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Hi,
I am new to PWCs, having acquired an '94 Yamaha Waverunner III last month. Having been bitten, we then purchased a '97 Polaris SLT 780 last week. The Polaris is relatively unused for a 97 with only 84 hours on it when we bought it. I presume it had been unused this year, since its tag expired on 3/31/06.
Last Monday (8/7), we picked it up, checked oil, put in 12 gallons of gas and went out on the lake. It was hard starting and once it finally started, it ran poorly. The only analogy that I have is with model airplane engines. With those engines, it was recommended that you start them up overly rich so that they would run "4 cycle", which is a pretty good description of how the Polaris ran. After a minute or two of running, it would run normal for a second and revert to the 4 cycle, with the periods of normal running increasing to the point where after 15 or so minutes, it would run well consistenly. Once warmed up, it seemed to have good throttle response, both idle to WOT and midrange to WOT. At the end of that first day, I chalked it up to old gas that we thinned out and ran through.
We then went out Sunday (8/13). I topped off the tank with just shy of 7 gallons before we went. We put it in the water and began to try to start it. It started very hard again and ran the same as the first time. Once it was warmed up, it ran fine through enough gas to light the low fuel light. I wasn't ready to go, so I tied it to the Shuttlecraft and hung around for about a half hour. I docked it into the Shuttlecraft and went to start it and it started hard and ran like it was cold again.
Compared to the Yamaha, which had issues with the kill switch, it does not start instantly. The Yamaha will start the instant you touch the start switch, where the Polaris, when warm, will crank for 1 to 2 seconds. The warm start time may not be a big deal, but then again, I don't know.
My initial inclination would be to try to adjust the mixture settings, but I don't want to monkey around with them if there is a more obvious place to look first. Anyone have any ideas of where I should start looking?
Also, I was looking around the SBT forum and it listed stock settings for various models (http://server1.sbtontheweb.com/forum...ad.php?t=13981). It lists the settings for a 1996 SLT 780 (SLT780 - Low Speed – 1-3/8; High Speed – 1-1/8m, 7/8c, 1-1/4p) and settings for a 1997 780 (780 - Low Speed – 1-1/4; High Speed – 1/8), but not a 1997 SLT 780. Does anyone know if either of these would be correct for my model or would the settings be something else entirely?
I appreciate any insight that anyone can shed on this.
Thanks,
Dale
I am new to PWCs, having acquired an '94 Yamaha Waverunner III last month. Having been bitten, we then purchased a '97 Polaris SLT 780 last week. The Polaris is relatively unused for a 97 with only 84 hours on it when we bought it. I presume it had been unused this year, since its tag expired on 3/31/06.
Last Monday (8/7), we picked it up, checked oil, put in 12 gallons of gas and went out on the lake. It was hard starting and once it finally started, it ran poorly. The only analogy that I have is with model airplane engines. With those engines, it was recommended that you start them up overly rich so that they would run "4 cycle", which is a pretty good description of how the Polaris ran. After a minute or two of running, it would run normal for a second and revert to the 4 cycle, with the periods of normal running increasing to the point where after 15 or so minutes, it would run well consistenly. Once warmed up, it seemed to have good throttle response, both idle to WOT and midrange to WOT. At the end of that first day, I chalked it up to old gas that we thinned out and ran through.
We then went out Sunday (8/13). I topped off the tank with just shy of 7 gallons before we went. We put it in the water and began to try to start it. It started very hard again and ran the same as the first time. Once it was warmed up, it ran fine through enough gas to light the low fuel light. I wasn't ready to go, so I tied it to the Shuttlecraft and hung around for about a half hour. I docked it into the Shuttlecraft and went to start it and it started hard and ran like it was cold again.
Compared to the Yamaha, which had issues with the kill switch, it does not start instantly. The Yamaha will start the instant you touch the start switch, where the Polaris, when warm, will crank for 1 to 2 seconds. The warm start time may not be a big deal, but then again, I don't know.
My initial inclination would be to try to adjust the mixture settings, but I don't want to monkey around with them if there is a more obvious place to look first. Anyone have any ideas of where I should start looking?
Also, I was looking around the SBT forum and it listed stock settings for various models (http://server1.sbtontheweb.com/forum...ad.php?t=13981). It lists the settings for a 1996 SLT 780 (SLT780 - Low Speed – 1-3/8; High Speed – 1-1/8m, 7/8c, 1-1/4p) and settings for a 1997 780 (780 - Low Speed – 1-1/4; High Speed – 1/8), but not a 1997 SLT 780. Does anyone know if either of these would be correct for my model or would the settings be something else entirely?
I appreciate any insight that anyone can shed on this.
Thanks,
Dale
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