Hi,
We have two Kawasaki jet skis; the 2003 ultra 130 (direct injected) and the 2005 ultra 150 (carbureted). Our ultra 130 has just clocked 90hrs and we haven’t had a problem with it, however our ultra 150 that we brought brand new (hadn’t been on the water) we have had the same unsolved problem with. When we first got it, we broke it in all correctly and it ran awesome. But after about 15ish hours into the skis life (its done 30hrs now) we started to have problems getting it started, the spark plugs seem to always get too wet for it to ignite. Our routine is to get the ski started on the trailer (while its cold) using the choke, then turn the choke off, put it in the water and not have to use the choke again that day. We do NOT use any acceleration at all to start it (as the oil ratio is around 1:145 compared to 1:45 with full acceleration) and we try to use minimal choke as possible to keep oil flow down. Seven out of ten times we will manage to get it going but it always takes awhile (having to pull the plugs out and dry them all the time). When the ski is going it runs fantastic, handles well, great acceleration and top speeds, its just getting it started is its only problem. When we do manage to get it going we can turn it off and start it up straight away fine but if it is left on the beach (off) for anymore than 10mins, it wont start again, as the same problem will occur. We have found that the plugs from the 1st and 3rd cylinders get a lot more wet than the middle cylinder. We have taken it to a few marine mechanics which have tried a few things. We have changed to hotter plugs (9 down to 8), where 9 is the manufactures recommendation. The hotter plug didn’t make much difference at all to the starting issue as it resulted in the same problem but when we did get it going the ski ran slightly better on the hotter plug (we have been warned that the hotter plug can blow a piston out very easily - which we obviously don’t want to do). We have had all the carbs and filters completely out, taken apart and thoroughly cleaned (where the carbs were apparently getting a bit fury). This too resulted in the ski running even better but did not stop to problem of the plugs getting wet when it comes to starting it. Another adjustment that has been made is the oil has been tweaked right down, right to the stage where we wouldn’t want to tweak it down any more. Of course once the marine mechanic had cleaned the carbs out and put new plugs in he started it up straight away, thought he had fixed the problem and off he went, where later on that night we took it out and the same problem occurred….we got it going straight away, had a good half our run on it (with out turning it off) but when we went to flush it out 10mins on the trailer down the road, it wouldn’t start again. We take good care of the ski, flushing it out every time after use in salt water (apart from the times we cannot get it started).. we spray it down with CRC after every use and we try leave the seat off to air it out as much as possible but the same problem still occurs. As I said before we can still get it going and it runs well but there is still days we take it to the beach or lake and don’t get it on the water…or do get it on the water and end up towing it back to the trailer. The times we cant get it flushed out after use (because we cant get it started) we have always managed to get it started and flushed out the next day after it has sat over night. I have looked on the net for problems with the same model ski but I haven’t found anything the same as our problem, I have seen people with wet plug problems but they also have problems with the ski when its running. I have also come across people on the net with a ultra 150 who, after each use, take the rocket cover off and soak everything with dw-40 as the ski is known to get very wet inside, due to condensation. This problem has got to the stage where its that annoying, we are thinking of selling the ski (which is hard because its such a great jetski).
Any ideas? ? any tips? ?
Has any one had the same problem with a Carbureted ski or perhaps even the Kawasaki Ultra 150?
Thanks for your time guys!!
