[rhino_160]

hey all,
took the 1996 waveraider 700 in the lake today and here is what happened:

rode it about ten minutes, then it started to die. it NEVER spit or sputtered, just died. felt as if the kill switch key had been pulled.

when i try to restart it does one of the following everytime:
will start then just die or will continue to start and start and start but never crank over or lastly sometimes you can push the start button and all you hear is a clicking noise in the fuse box area (after pushing the start button about twenty times it will finally go back to trying to start and all the symptoms above start again)

we checked for spark on the plugs and both will fire. we poured gas directly into the carb and it will start up but when it burns out, it dies. checked all connections and they seemed fine.
please help guys, i am at a lost and can't afford $60 an hour at Yamaha. Thanks

 

[BamaDave]

Fuel filter full of water? Sounds fuel related, since it will run when you pour gas in the carbs. I hope you were adding oil to the gas that you poured in the carbs?

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

rebuild carbs
get a good battery
clean battery conections

 

[rhino_160]

update:

i hooked it up to the water hose and let it idle for 30 minutes and everyhing worked perfectly. i then took it back to the lake and it drove fine with just me for about 10 minutes. i then hooked up a rope and tube with one rider.
the exact second the ski tugged on the rope is when it shut off. it didn't drag not even a foot, just shut down. then it would not start back until several tries later, but only for a few seconds then died. any ideas?

also, battery is brand new(1 week old) and connections are clean

 

[bpann1]

check pulse hoses