11 replies to this topic

[BoomerFL]

Boat ran top notch all day cruising around on a 1/2 tank of new gas.

I forgot to keep an eye on the gas gauge until the engine started sputtering at WOT and we were about 2 lakes away from the ramp.

Once I felt the engine start sputtering, I reduced throttle to idle and the sputtering stopped, but the engine idled rough.
I gave it a little more throttle to about 3000 RPM's and engine smoothed out. We crawled back to the ramp without stopping and took about 20 minutes running at 3000 RPM's on fumes with no stopping or sputtering occuring.

Once I got to the ramp, I put some new gas in and went to ride some more but the rough idling continued and the engine won't throttle up past 4500 RPM's. I had no engine or tempature warning lights come on.

Not sure what could happen to the engine from running on fumes? Any idea's on what to check?
Maybe fouled sparkplugs, clogged fuel filter, drone mode?

Any help will be appreciated before I bring it in to a mechanic?

Thanks..

[Dale180se]

Boat ran top notch all day cruising around on a 1/2 tank of new gas.

I forgot to keep an eye on the gas gauge until the engine started sputtering at WOT and we were about 2 lakes away from the ramp.

Once I felt the engine start sputtering, I reduced throttle to idle and the sputtering stopped, but the engine idled rough.
I gave it a little more throttle to about 3000 RPM's and engine smoothed out. We crawled back to the ramp without stopping and took about 20 minutes running at 3000 RPM's on fumes with no stopping or sputtering occuring.

Once I got to the ramp, I put some new gas in and went to ride some more but the rough idling continued and the engine won't throttle up past 4500 RPM's. I had no engine or tempature warning lights come on.

Not sure what could happen to the engine from running on fumes? Any idea's on what to check?
Maybe fouled sparkplugs, clogged fuel filter, drone mode?

Any help will be appreciated before I bring it in to a mechanic?

Thanks..

Maybe water finally got in the fuel lines from running the tank so low. Condensation builds up in the tank when not full all the time. hot/cold. Or maybe you pluged your fuel filter from sucking up crap from the bottom of your tank. You might think crap doesent get in to the tank but you be surprised after 4yrs. How long did you drive the DOO after you put gas in it?

[BoomerFL]

Maybe water finally got in the fuel lines from running the tank so low. Condensation builds up in the tank when not full all the time. hot/cold. Or maybe you pluged your fuel filter from sucking up crap from the bottom of your tank. You might think crap doesent get in to the tank but you be surprised after 4yrs. How long did you drive the DOO after you put gas in it?

After filling up I ran the doo for about 20 minutes between idle and 4500 RPM..

I was nervous to push it any longer because it was running rough and won't go over 4500 RPM
at WOT. After I shut it off i noticed white smoke coming out off the exhaust. Haven't started it since.

If I did injest water from the fuel lines or sucked the crap from the bottom of the tank during the 20 minute ride to get me to the ramp. What is the solution and/or worst case scenerio. Did I do some internal enigine damage?

[Dale180se]

After filling up I ran the doo for about 20 minutes between idle and 4500 RPM..

I was nervous to push it any longer because it was running rough and won't go over 4500 RPM
at WOT. After I shut it off i noticed white smoke coming out off the exhaust. Haven't started it since.

If I did injest water from the fuel lines or sucked the crap from the bottom of the tank during the 20 minute ride to get me to the ramp. What is the solution and/or worst case scenerio. Did I do some internal enigine damage?

I would think the water would pass thought in 20mins But how knows? I dont think you did any damage. Dont get worried yet! Pull the spark plugs out and check for spark or even better get some new ones NGK DCPR8E try that first. Then run it with a hose. Im thinking now that it might be the problem. Hope this helps. Im jealous that you still get to ride! Got to winterize mine soon it was 30f/-2C last night.

