5 Tips to Diagnose Mechanical Issues: Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Ski - 4K VIDEO

Some basic tips to diagnose and address key issues and maintenance items that Kawasaki Ultra 310s Jet Ski owners might experience.

These basic tips should help novice and veteran riders alike in maintaining their skis and operating at peak performance.

I highly recommend you purchase an OEM Kawasaki Service Manual. These are my opinions and experiences.

If you don’t want to do the factory scheduled maintenance, don’t complain about loss of performance. EVERY Supercharged PWC requires maintenance like this, if you don't want the maintenance, get a Naturally Aspirated ski which requires a fraction of the maintenance.

#jdswaterworld

00:00 Intro
00:27 Overview
01:06 Environmental Variables
02:02 1. Fuel Related Issues & Ethanol
05:43 2. Spark Plug Related Issues
07:50 3. Oil Fill Level
10:02 4. Intake Tract / Supercharger Ducts / Tensioner Assy.
16:02 5. Exhaust Filter
16:55 See Also: Jet Pump
17:52 See Also: Mode Button
18:56 Conclusion

[jerplane]

Meticulous maintenance is how you keep machines running with peak performance and reliability and looking showroom fresh. Understand it will cost more in time and money to maintain it that way. For me, it's the only way to go. Thanks for posting all of these videos JD! We maintain our machines the same way!

[RM.Adventures_]

Nice video man.. doing a huge fan service for the Kawi riders out there.

[johncrossen]

Have to be honest....I was skeptical. I have a '21 310x with 23 hours on it. Developed a surge. Speed would vary from 55 to 67 at full throttle. Would feel the supercharger boost, then it would back out. Followed your advice, had K100 in the fuel. swapped plugs (cheap and easy) and sure enough it was the plugs. They looked fine, and 23 hours isn't many hours, but swapped in the iridium NGK plugs, and steady 67 at full throttle. Was shocked, but it worked. Thanks JD

[Scotty]

Great topics and information, a lot to keep in mind and maintain.
Thank you

[BrisbaneKawasaki]

Well done. So many issues we see are from simple maintenance items. But most problems we find are when owners who don't have the service manual have had a play.
it's hard to buy service manuals now, and there is no longer any PDF's for the new skis, they went online only with dealer access exclusively.

[bufordlife]

You are right on the FPO mode, it is downright scary, this is where you feel every bit of the 310 HP…

[jaysway]

Soooo sooo good!! Thanks for posting another one😎👍 Can we do an in hull transducer and depth finder next💪

[danteisthe]

Awesome video! My 310 is performing beautifully, however this is all good information to know as a 310 owner!

[edwardbowles]

Thanks. Fuel filters can definitely drain performance. All the manufacturers went to the inside the tank style fuel filters. Saves $ in manufacturing. And of course made them all harder to get to! More $ at the dealer. The older 15f had a huge external filter that is easy to change but basically never needs changing. Over 600 hours on my 2005 attests to that. Later model 15f's went to an internal design. But they are very easy to change vs Ultras and STX 160's. Remove the glovebox and you look right down on the fuel pump. Tank mounted filters will not last that long. Kawi Performance offers an external filter design. I have added that to my STX 160s. Not enough hours to say if the filter lasts longer but it will be a heckuva lot easier to change.

[oyarzunampuero]

Gracias por la información.... excelente!!!!

[LifeBeginsOnTheWater]

Great information JD, thanks for sharing!

[cammedramprocharged]

what type of silicon is used, need a lot of upgrade to enjoy this ski LOL :)

[jimclark]

Lots of good info in this video - but I personally think there is just way too much maintenance to perform on this machine to keep it running at peak condition. I'll look elsewhere so I can spend more time on the water instead of the shop.

[ryandean]

Hey JD, my name is Ryan and I have a 21 310 LX. The ski is in the shop due to a major loss of power! I bought it last year from a friend that bought it new with ‘thankfully the extended warranty’! It originally hit 67 quickly before the speed limiter kicked in, but slowly faded to around 60 at the end of the season..! I decided to have a well known guy winterize and store it.. I set an appointment well before pulling it out of storage with Flatout ‘which is where it was bought’ just to find out they had no record of my appointment a day before it was going in..!😡 I asked the service guy about adding a SCOM and he said it wouldn’t affect my warranty! I haven’t seen more than 65mph on my dash, but it did run right along side of two friends SeaDoo 300’s! Which they would pull away after I hit that limiter before! Pretty sure the supercharger is shot, but we’ll see see.. The last time I took it out it was normal for about 5 seconds, and then wouldn’t go more than 45mph.. added some fresh fuel from the marina and it did intermittently take off for a few seconds.. Just wanted to get your thoughts pal? There has been some issues with this dealership in the past with friends, so I’m getting a little concerned.!

[tcyr]

Great in-depth video of common power loss problems which you personally haven taken time to help me troubleshoot as well. I hope my issue isn't the fuel filter bc that sounds dreadful to replace. It's probably time for an upgrade anyhow to the new redesign 310!

[NeoGero]

I need some help, please!

I've been watching all your videos and love them. In May of this year, both of my jet skis, a 2022 LX 310 and an LXS 310, were stolen along with their trailer. Luckily, I was able to locate them using GPS, but I discovered that both jet skis were missing their ECUs. I ordered brand-new OEM ECUs from a Kawasaki dealer, and they have been installed. At the same time, both jet skis had a recall for harnesses, which have also been replaced.

On the first day on the water, everything was fine. I used both jet skis with a friend for about two hours, reaching speeds of up to 67 mph with no issues.

However, on the second and third outings, the RPMs would increase when pressing the throttle, reaching around 4000-5000 RPM, but then drop rapidly to about 1500 RPM. When I set the jet ski to slow mode, it ran somewhat better, but I still noticed the RPM dropping. When switching to FPo or MPo mode, the RPMs increase and decrease more quickly, and the jet ski won’t go over 40 mph.

I haven’t yet gone through all the five steps you mentioned in your video, but I plan to, as it’s unusual for both jet skis to have the same problem simultaneously. Do you have any advice?

Thanks!

[jdunbar]

Fantastic video……currently own an Ultra LX, but looking to purchase a new 23 310X! Thank you

[Podchynok]

I have power and rpm loss on my 2023 160lx, up on investigating I found one of spark plug boots was 1/4” up higher than the rest, will update if it fixed the problem up on next time in water. My theory is expending air apply pressure on the boot and with vibrations it will pop enough to disrupt connection, we will see if I’m right 🤷‍♂️

[fzr]

Good overview. Regarding the catch can, I have a custom version of the old (round) catch can which does NOT vent to the air box. It has a bottom sump with a manual drain that I pump out after every ride (and always has nasty gas smelling blowby) and a couple inches above that is the overflow/vent to the crankcase. This is how it should have been designed, but the manufacturers don't want to burden owners with another maintenance item. I've never had to clean my intercooler (and yes, I inspect it). Also I blocked off the BOV soon after I got the ski (and removed the exhaust filter)

[Keith.B]

Hey JD, you posted a link in another video of yours for the service manual. I now lost the link.
Can you post it again please?
2023 ultra 310 LX.
Thanks