550's have intermittent spark

[danfox]

Just bought these two '86 550's. After attempting to start, plugs are always soaked. when I pull out the plugs and ground them to the head, only spark about every ten cranks or so. Pulled the flywheel cover off the one in which the starter sounded terrible, cover full of red dust. Need that special Kawasaki flywheel puller? Anyway, want to check the mag, right? The other contained some oil, but one of the starter bolts broke off so I'm having a little more trouble removing the casing. Is the mag my most likely problem? Rust or something preventing good pickup?
I know I need a book, just want to make sure these are even worth the trouble.
Good compression on the heads too.
Does the wiring in the electrical casing go bad? Should I pull it apart to see if there is any water leakage? Guess I should replace plug wires, which would require getting into the case anyway.

[danfox]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

I pulled the flywheels off and what I saw was truly ugly. On my ski with the bung starter, had a big pile of rusty dust in the cover and stator and mag completely covered with the stuff. In the other ski, mag and stator covered in oil and filth. Almost like someone tried to add oil in the cap on the flywheel cover. Why is that cap there anyway. So I sprayed it all down with brake parts cleaner and electrical contact cleaner. On both skis, the contact points on stator and mag are kinda scratched gouged and pitted. Should I reassemble cleaned or use some Scotch brite before reassembly? Doesn't it sound like I've found my problems? Guess I should test coils for continuity, to make sure there are no broken wires.:emoticonb

[1fastski.com]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

the cap is a inspection and air breather . if somone put oil in it that would really make a mess and you would loose spark .

[danfox]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

Thanks. Yeah, I think someone tried to "top it off".
Put the flywheel back on the red one and cranked it over. Good spark - fixed something. Almost thought it was running a few times. Hard to tell if there's a starter problem (not kicking out) or just trying to run real choppy. Guess I'll pull the plugs and see if it still does it. Seems like the battery doesn't last long when I crank it over a few times. Brand new excellent battery.

[danfox]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

Starting but not running - real choppy. Nothing like what it should sound like. Guess maybe I have a fuel issue now. Afraid to mess with the carb, but worried previous owner wasn't. Read that one thread about the stock settings. Cant find it now. Tried the priming suggestion by blowing through return line, look to see if there's that restrictor thingy. Guess I'll try the siphon susggestion on fuel line. I don't know what else to do, don't want to run lean and cause damage or damage carburetor somehow. Any suggestions?

[danfox]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

Someone made a post about a restrictor or aerator or something in the fuel line. Saw a pic showing something plumbed in. Wonder if I should track one of these down. Guess it would be visible in the parts diagram.
Took the skis to a boat mechanic this week. Gonna have him look at the carbs. Got new starters too. They will apparently have shims. Is there a backlash adjustment? Guess that's also what that inspection cap is for.
Still concerned about electrics on these too. Saw some CDI's on ebay. Are these inside the electrical casing?
Can anyone suggest a good sealant to give the bulkhead a lick and a promise (in case they ever make it into the water)?

[danfox]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

Would still like good some good sealant advice. 120 and 190 on compression on two cylinders, guess this would be a head gasket, but isn't 190 a lot? Bought a starter, doesn't have the bracket on the back end, is this a big deal? Someday I hope to be of help and answer questions rather than ask.

[daveseviltwin]

Re: 550's have intermittent spark

Wow you got problems...lol I am rebuilding my js650. And have noticed intermitent problems in mine but think mine is darn head gasket issue. If one of your cylinders has that big of a difference in pressure than the other. Theres your major issue. Time to pull the head and see whats up. Probably notice alot of stress on whats left of the gasket. Maybe some water as well. This will cause carb problems all across the rpm range. Hard start,no start. run rough, no or hesitant exceleration. and trying to tune the thing is nearly imposible as internal temps and pressure will always be changing. Get that done replace the other parts your working on. Yes electrical stuff is tricky as when cold it could work maybe not and when hot the stuff goes crazy. Check for grounding issues as poor grounds bad connections reak havoc on dc electrical systems. Good luck, Its worth it in the end.. All the yelling, Flat wallet, And tossing wrenches melt away when that puppy noses out of the water and gets up on that plane...:emoticonc