new owner 2005 sx230

[ninjakris]

Hello everyone. I just picked up my next project boat. Its a 2005 SX230. A local guy posted an ad on FB marketplace and I managed to be the first person to check it out. The interior was looking rough (dirty, moldy, some rips) and the starboard engine didn't turn over but I made an offer anyways. He accepted and I went home with my 'new to me' boat. Prior to this I've only had a 17' center console outboard which I semi-restored, enjoyed for a bit, and eventually sold.

So far I isolated a bad fuse on the engine which was the cause to not get any 12v signal to the key. Now I'm getting a click noise but the engine ins't turning over. I 'jumped' the starter relay and got the engine to turn over for a brief second, so that is telling me to replace the starter relay. Its on order. I also went ahead and pulled the impeller housing on that engine since the previous owner thought it sounded funny the last time he took it out. I found that the impeller housing was bulging and the impeller does not spin freely. So my guess is the impeller housing started to bulge which was causing the impeller to stick. Eventually the starter relay couldn't overcome the mechanical binding at the impeller and burnt out the relay. Regardless if my theory is correct or not, a new impeller housing and relay are on the way. Beyond that, I have new spark plugs and oil/filter on order. My only other real concern is the starboard engine was very low on oil when I initially checked, like not registering on the dipstick low. So I'll be doing a compression check while I have the spark plugs out to see how it looks. Best case is the prior owner was not paying attention to his oil level and I'm fine. Worse case, a new engine will be on my shopping list. Once the mechanicals are sorted out, I need to figure out the rats nest of a stereo system and replace the depth gauge wiring since its ripped off below the port engine and the sensor is completely gone with a wire just hanging there.

I've already found a wealth of knowledge on this forum and I hope to continue to learn and eventually offer some advice as I become more knowledgeable on the boat.

 

[buckbuck]

Congratulations on a potentially great boat. Just a note, it is not uncommon for there to be no oil on the dipstick of a cold engine. Please read up on how to check the oil and be careful not to over fill.

 

[ninjakris]

Here's an update in case someone else finds this post and has similar issues with their boat. I replaced the impeller housing on the starboard engine and that took care of the impeller side of things. Next was the starter relay. It was not the easiest thing to get to, but eventually I got it replaced. As for the oil, I should have took buck buck's advice and done a little research on oil levels. I put a little too much in it and once the engine started cranking, I decided to check the oil and it burped oil out of the oil fill hole and made a big mess. haha. After that I made sure the boat was level and had to suck out about 1/2 a qt of oil. We are good on oil level now. At this point I was able to start up my starboard engine (the one that initially didn't start) but as luck would have it, the port engine was not starting (cranking but not turning over). I checked all the safety switches and was coming up at a loss. A friend mentioned to spray just a little starter fluid in the intake and see if it fires. He ended up being right. I sprayed just a little in there (really so I could tell if I'm having a fuel or spark issue) and i got a very quick faint backfire noise and the engine came to life. I still have no idea why it was giving me a hard time but I'm chalking it up to old fuel at this point. The tank was almost empty when I got it. It has about 20 gal in it now and some ring free in the tank as well. Hopefully the next couple outings will cycle out any old fuel. Beyond that, I think its just about water ready. I did a ton of cleaning on the interior. Its not perfect, but its usable now.

 

[Rodrigo Ramos]

Hello everyone. I just picked up my next project boat. Its a 2005 SX230. A local guy posted an ad on FB marketplace and I managed to be the first person to check it out. The interior was looking rough (dirty, moldy, some rips) and the starboard engine didn't turn over but I made an offer anyways. He accepted and I went home with my 'new to me' boat. Prior to this I've only had a 17' center console outboard which I semi-restored, enjoyed for a bit, and eventually sold.

