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I have a 1993 Kawasaki SuperSport XI that has been running great all summer. Last Saturday I had it out on the lake and I was coming back in to load it up. I hit a pretty big wave and when I came down she idle'd horribly rough and died. Upon trying to start it, all I got was a 'click' from underneath the seat.
Last night I got a chance to start tearing it apart. The spark plugs were replaced as was the battery. Just to eliminate them from the mix. When I try to start it, I see the starter turn the drive shaft about 1/8 of an inch and it clicks. Then there is nothing else. It won't turn it again unless I release the switch and re-hit it.
I've had suggestions that the starter bendix might be acting up, but if it was, I wonder if it would even turn over that 1/8 of an inch. I've also had someone tell me my motor could be locked up, which as you can imagine is nauseating.
The ski is nearly 10 years old so I guess if the engine is locked up, it's had a good life (even though I've only owned it for a month). I'm going to try to turn the drive shaft by hand (with the plugs out) next time I get a chance to look at it. This should tell me if the engine is locked up. If it turns fairly easily, should I go ahead and stick a screw driver into the cylinder to make sure the pistons are moving (someone suggested that, though I've never done it).
I haven't done a ton of mechanic work but I figure this is a good of time as any to start since I've gone this far.
Basically my questions are, if the starter is bad or not getting a good connection from the battery would it just turn the shaft 1/8" and stop? Or would it slowly keep trying to turn it over just very slowly? Or is there anyway to tell? Does anyone have any experience pulling a starter off a 93 SS Xi, that give me some words of advice before I dive into it?
Thanks in advance for all help, advice, instruction, and well wishes.
Last night I got a chance to start tearing it apart. The spark plugs were replaced as was the battery. Just to eliminate them from the mix. When I try to start it, I see the starter turn the drive shaft about 1/8 of an inch and it clicks. Then there is nothing else. It won't turn it again unless I release the switch and re-hit it.
I've had suggestions that the starter bendix might be acting up, but if it was, I wonder if it would even turn over that 1/8 of an inch. I've also had someone tell me my motor could be locked up, which as you can imagine is nauseating.
The ski is nearly 10 years old so I guess if the engine is locked up, it's had a good life (even though I've only owned it for a month). I'm going to try to turn the drive shaft by hand (with the plugs out) next time I get a chance to look at it. This should tell me if the engine is locked up. If it turns fairly easily, should I go ahead and stick a screw driver into the cylinder to make sure the pistons are moving (someone suggested that, though I've never done it).
I haven't done a ton of mechanic work but I figure this is a good of time as any to start since I've gone this far.
Basically my questions are, if the starter is bad or not getting a good connection from the battery would it just turn the shaft 1/8" and stop? Or would it slowly keep trying to turn it over just very slowly? Or is there anyway to tell? Does anyone have any experience pulling a starter off a 93 SS Xi, that give me some words of advice before I dive into it?
Thanks in advance for all help, advice, instruction, and well wishes.
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