I recently picked up a 92 sp and replaced the MPEM. The MPEM that was in it when I got it was faulty but came with a new one that just had to be wired in. When I went to buy it I could crank it over fine with the starter button but had no spark. Once the new MPEM was in it cranked and had spark. Now I went to try and actually start it for the first time and nothing. Starter button doesn’t do anything. No click from solenoid. Can jump the solenoid and cranks fine. All switches check out good. Fuses on MPEM good. I have 12 volts between the smaller posts on the solenoid when the start button is pushed. Is this a bad solenoid? I’m just not sure because it was just working fine and now not even a click from solenoid. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Erik
1992 587 SP No Crank
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AKnarrowback
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Disconnect the small wires on the solenoid and do a continuity check on the coil inside. If it shows infinite resistance then I would say the solenoid is bad.
If the coil in the solenoid indicates continuity then refer to the wiring diagram to do checks of the rest of the system.
If the coil in the solenoid indicates continuity then refer to the wiring diagram to do checks of the rest of the system.
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Ok thank you. I replaced the solenoid because the two smaller posts were loose and not making a solid connection inside I guess. Now all the electrical is fine again. I test drove it tonight as well. I cleaned the carb to the best of my ability but it wants to cut out especially after half throttle and sometimes dies and is hard to start/idle. It definitely sounds lean. What are some things to look for on these types of carburetors (SBN Mikuni)?
Thanks for the help, Erik
Thanks for the help, Erik
AKnarrowback
Well-Known Member
Good to hear you got the solenoid figured out.
You will hear this many times on the forum regarding fuel systems.
1 - If you you have the light grey fuel lines on your machine you need to swap them out for automotive grade fuel line. I went to napa and bought more than enough to fix a couple of machines for less than $50. The grey lines deteriorate inside and cause carb problems.
2 - Rebuilding carbs is pretty common on these machines and can solve running problems even though the internals might not look bad when you take them apart. I would suggest rebuilding the carb.
3 - NEVER use a cheap, aftermarket carb kit. Only use original Mikuni carb rebuild kits. The differences are subtle in the parts quality, but it only takes a little to have the machine fall on it's face. Mikuni kits cost more, but this is one of those times you do not go cheap or you will be fighting running issues later on.
4 - At the top of the 2 stroke forum is "the carb rebuild" thread by Mikidymac. Read and read it again, follow the directions. It is the best guide to rebuilding Sea-Doo carbs you will find.
5 - Air leaks into the fuel system are another cause of performance issues. The fuel selector valve is a common area for this to happen. If you have to replace it only get an OEM. Again, aftermarket is cheaper but will probably cause more headaches.
6 - 1992 SeaDoo SP, XP, GTS, GTX Service/Shop Manual - FREE PDF Download!
7 - Hard starting issues can be related to the rotary valve cover clearance be too large. This can be corrected by taking the cover to a machine shop and having them mill the surfaces. There is a section in the shop manual covering the specs, how to measure the clearance and which areas of the cover need to be milled. This clearance issue really came to light with the 91 Sea-Doos, particularly with the SP model. Something happened that year where many machines made it out to the dealers with excessive rv cover clearance and Bombardier issued a service bulletin over the issue. The first SPs I set up all failed the test ride when I tried to start them when the motors were warm. We sent every SP rv cover to the machine shop as part of the PDI that summer. I would suggest doing a quick feeler gauge check of the RV cover clearance if you pull the carb off. Clearance with the rotary valve in place is .009" - .014". Have your battery disconnected any time you get your fingers near the rotary valve, I do know someone with a short index finger who learned the hard way.
You will hear this many times on the forum regarding fuel systems.
1 - If you you have the light grey fuel lines on your machine you need to swap them out for automotive grade fuel line. I went to napa and bought more than enough to fix a couple of machines for less than $50. The grey lines deteriorate inside and cause carb problems.
2 - Rebuilding carbs is pretty common on these machines and can solve running problems even though the internals might not look bad when you take them apart. I would suggest rebuilding the carb.
3 - NEVER use a cheap, aftermarket carb kit. Only use original Mikuni carb rebuild kits. The differences are subtle in the parts quality, but it only takes a little to have the machine fall on it's face. Mikuni kits cost more, but this is one of those times you do not go cheap or you will be fighting running issues later on.
4 - At the top of the 2 stroke forum is "the carb rebuild" thread by Mikidymac. Read and read it again, follow the directions. It is the best guide to rebuilding Sea-Doo carbs you will find.
5 - Air leaks into the fuel system are another cause of performance issues. The fuel selector valve is a common area for this to happen. If you have to replace it only get an OEM. Again, aftermarket is cheaper but will probably cause more headaches.
6 - 1992 SeaDoo SP, XP, GTS, GTX Service/Shop Manual - FREE PDF Download!
7 - Hard starting issues can be related to the rotary valve cover clearance be too large. This can be corrected by taking the cover to a machine shop and having them mill the surfaces. There is a section in the shop manual covering the specs, how to measure the clearance and which areas of the cover need to be milled. This clearance issue really came to light with the 91 Sea-Doos, particularly with the SP model. Something happened that year where many machines made it out to the dealers with excessive rv cover clearance and Bombardier issued a service bulletin over the issue. The first SPs I set up all failed the test ride when I tried to start them when the motors were warm. We sent every SP rv cover to the machine shop as part of the PDI that summer. I would suggest doing a quick feeler gauge check of the RV cover clearance if you pull the carb off. Clearance with the rotary valve in place is .009" - .014". Have your battery disconnected any time you get your fingers near the rotary valve, I do know someone with a short index finger who learned the hard way.
