This journey began with an MSD starter solenoid going bad, sticking closed, and ultimately caused wallet carnage of ~ $1700. yep, after adding it all up, including shipping of parts, my friggin MSD starter solenoid(s) going bad cost me $1700, not including the alcohol nor my non-existent time.
In a nutshell, my solenoid stuck closed, but I didn't know it. Engine started and i went on my way, brapping along with my powerfactor pipe, i couldn't hear the starter crying for help. I rode for about 20 minutes before falling in the bay at least 150 yards from shore. When i went down, engine stopped of course, and that's when i heard the starter running. nothing i did in the deep water with lanyard and s/s/ switch could stop the starter. pounding the bottom of the ski didn't help the starter, but made me feel like i tried something else besides the SS switch. pulling hood was not possible or anywhere near a good idea where i was. The starter sounded like a wounded bird at this point, and nothing I could do about it. I wasn't by myself, but friends and family were on shore distracted by my 2 year old's attempt at conversations. so i started the swim back. at some point the starter laid to rest. no re-start.
Carnage round 1: starter toast, newer solenoid toast, bendix toast, antigravity 16 cell battery unrecoverable.
Confirmed problem was solenoid, but took a while since the sticking was intermittent. Cause or effect, not sure. solenoid was a baby, only a couple tanks at best, looked like new, i don't get a chance to ride often, and i ride freshwater.
Order new parts, new battery, new MSD solenoid, etc. Test in garage - all good. test a few more times over the course of a couple days in garage - all fine. drop in the bay, test - starter sticks on. damn. quickly pull power from battery and head back to garage. test solenoid many, many times, all fine. think my SS switch could be sticking closed, not sure, but scared of toasting another battery and starter so I buy an all new assembly and install it.
More testing, all fine.
drop in water, all fine. go for a short ride, all fine, fall a few times really close to shore, all fine. problem is in the past
head out and ride, enjoying myself, chasing some monster boats in the bay, eventually fall and OMG starter is running. again, at least a hundred yards from shore. start the swim in. starter cries, and eventually dies during the journey. no re-start. dead. is this really happening? again?
back to garage. assess damage and problem.
Carnage round 2: starter toast, bendix toast, solenoid toast, antigravity battery unrecoverable. unbelieveable.
needed a few people to talk me off a cliff, then i call MSD. long story short, it's possible they had a MFG defect issue and will replace the solenoid, but I'm using it in an application it wasn't designed for. huh? it's a solenoid switch and current draw is well under capacity. but yeah, not for jet ski use. ok fine, whatever. send new solenoid so i can sell on e-bay.
to close this, i wound up buying a seadoo solenoid and it has been working ever since. but going through my ski for the winter, i realize i also needed to replace both bendix bushings due to this problem. it was clear that when starter was running the bendix tried to pull away before destructing, or shortly after destructing. luckily my lightened MSD flywheel had only minor wear and is fine.
So i hope my experience helps someone choose a yamaha, seadoo, Kawi or other solenoid that may be of higher quality or better suited to our application than MSD.
ultimately it was the un-fused starter in both cases that didn't survive running constantly for 30-40+ minutes straight, the magnet epoxy melted or otherwise let go releasing the magnets, shattering, jamming the commutator. battery death was due to shorting, or from pulling voltage down below 10v due to starter running.
In a nutshell, my solenoid stuck closed, but I didn't know it. Engine started and i went on my way, brapping along with my powerfactor pipe, i couldn't hear the starter crying for help. I rode for about 20 minutes before falling in the bay at least 150 yards from shore. When i went down, engine stopped of course, and that's when i heard the starter running. nothing i did in the deep water with lanyard and s/s/ switch could stop the starter. pounding the bottom of the ski didn't help the starter, but made me feel like i tried something else besides the SS switch. pulling hood was not possible or anywhere near a good idea where i was. The starter sounded like a wounded bird at this point, and nothing I could do about it. I wasn't by myself, but friends and family were on shore distracted by my 2 year old's attempt at conversations. so i started the swim back. at some point the starter laid to rest. no re-start.
Carnage round 1: starter toast, newer solenoid toast, bendix toast, antigravity 16 cell battery unrecoverable.
Confirmed problem was solenoid, but took a while since the sticking was intermittent. Cause or effect, not sure. solenoid was a baby, only a couple tanks at best, looked like new, i don't get a chance to ride often, and i ride freshwater.
Order new parts, new battery, new MSD solenoid, etc. Test in garage - all good. test a few more times over the course of a couple days in garage - all fine. drop in the bay, test - starter sticks on. damn. quickly pull power from battery and head back to garage. test solenoid many, many times, all fine. think my SS switch could be sticking closed, not sure, but scared of toasting another battery and starter so I buy an all new assembly and install it.
More testing, all fine.
drop in water, all fine. go for a short ride, all fine, fall a few times really close to shore, all fine. problem is in the past
head out and ride, enjoying myself, chasing some monster boats in the bay, eventually fall and OMG starter is running. again, at least a hundred yards from shore. start the swim in. starter cries, and eventually dies during the journey. no re-start. dead. is this really happening? again?back to garage. assess damage and problem.
Carnage round 2: starter toast, bendix toast, solenoid toast, antigravity battery unrecoverable. unbelieveable.
needed a few people to talk me off a cliff, then i call MSD. long story short, it's possible they had a MFG defect issue and will replace the solenoid, but I'm using it in an application it wasn't designed for. huh? it's a solenoid switch and current draw is well under capacity. but yeah, not for jet ski use. ok fine, whatever. send new solenoid so i can sell on e-bay.
to close this, i wound up buying a seadoo solenoid and it has been working ever since. but going through my ski for the winter, i realize i also needed to replace both bendix bushings due to this problem. it was clear that when starter was running the bendix tried to pull away before destructing, or shortly after destructing. luckily my lightened MSD flywheel had only minor wear and is fine.
So i hope my experience helps someone choose a yamaha, seadoo, Kawi or other solenoid that may be of higher quality or better suited to our application than MSD.
ultimately it was the un-fused starter in both cases that didn't survive running constantly for 30-40+ minutes straight, the magnet epoxy melted or otherwise let go releasing the magnets, shattering, jamming the commutator. battery death was due to shorting, or from pulling voltage down below 10v due to starter running.
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