Another s.j. dilemma

[Irie1]

I have a year old sport-jet. About sometime in feb. on the snake in the hells. it developed a non firing attitude . since then(until afew weeks ago) it would take about 2 minutes of cranking . after doing a periodic maintnance check, I noticed that the main linkage wasn't returning to its home position on the stop screw. thus afew degrees off -time . I have maxed out all adjustments on the cable and it still doesn't return to home.
what gives?

thanks

Irie1 out

[TheRogue]

Hate to sound "holier than thou", but if it started while it was less than a year old................that's what warranties are for. If it continued to do the exact same thing after the warranty expired, and they had already documented the problem, it would (ok, should) still be covered.

As for your problem, can't tell ya there, but I bet there's someone here who can. Hence the reason for the reply, to bump back up to the top!! :grin: :grin:

kyle

[Pete]

Irie,
First things first ... Welcome aboard! Tradition, 'round these parts, is that we get to hear a fish story from you!

Now, as to the SJ ... I'm into my 4th year on mine. I haven't seen the linkage thing you describe, but I sure can relate to the long crank cycle. I can't explain it. I don't know what type boat you're running, but I have a theory with SJs. Most are encased in a "dog house" that doesn't have good ventillation. Condensation occurs at the top of the motor box and may affect the stator, the assembly that produces the charge to fire the motor. I replaced mine when it failed at about 2 years. I suggest popping the motor case open to let it breathe when you aren't using it, if that's an option, to help minimize condensation on the expensive electrical parts of the motor.

Tell us about how that SJ works in Hell.! :grin:

[WaterDog]

I can relate also to the long cranking. I call it a “cold blooded SOB”. Of course yesterday in the afternoon it fired right up on the first crank. Once it has run it starts easy.

Yeah give us some stories on running the snake. How does that SJ run those rapids? SJ owners want to know. :grin:

Oh and welcome aboard. :smile:

[TundraIII]

I can also relate to the long crank problem......anyway, when it starts taking forever to fire up I know its time to change the plugs. New plugs and it fires up right away. I change them twice a year. The boat supply shops sell a set of plugs for 30.00 bucks (I used to buy plugs from the "big rabbit" on T.V. highway) but I have since learned that Napa autoparts will sell me the same set of plugs for 20.00 bucks.

p.s. Pete, how many hours on your SJ when the stator went out? How expensive was it?

[Pete]

I had about 185 hours on the SJ when the stator went. My recollection was that it cost about 17 bazzillion dollars to fix it. But my memory is faulty ... it actually was $207 in parts and $120 labor.

It isn't clear that this was a condensation problem. Mercury maintains that it was not an avoidable problem, but because it was off warrantee it was my bill. I still believe it WAS avoidable and that condensation caused it.

[Irie1]

I am running a 20' alumaweld out of Heller bar. And yes, it is hella exhilarating. The boat handles well under full load. Sometimes with a light load though, it does cavitate with excess speed through the rapids. But I figure that problem is due to an excessive adrenalin disorder.The fishing there last fall through to late winter was phenomenal. My lures were beeing bumped anywhere from 15 to 30 times a day. Fish to boat ratio was 1 out of three, due to barbless regs. Some limits came with a quickness as opossed to an all day sight seeing, frustrating un-buttoning factor. Am looking forward to another banner year.
Back to the dilemma though,
warranty expd. so looks like I go it alone. I always keep clean and or new plugs. my guess is, due to our climate here, the condensation factor might be it. Maybe some rust around the stator or linkage. Another guess might be the cable, it has some extreme bend to it comming from under the floor to the motor. Thank you for the tips any other s.j. tips might prove to be helpfull.

Thanx Irie1

P.s. thanx springer4u

[fishing is life]

one thing ive learned to do on my sj is to turn the key and push it in for 15-20 seconds to get gas up to the motor. after 20 seconds i fire and it usually fires right away. i dont know if this helps anybody, but hopefully it does.

[WaterDog]

Fishing is life:

Maybe it depends on the year, but the sj I have (2001) has no manual choke. It is automatic. My last outboard you needed to choke it by pushing the key in for a bit. I can push the key in on my SJ but it doesnt do anything. It’s supposed to be a “turn key start” and auto idle like you car. :rolleyes:

Boy I would love to run the snake just once in my own boat. :cool:

[Irie1]

After I return all linkages to there home positions it does do the turnkey thing in about three cranks

[Fish Hunter]

I have found what Tundra III is true for me about the plugs. Warm starts are fine, but cold starts are tougher.
When the plugs are fresh and I follow the starting procedure (dealer showed me this) it starts quickly. Still not allways perfect though. It is a two stroke. :rolleyes:
What I mean about starting procedure:
Put the throttle at minimun before you touch the key. If you move the throttle when starting the TKS module will turn your elect. choke off. Turn the key to On and push it in for the choke. Stop pushing and then turn to start.

I noticed in the shop manual a way to choke manually in case of a failure, will look for it again for specifics if that would help you test things out.