[Dinkum]

I assume the problem was resolved? It amazing what finds it way into the tank. The mention of possible water condensation bought to mind the fact that in September of 2008, it was all over the news in Australia that water was being added to fuel as a result of high prices and dodgy service stations ripping people off. Another problem that also popped into mind was a failing ignition system or something as simple as routine maintenance of the ignition system or plugs. You'd be surprised too that leads can also break down, even after only four years. I've seen jet ski spark plug caps lose continuity and only operate at higher revs when spark power is optimal. They are also difficult to start or run rough when it gets worse. Just don't go anywhere away off-shore while your not confident it's 100% ok.

Difficult to say with seeing it, I'd be looking at the more simple solutions before employing a mechanic thats would like to dip his fingers into your wallet as some do.

Worst case senario... you jealous next door nieghbour hates the fact you own a Sea Doo and put sugar in your tank. Try not to rev it in the driveway maybe ;-) Safe boating.

[BoomerFL]

Problem not resolved!

I pump all the old/bad gas out about 3 gallons and refillled it with fresh gas.

Replaced all 3 plugs with new ones (cyclinder 1 plug was pretty fouled, old plugs had about 30 hrs on them)
and put her on the hose to test.

Engine started right up but still idled rough between 1500 - 2000 RPM's. When reved engine white smoke comes out of exhaust more than normal and if put in gear and give gas engine stalls, more white smoke.

Engine restarts with no problem, repeated above step and engine stalls again. More white smoke again had it on the hose for a total of 5 minutes. No engine knocking is heard while idling, or check engine lights on, or beeping warnings.

I pulled the plugs right after and noticed that cyclinder one plug had oil on it and the other 2 were clean? Why would oil be on the #1 plug?

I checked the oil and it's not milky. I checked for other oil leaks around the head and found none.
Could I have a bad fuel injector or clogged gas tank filter or worse engine damage? At the point to take to mechanic

[Dinkum]

Hello BoomerFL. I'm unsure if the conditions where you live get cold and if you have ever reved the engine without a pre-run. I am also unaware if you have any warranty on your boat, but assuming you don't. If anyone has warranty on their boats, don't touch it. Take it to an authorized service center.

I'm no mechanic so please don't take my ideals as anything close to it. I do have enough basic engine knowledge to look at, diag and fix myself if I had to. You've located the pot that is giving problems and oil in it, fouling up the plug sounds bad enough that a qualified person needs to repair it. I doubt that a valve seal could have come loose so the more likely scenarios are that you may have a cracked oil ring or the head was not properly tentioned in the factory and the head gasket is blown near where oil ports are (better than a cracked ring). A blown head gasket does not always mean that water is going to contamitnate the oil (milky oil). At worst, you'll be up for a new gasket replacement or worse again, a cylinder sleave replacement and a complete hone and re-ring to keep the compression even throughout the engine. These are only scenarios and cannot be justified without someone actually looking at it with the proper compression testing and so on. If you have a compression tester, you will notice a slight drop in compression on number one if there are problems there. Otherwise, if it shows no drop, then (if it were cracked oil ring not scoring the cylinder wall and the compression ring will hide it) pressurized oil could be entering the pot via a blown head gasket and will not really show a drop in compression. Try that anyway and cross your fingers it's only a gasket issue when a mechanic looks at it for you.

Good luck.

Edit: I'm unsure what engine you are running, but assuming it's a 1503 block maybe. Here is an explode diagram of one in case you need to put it back together :-) Just kidding!

[BoomerFL]

Hi Dinkum... I'm in Orlando, FL (temp was 80 degree's) and my B.E.S.T warranty just expired in Sept. 08'

I have the 1503 NA engine. New Plugs, Oil/Filter change, Coolant flush, and wear ring replacement was done at 60hrs by myself. The boat has almost 100hrs.

This issue is over my ability, so it looks like it's time for the mechanic to dip into my wallet..