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I appreciate the help. I made sure all the lines were rubber before I even cleaned the carb. I’ve heard bad stories about them. I also have read through the carb rebuild tread once and have the manual downloaded. Thanks for the tip on the fuel selector. I was maybe thinking of cleaning it out good anyway so that would be a good thing to check/replace. I’ll probably tear into the carb again and thoroughly check everything over and ensure my mixture screws are all set correctly. This is my first ski so it helps a lot having this info!
You did pretty good for this being your first ski. 
Carb and fuel system can be quite lengthy to track down. I generally pressure up the fuel system using my vacuum/pressure pump. I first want to make sure I can pressure up the system against the fuel valve. I also clamp the fuel lines just before the fuel tank (one at a time). That lets me check the whole system except for a dirty tank or screen. I am getting ready to do that on a XP I'm working on. That test also eliminates a leak on the fuel filter o-ring. I test with the fuel valve in each position. If you have no leaks you can move on to the carbs. Good Luck !!
Note: AKnarrowback covered it all pretty darn well !!! Good job brother !!
Carb and fuel system can be quite lengthy to track down. I generally pressure up the fuel system using my vacuum/pressure pump. I first want to make sure I can pressure up the system against the fuel valve. I also clamp the fuel lines just before the fuel tank (one at a time). That lets me check the whole system except for a dirty tank or screen. I am getting ready to do that on a XP I'm working on. That test also eliminates a leak on the fuel filter o-ring. I test with the fuel valve in each position. If you have no leaks you can move on to the carbs. Good Luck !!Note: AKnarrowback covered it all pretty darn well !!! Good job brother !!
So I went to tear the carb apart again and found that my pulse fitting on the carb was loose/broken. I pressed it back in and slapped some jb weld on it and tested the ski again. Now the ski runs great anywhere under about half throttle. Idles and putts around fine. If you give it wot from idle it kills. You can only really get the rpms up past half throttle by feathering the throttle. If you hold it constant at just above half throttle the ski starts lurching/surging and eventually stops. At wot it will take off good for about two seconds the bog out. I tried turning the high speed screw from 0 to about 1 turn out with no affect on performance. I also played with low speed screw but that didn’t help either. It’s still definitely lean because it needs the choke sometimes to restart or pick back up. I will continue to go through the lists you guys put together and keep testing. Thanks
There are 4 holes in the barrel of the carburetor. 3 in line at the top.... 1 a little to the left. leave the low speed adjuster in place, remove the low speed jet. Hold the throttle open with your finger and squirt carb cleaner or something like it down the hole for the low speed jet. You should see a good stream from each of the 3 holes in the center. Also try blocking off the 4th hole with your other finger. It can get confusing but you need to verify those holes are clear. Good luck !!
Ok had the carb apart for about the fifth time. Found a chunk of paint in the little carb filter of course. Ensured that the four holes in the carb throat were clear. Cleaned everything in carb again. 155 psi both cylinders. Cleaned fuel selector and tried running ski in both positions with no difference. Clipped ends of spark plug wires. Checked the pickups in the tank as well and all lines were malleable with filters still attached. Unscrewed main filter and washed it out. Tried adjusting high and low speed screws with little to no change. Every time I bring out the ski It gets closer to running right. Now it will run a little longer after 1/2 throttle before bogging down. If I hold it wide it runs good for about 3 seconds then slows down and bogs for 3 then picks back up for 3 etc. My next step will be trying to bypass the fuel selector and/or buying the rebuild kit for the carb.
Deleted the fuel selector with new fuel line. Don’t know if the line was clogged or the selector was leaking but now it gets to wot and stays there fine. It’s still a bit hard to start and now has a hard time accelerating intermittently. It all works fine on the trailer. In the water on first start it runs fine and gets on plane and gets to wot no problem. If I let it go down to under 1/4 or off of plane it bogs when trying to accelerate again. It sounds like it’s four stroking and takes lots of feathering and messing around to finally get it on plane again. Once it takes off it’s fine until it idles again. Once it cools down it seems to be fine again. Adjusting low speed screw doesn’t seem to help. Is this a pop off pressure issue? It seems really rich when it bogs as choke makes it worse and lots of smoke pours out the back. And yes I know I should buy the rebuild kit but I paid $100 for the ski and the carb looks really nice inside. If I really can’t figure it out I’ll definitely go for the kit. Thanks for the ideas.
You are never going to solve this without rebuilding the carbs correctly with Mikuni parts. Until you do that we can't help, the issues will not get better and if you continue to run it this way you risk destroying the engine.
Figure it this way, for $200 you can potentially have a great running and cheap ski.
Figure it this way, for $200 you can potentially have a great running and cheap ski.
Finally got it all figured out. For some reason the fuel return line from the carb was just sitting in the bottom of the hull. Put a new fuel selector on and replaced most of the fuel lines and it runs great with no more hesitation and consistent performance all around. Didn’t even have to waste money on the carb kit. Thanks for the help guys.
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