alpalwal

I picked up a 88 Kawi 550 a week or two ago... it's got a different head, carb, intake, bla bla bla.

I took it out the first time and it ran good. It stalled every once and a while but I just needed to raise the idle a bit. Then it stalls once and the battery calls it quits. I bought a new battery later.

I wanted to take it out today but it wouldn't start. It cranks over fine because I had it hooked up to the battery charger too. Every 5 ish seconds though it made a kind of chirp/---- you noise and it would stop turning over for a split second.

Then I looked and it didn't seem that the fuel lines had anything in them. I pulled through some gas and tried to start it again but to no avail. I tried a couple times too spraying in starting fluid.

I checked the plug wires and they are sparking.

Why else would my ski not start? This is a 2 stroke by the way.

hondarex2323

is it a 2-stroke or 4-stroke? putting regular gas in a 2 stroke is a very bad thing.

buk9tp

flooded? pull the plugs? why did you replace the battery

alpalwal

it's a 2 stroke and it's got a 40-1 mix.

it might be flooded but I just tried it again and it was still not working. Also, I pulled the plugs and it was flooded but I burned out whatever was sitting in the cylinder and it still didn't start.

The battery was a separate problem... just setting the scene.

79fairmont

Does it have any compression? Might have broken a piston.

alpalwal

but it was working.... it worked, i changed the battery, it sat for a week, now it doesn't start

b18.

Hydrolocked? That 550 has really small cylinders it doesn't take a whole lot to hydrolock it. Buddies CR250 hydrolocked when the vac line to the powervalve broke.

alpalwal

... maybe. how do I check?

MikeJ-2009

If it was hydrolocked it wouldn't be turning over. Take the spark plug out, crank it to see if any fuel flies out. Clean plug, reinstall. See if that does it.

alpalwal

ok... pulled the plugs and they were wet.... I put a lighter to the hole and burnt out the fuel sitting the cylinders. I tested the plugs and they are sparking. It still has that weird noise every so often but it's not at regular intervals at all. It's not even kicking like it wants to start.... My dad thought it might be a reversed firing order but there is no way that happened and the wires couldn't even reach the other cylinders.