I'm not very happy with the authorize service dealers here in Orlando, so since I have no more warranty, I'll try to find a reputable Seadoo Mechanic somewhere. I am still a little baffled how the engine got so damaged by running out of gas and idling back to the dock on fumes and gunk from the bottom of the tank. I guess the slightest amount of water/gunk in the gas really messed things up..

I referrred to the Shop Manual for my boat and it has nothing about head gasket replacement under the engine management chapter, but it has alot about sensors and needing B.U.D.S computer software to hook-up to the ECM for fuel pump filter replacement and sensors troubleshooting.

Hopefully, a head gasket replacement doesn't involve anything with the ECM $$$. If it wasn't for the oil on the #1 plug and white smoke. I would still think it is a bad fuel injector and/or clooged fuel pump from he bad gas...

Thanks for your help, I'll keep everyone posted on what I DOO..

[Dinkum]

Your welcome. So you have a 2006 1503 NA engine, though there were 2 editions of that motor. I don't any engine manuals but will do soon. The Explode diagram does not show much detail however you may like to look at the online BRP PARTS CATALOGS which gives you a little more detail, but unlike a proper service manual, does not give assembly specs such as fastening torque settings etc. It is a useful guide to ordering the correct parts for anyone with a home workshop and I got a bit lucky in that respect over the years.

Looking closely at the block, I see the oil port on these are a long way from the cylinder #1 and also seperated by the liquid coolant jacket and then there is of course the rings, but lets not assume the worst yet until the repair bill hits. The only place where it would really be slightly possible to ingest oil is from the cylinder area closest to the timing chain (look at the 'engine block' in BRP parts catalog). It is unlikely that any possible bit of water from the tank would do damage unless moisture was sitting in there for the off-season. Winterization of the engine is not overly required due to a lack of condensation your climate would produce, but people do this anyway as general care and be sure as I would. Other fuel system contaminates are filtered anyway so unless your filter medium was broken, eliminate that idea. This problem sounds like it could have been there for a short while, perhaps the entire day you were on the water even and was not evident until the plug began to foul up with oil causing your idle to be rough. If I were you I'd really be eager to get the compression test done, because a simple diagnosis would certailty prepare you to throw your wallet at the mechanic littlerally. I have a good tester in my garage ;-) (Australia lol)

I'm really sorry to hear or problems though and sincerely hope your engine woes are only somewhat minor. Yes, also please write back to us as I'm also eager to find out what went wrong so everyone can learn from it.

[keviseeb]

BoomerFL, The first thing to do is check the compression. If you have a problem with that one cylinder it will show up there. For normally aspirated we like to see 185 PSI, for SCIC engines 125 PSI. Assuming that checks out ok then I suggest you take your boat to a dealer not to get it fixed but to run a FULL B.U.D.S. report for you. Make sure it is the full report (tell them to check all the boxes). If there have been any sensor faults or throttle positioning problems it will show up in the report. Also the minimum and maximum temps will be available. There will be the list of the last minute of run time by 1/2 second intervals as well. It takes about 15 minutes to hook one up and print it but I suspect you'll have to pay for one hour. It HAS to be a Sea Doo sport boat dealer, theoretically a PWC dealer can't read a sport boat's computer. It may not help but there is nothing like being armed with the most amount of info possible to help with diagnostics. Don't worry about having to reprogram the ECM, that only has to be done if the ECM is replaced or the throttle position sensors are changed out. Let me know if you have any specific questions, we'll be glad to help.

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

[keviseeb]

BoomerFL, I forgot to mention that the fuel pickup is very close to the bottom of the tank. The filter is just a screen at the bottom of the baffle pickup tube. The good news is that you discovered the water! If you are using Ethanol blend fuel it is a good idea to always keep your tank full and use an enzyme based fuel stabilizer year round to help reduce phase separation and water absorption.

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

[tomandjojo]

Hi
I'm new to the Sportster and have a 2002 le model. I was doing my first real trial and also could only get 4500 RPM's. Turned out that the problem was as simple as one of the plug wires was faulty. Runs like a champ now.
Hope yours ould be this simple.