1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

[andy9020]

I recently bought a 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 Jet ski with 146 hours on it. I ran it the first few times and it was great. Ran at about 55-57 mph at WOT. I ran a couple tanks of gas through it and didn't have any trouble. I changed out the plugs and ran it for a day. Still no problems. Last weekend I took it to another lake and tried to run it and it cuts out when running WOT. It has died a couple of times. Most of the times I have been able to restart without any trouble. It was suggested to me to bring it home, trim the plug wires, apparently they loosen up because of vibrations. I trimmed the wires, took it out on the lake today and it seemed to run fine for a short period of time, then it started cutting out at WOT again. I sputtered it back to my launch (15 mph) and trailered it home.
The fuel selector switch is difficult to turn. Could there be a problem there? Should I replace my fuel filter? Where do I get one for a decent price? Anything else I should check to troubleshoot before I spend big bucks at the dealership?
Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[itsmekc]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

Check your fuel line. Ours did that and there was a small crack by the fuel filter. Cut it down and hooked it back up and has ran great since. Good luck.

 

[andy9020]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

itsmekc,
I checked all the fuel lines and everything appears to be in good repair. I could not find any leaks. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[GP1200]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

Sounds like a seize (too lean). You'll want to check your compression.

 

[andy9020]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

Sounds like a seize (too lean). You'll want to check your compression.

I can appreciate that, but it seems to run fine at idle and on a test kit. When I have it on the water, under a load, is the only time it seems to cut out on me.
Fuel pressure? Fuel Filter? Carb rebuild (x3)? Sell it cheap and give the headache to someone else?

 

[kneedragger]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

I had similar issues on a '96 Seadoo- Albiet different it sounds like you have fuel delivery problem.

I had to change out all of my fuel line because the new alcohol fuel was degrading the rubber, and clogging the carb barrell filters. Two years ago I did this, and now it is doing it again but if I switch to reserve, it runs fine.

Free up your fuel petcock, and don't leave fuel in it if you can help it.

I actually had a local mechanic say to run it out with the new oxygenated fuels and alcohol, that is better to run the fuel out of the carbs and run it lean than to leave the **** fuel we have now.

my two cents.

 

[andy9020]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

I talked to a neighbor today and he suggested that 2-strokes should never be run full throttle. His comment seemed a little strange to me.
Why would Kawasaki design a throttle control that would actually cause a problem? Have any of you ever heard not to run a ski at full throttle?

 

[Jeff Walkowiak]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

dude MOVE your neighbor is an idiot!! or perhaps you live next door to an insane asylum.

I would check for fuel delivery ,, compression and spark. kawasaki has a lot of issues with spark plug core wires corroding internally,, they usually work for a few minutes then start cutting out,, and I would bypass that fuel switch,, those will allow air in the fuel lines or restrict the fuel to the carbs.
Also check for water or trash in the fuel tank or stale fuel.

 

[andy9020]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

Jeff-
I will give it a shot. The guy I bought this unit from had only used it a couple of times during the past couple of seasons. I am sure it had stale fuel in it, but I had tried to run as much out of it as I could. I will just bypass the fuel selector switch to avoid any air leaks. All of this might not happen today, but I will keep you informed as to any progress!

 

[Jeff Walkowiak]

Re: 1997 Kawasaki STX 1100 WOT Cuts out

you should have removed the stale fuel not tried to run it out causes a lot of issues when it has stale fuel in it,especially that old. it is way less expensive in money and time to change the old fuel that to rebuild the carbs, all gummed up from old fuel.