Pismo: The Old Square and the Sea

[Midlake Crisis]

Went to Pismo this weekend for my first try at surf riding and found out first hand how a ski can run perfect in fresh water and not at all in salt.
My longest sustained ride was about 30 seconds before it would cut out and die a fast electrical short death in the salt water. Ran great on the cart, just not in the water. Hopefully we will figure that all out and be ready for October.
Having only riden on the lake before it was awesome to see guys busting barrel rolls and big stabs in real life, and very cool to see so many standups in one place.
Thank you to Enzo for helping and parts in trying to get it going,
and thanks to Pam for greeting the newbs and introducing us to your awesome dogs.

 

[crossr]

I had a problem like that once before. It was the wiring at the start/stop switch. Every time I put it in salt water it would shut off. Once it was back in fresh water it ran fine. Just check for any problems with wiring.

 

[yankeeboy]

I had a problem last weekend in the surf where i guess water was splashing in on my head, and shorting out my plugs? Not positive on that, but my ski ran like crap until it died completely, and it sunk lol. that sucked.

 

[2ride]

Went to Pismo this weekend for my first try at surf riding and found out first hand how a ski can run perfect in fresh water and not at all in salt.
My longest sustained ride was about 30 seconds before it would cut out and die a fast electrical short death in the salt water. Ran great on the cart, just not in the water. Hopefully we will figure that all out and be ready for October.
Having only riden on the lake before it was awesome to see guys busting barrel rolls and big stabs in real life, and very cool to see so many standups in one place.
Thank you to Enzo for helping and parts in trying to get it going,
and thanks to Pam for greeting the newbs and introducing us to your awesome dogs.

Check your ground cable...

 

[enzo]

That was a bummer to come all that way and not get to ride! Sorry we could not get it fixed! I think if we would have had some Dielectric grease on the start/stop switch connections you would have been riding.

I passed your donation on to the Mason raffle.

 

[Motorheads5]

Those yami start stop switches are a problem I hate to say it but I know people have trashed them and went with the kawi switch

 

[N3vrSat1sfied]

electrical mixed with corrosive water can change everything.

 

[infamy]

That was a bummer to come all that way and not get to ride! Sorry we could not get it fixed! I think if we would have had some Dielectric grease on the start/stop switch connections you would have been riding.

I passed your donation on to the Mason raffle.

i put that dielectric grease on everything thing. i had a ski that wouldnt start once and turned out a little grease on the start/stop connectors was all it needed.

 

[Midlake Crisis]

DE Grease

i put that dielectric grease on everything thing. i had a ski that wouldnt start once and turned out a little grease on the start/stop connectors was all it needed.

After Enzo's help and suggestions on Saturday I went and bought a big tube of it and filled the spark plug caps (new boots), start/stop connector, & the disabled kill switch connector with that stuff. Tried again Sunday, and it would start fine but once I was under way and it took on any water at all it was sputter and die every time. I didn't take apart or grease the start switch cause it would start fine, and the kill switch was disconnected.
I guess these things are hard to trace - I read one thread where it was suggested to start it in a dark area and spray salt water inside and watch for an arc?
Might be worth a try - I hate not having a way to methodically and accurately figure out the problem.. . .
Oh yeah, the ebox was dry inside.

 

[enzo]

Your wires did not look to good. Not just the ones that were cut but they all seemed a little cooked.This may sound like overkill but I would pick up a clean used e-box and a new start stop switch assy. If you really want to be positive you fixed the problem change the stator to.

 

[LBE]

I highly recomend having JSS do your coil and start stop switch.
Also in salt water, gap your plugs to .018.
Be carefull about putting grease on your plug caps, it will make them slip off.

 

[masterblaster]

do the salt water spray test I posted,Id bet your wires light up orange and are shorting badly especially if its the stock org coil in a sq nose. Dont waste your $ on JSS stuff we have been that route,new stuff is the same price,and works MUCH better for longer

 

[ridethelip]

Where was enzo when I broke in mexico?

After Enzo's help and suggestions on Saturday I went and bought a big tube of it and filled the spark plug caps (new boots), start/stop connector, & the disabled kill switch connector with that stuff. Tried again Sunday, and it would start fine but once I was under way and it took on any water at all it was sputter and die every time. I didn't take apart or grease the start switch cause it would start fine, and the kill switch was disconnected.
I guess these things are hard to trace - I read one thread where it was suggested to start it in a dark area and spray salt water inside and watch for an arc?
Might be worth a try - I hate not having a way to methodically and accurately figure out the problem.. . .
Oh yeah, the ebox was dry inside.

That Enzo is great guy to have around. I really wanted to see you riding that Square nose. I had to reperesent all by myself on my old 91.It's people like that help you along and keep you riding which makes this sport so much fun.

 

[Yamisj]

Steve,

Sorry to hear about your salt water troubles, nothing more frustrating than a ride that works fine one day and the next acts up horribly. I hope you get it sorted out soon.

Jared

 

[brett]

enzo is a pro at makin skis run!

 

[Fro Diesel]

Those yami start stop switches are a problem I hate to say it but I know people have trashed them and went with the kawi switch

yup! good stuff here. I have an old kawi ts start stop switch that i keep as a backup in case a switch ever gives me a problem in surf.

 

[Midlake Crisis]

thanks for all the kind words and input from everybody- and yes, Enzo is definitely the man.
Dude can ride too!

 

[djkorn1]

I agree with everything said here. I had the same problem in Virginia. I wrapped every wire with electrical tape from top to bottom and di-electric greased the connections and it worked fine.

When I got home and did the salt water test, I found out that my JSS rebuilt coil was arc-ing everywhere.

 

[masterblaster]

DJ,like I said bro join the club we had half a dozen jss coils here and all but one failed right out of the box.just buy new 66e coils,and although JSS start stop rewires are good,id just as well spend 10 bucks extra and get a brand new oneI know they last 10 years anyway,Stators on the other hand I prefer from jss.

 

[Midlake Crisis]

Arc

I agree with everything said here. I had the same problem in Virginia. I wrapped every wire with electrical tape from top to bottom and di-electric greased the connections and it worked fine.

When I got home and did the salt water test, I found out that my JSS rebuilt coil was arc-ing everywhere.

Where was yours arcing; somewhere down the plug wires, or at the box?
And how much salt do you use for your spray?