from those two...Clamping that meant your ski was not getting nearly enough fuel and it still ran fine...or it still did the sputter and die thing at half throttle?

I would pull the carbs off and take the fuel pumps apart and check for any internal issues...My guess is something wrong in the rear pump?

But it's just a guess...
 
#9 ·
Sirhc7897 said:
Dude if you clamped off the line to the rear fuel pump and the ski still ran fine I'd say you found your issue...See, on the domestic setup the front and rear carb have their own fuel pumps and the middle scavenges from those two...Clamping that meant your ski was not getting nearly enough fuel and it still ran fine...or it still did the sputter and die thing at half throttle?

I would pull the carbs off and take the fuel pumps apart and check for any internal issues...My guess is something wrong in the rear pump?

But it's just a guess...

Yes I clamped off the rear fuel pump....the one closiest to the water pump....and I ran it for almost 10 minutes and it never spit nor sputtered....I could rev it up fine.....but I was not doing this with the ski in the water....I had the flush out kit hooked up to it on land.....it seems like it runs better out of the water than in the water.....kinda strange......but I don't think what I did with clamping off the rear fuel pump solved anything....but now you know how I did it and I explained a little better...what do you think about it.....??
 
#10 ·
The engine will almost always rev more freely out of the water as there's no load on it...Hard to tell anything from that...

Clamping off the rear fuel line would in effect eliminate fuel flow to the rear carb and cut the flow to the middle carb in half...That said it ought to make your ski run like pure shit...If those are clamped (and you're risking leaning it out and blowing it up on the water running it very long at all like this) and it ran no different then it would be a safe bet that your problem resided there...IMO

It just sounds like a fuel starvation issue...Systematically work your way through the system...clogged fuel pickup, bad line somewhere, water in the fuel water / sep, fuel on/off switch beginning to mess up, bad fuel pump, bad pulse line, etc...
 
#11 ·
Sirhc7897 said:
The engine will almost always rev more freely out of the water as there's no load on it...Hard to tell anything from that...

Clamping off the rear fuel line would in effect eliminate fuel flow to the rear carb and cut the flow to the middle carb in half...That said it ought to make your ski run like pure shit...If those are clamped (and you're risking leaning it out and blowing it up on the water running it very long at all like this) and it ran no different then it would be a safe bet that your problem resided there...IMO

It just sounds like a fuel starvation issue...Systematically work your way through the system...clogged fuel pickup, bad line somewhere, water in the fuel water / sep, fuel on/off switch beginning to mess up, bad fuel pump, bad pulse line, etc...

Well I have replaced all fuel and pulse lines......on/off valve is bypassed.....still looking like its something in the fuel pump....!!!!!
 
#14 · (Edited)
The Matrix said:
Good to see you over here JetskiMN!!! Welcome.
For those that don't know, JetskiMN is a Polaris fan with a lot of knowledge on the product. He's also friends with some heavy hitters in the Polaris world, so he has been, and still is, privy to some quality info. Awesome.

Fajkus1-
Have you tried this on "reserve" as well as "on" to see if it happens regardless of the fuel petcock position?
Thanks Matrix for the welcome and nice comment! Good to see you guys over here as well...including Ph2ocraft, Sirhc7897 and TxPro1200. For those of you who don't know these 4 gentlemen yet, they are far more experienced and knowledgeable than most including me, so use them as much as possible!! See ya around the boards!
 
#18 ·
TxPro1200 said:
why don't you just load it up and bring it to me:dunno:

Well its not that I don't wanna bring it to you.....because I know we could figure it out....its just that I've sunk almost $400 in it and its still not running so I'm thinking I may just say the heck with it......its been sitting in the front yard for 2 weeks now.....but nobody has seen it yet......!!!! HAHA
 
#19 ·
charles32443 said:
don't know if this helps but i think i had the same problem(mine never died though), all it was is the bigger fuse in the cdi box. hope that helps, don't know much about these things just know what worked for me, lol.

You said you think you had the same problem....where would yours start to cut out at.....??? So was this fuse blown.....?? and you said it was in the cdi box.....actually I have never opened that box up since I've owned the ski.....guess it wouldn't hurt to look in it and maybe spray it with a little contact cleaner and check the fuses....??
 
#21 ·
mine would start to cut out as soon as i was going fast in a straight line, seemed like i can go full throttle while turning, then got worse and started to cut out when i slammed on the gas. Fuse was blown. don't know if its the same problem, but it only took like 10mins to check, worth a shot.
 
#22 ·
I will for sure check this 2morrow.....thanks for your help.....I'm hoping that this will fix the problem......its really making me think that this could be the problem because it all happen all of a sudden.....!!! Will let you know what I find out.....thanks
 
#23 ·
charles32443 said:
mine would start to cut out as soon as i was going fast in a straight line, seemed like i can go full throttle while turning, then got worse and started to cut out when i slammed on the gas. Fuse was blown. don't know if its the same problem, but it only took like 10mins to check, worth a shot.


Well I couldn't stand it so I had to go outside and see if something that simple was the problem and guess what......that doesn't look like the problem.....there was 2 fuses......checked both of them and all was good.....and for that to be the first time to have it open in 6 years.....it looks good in there......so I guess I will have to pull the carbs back of and inspect the fuel pumps......only thing is I have no idea how they operate......I understand I think that the diaphram is what pumps the gas.....??? so if its bad then that could be the problem.....only thing is I have no idea how to check the diaphrams.........maybe I need to do a little searching on here and see how to inspect the fuel pumps......thanks for the help again....maybe I will find the problem soon......!!!
 
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