So far I isolated a bad fuse on the engine which was the cause to not get any 12v signal to the key. Now I'm getting a click noise but the engine ins't turning over. I 'jumped' the starter relay and got the engine to turn over for a brief second, so that is telling me to replace the starter relay. Its on order. I also went ahead and pulled the impeller housing on that engine since the previous owner thought it sounded funny the last time he took it out. I found that the impeller housing was bulging and the impeller does not spin freely. So my guess is the impeller housing started to bulge which was causing the impeller to stick. Eventually the starter relay couldn't overcome the mechanical binding at the impeller and burnt out the relay. Regardless if my theory is correct or not, a new impeller housing and relay are on the way. Beyond that, I have new spark plugs and oil/filter on order. My only other real concern is the starboard engine was very low on oil when I initially checked, like not registering on the dipstick low. So I'll be doing a compression check while I have the spark plugs out to see how it looks. Best case is the prior owner was not paying attention to his oil level and I'm fine. Worse case, a new engine will be on my shopping list. Once the mechanicals are sorted out, I need to figure out the rats nest of a stereo system and replace the depth gauge wiring since its ripped off below the port engine and the sensor is completely gone with a wire just hanging there.

I've already found a wealth of knowledge on this forum and I hope to continue to learn and eventually offer some advice as I become more knowledgeable on the boat. View attachment 127472

I have the same boat and would love to know Where is the engine fuse
Thank you

 

[ninjakris]

I have the same boat and would love to know Where is the engine fuse
Thank you

open up the engine bay and look straight back behind the motors. There is a large rectangular black box. On the right side of each box there is a circular cap. Open that up and there's your engine fuses. A 3amp and a 20amp. Additionally, there's a fuse in the battery compartment just below the battery switch.

 

[Rodrigo Ramos]

open up the engine bay and look straight back behind the motors. There is a large rectangular black box. On the right side of each box there is a circular cap. Open that up and there's your engine fuses. A 3amp and a 20amp. Additionally, there's a fuse in the battery compartment just below the battery switch.

Thank you

 

[ninjakris]

First sea trial was a bust. As soon as I got her in the water, I was spinning in circles. I felt like a nascar driver. lol. After riding the struggle bus for about 20 min, I decided it was time to bring her home. Thankfully the boat ramp is about 1 mile from the house, so its not really that big of a deal to get in and out of the water. Once I got home I realized that the starboard steering cable was broken somewhere and there was no connection to the steering wheel. Then I started thinking about it and in theory I should have been able to overpower the port engine and steer the boat but that didn't work either. So I took a look under the dash and the port steering cable came out of its holder piece (I know, real technical term) so when I turned the wheel, I was only getting about 15 degrees of actual movement. Long story short, new steering cables are on order. I also went ahead and ordered new reverse/throttle cables since the starboard engine is a little difficult to move. If I'm going through the hassle of replacing one thing, may as well do it all. Other than that, both engines started up, got up to operating temp (while driving in circles) and seem to sound alright.

 

[Beachbummer]

Nice! Glad you made it back safe.

Pictures?

 

[ninjakris]

here's a couple. You can see each engine pointing different directions. haha. The whole thing was pretty stressful and frustrating at the time, but your right, we made it home safe, no need to call for a tow, and we salvaged the day with some beach time. Its all good.

 

[buckbuck]

Make sure you replace that scupper. It is probably already cracked and leaking.

 

[ninjakris]

Update: I've put in new steering cables and replaced the back up cable on one engine. Also replaced the depth finder since the wire was ripped and hanging by the jet drive. Last night was the second sea trial. I'm happy to report that she is running great. The only 'issue' left is I had a check engine light flashing. After some google-fu, it looks like a voltage issue which i'm sure is related to the battery that is so dead it won't even take a charge anymore. I'll be picking up a new battery today and that should just about do it for getting the boat water ready. I've also ordered a new scupper and a GPS speedometer since the OEM is cracked and don't feel like trying to repair or find a 15yr old gauge.

 

[Beachbummer]

There are some awesome members near you. If the check engine code does not go away someone nearby might be able to lend you the YDS code reader, so you can find out what the computer is thinking while it turns on that light.

 

[ninjakris]

There are some awesome members near you. If the check engine code does not go away someone nearby might be able to lend you the YDS code reader, so you can find out what the computer is thinking while it turns on that light.

I forgot to mention I actually purchased the YDS software. Each engine has ~338 hours and neither engine has thrown any codes for over 100 hours. So thats a good sign. I just put in a new battery. The engine light isn't flashing while running it on the hose, but I'll probably hook up the computer just to be sure I'm good.