1996 GTS - Strange Intermittent Engine Issues (I'm going insane.)

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Well I was kind of right :) a loose carb doesn't help things. Where do you stand now, still the same issues? BTW are you using BR7ES plugs?
 
I'm going to take apart the carb completely and make sure everything is clean (been kinda busy this week cleaning up around the house for the parents, our basement is an absolute tornado of tools and hobbies and I needed to clean up the workspace). I also bought some parts to construct a homemade pop-off pressure tester. It's basically a brass t-fitting with a pressure gauge on the top, a Schrader valve on one end (to connect a handheld bicycle pump), and a 1/4" hose thread on the other side with a short piece of fuel tubing.

smc0922 - Yup. NGK BR7ES plugs are in it. I've got about 8 or so extra that I've bought to help tune the thing too. All prepared in that department. I still have yet to trim back the plug wires, but that'll be done after I get the carb back on.

I'm hoping to get the ski back together tomorrow and possibly out to the lake (depending on the weather). I'll let you guys know how it goes. Again, thank you profusely for your help!

As far as how loose the carb was, and how long it was that loose for, I have no idea. I think having it secured to the intake manifold and the engine block helped stabilize it a tad, so mainly there must have just been an air leak. Here's hoping to the best!

(I think a family friend has offered to give us his 98' or 99' XP which has been sitting out of the water due to a low lake for two years now. Looks like I've got another project ahead of me after this one! :p)
 
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(I think a family friend has offered to give us his 98' or 99' XP which has been sitting out of the water due to a low lake for two years now. Looks like I've got another project ahead of me after this one! :p)

Give you a seadoo, now that is a good friend indeed! Hope you get it and start a new thread on that one and good luck!
 
Okay, so I got my workspace cleaned up (a family tornado hit it while I was out of the house for the year) and I was able to test the carb and take it completely apart.

Everything's awesome looking, really. No gunk at all, just as clean as when I put it back together last time. I built a little pressure testing tool, and then performed all three tests that my shop manual recommended: a fuel pump diaphragm leak test, a needle valve leak test, and the pop-off pressure test. They all seem to pass. Here they are in video form. The bicycle pump leaks a tad, so for the two pressure tests I had to disconnect the bicycle pump from the Schrader valve. When looking at the pop-off pressure video, keep in mind that the needle valve opens up around 24 PSI, and then falls to just below 20 PSI, and then the bicycle pump leaks and that's why the needle on the pressure gauge keeps falling.

Take a look at the third video for some notes about the whole ordeal and a few parts that I replaced while looking at the carb.

(fuel diaphragm leak test)

(needle value pressure test)

(pop-off pressure test) - I could only embed one video. Wish that wasn't so, I think videos do a really good job of getting things like this across better than words do, and who wants to bother clicking on things, nobody has time for that!
[video=youtube;4DO5Lp5Ac5k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DO5Lp5Ac5k[/video]

Putting it back on the ski in the morning. I also purchased a spark plug ignition testing tool at the auto parts store. It has an gap that is adjustable by turning a screw to move a contact up and down. I'm going to check both plugs again tomorrow as well. Is the tool acceptable?

Give you a seadoo, now that is a good friend indeed! Hope you get it and start a new thread on that one and good luck!

Yeah, I can't believe my family has happened upon two free Seadoos. Though, I suppose this GTS hasn't exactly been free, I don't even want to think about adding up all of the money I've put into parts and supplies D: -- The XP that we're driving up to get this weekend has supposedly been sitting on dirt for two years as Lake Hartwell was just as bad as my local lake, Lake Lanier. I can't explain my excitement the first time I visited the local lake this season after coming home from school and not being able to walk across the lake hundreds of feet from where the shore was supposed to be :p

Thanks again, I'll post an update tomorrow (well, today, it's 3:30 am here, playing the night owl tonight).
 
Well, I got the oil tank back in, and everything attached back up for the oil injection system. I ended up replacing the oil tubing from the oil tank to the pump so I could actually see if the oil was flowing (the previous tubing is all stained a blue and black). I must say, I'm loving the look of the clear mineral oil in the lines!

94.jpg


The spring came off the stops on the oil pump flow valve, but I spun it around an entire turn and loaded the spring back up. Is this okay? I'm assuming you could spin that thing around and around and around, and as long as it's back in the 5 o'clock position when tied to the throttle body, it's fine.

Everything is back on except for the flame arrestor unit. I thought I'd fire it up in my driveway and prime the oil system and see if everything is running smoothly before taking it out to the lake. Is it okay to leave the flame arrestor off while tuning the ski? It makes it a million times easier to get a screwdriver on the high and low speed set screws.

Wish me luck!
 
(Getting kind of lonely in here D: )

Okay, after dropping a bolt or two down below the engine and cursing myself out as I embedded tiny shreds of fiberglass into the back of my hands trying to get them out, I have Mr. Doo reassembled (except for the flame arrestor, still awaiting input if it's okay to leave the thing off while tuning it, can I do that?).

I primed it as per the instructions in the book, well, I accidentally revved the engine before priming it (by pulling the oil pump lever fully open for a few seconds to fill the two tiny tubes), though the main oil tube was completely full of oil before it ran. Anyway, the exhaust seems to be smokier than I remember. Should it be this way?

I also trimmed the spark plug wires back a quarter inch or so as suggested.

(ignore my cousin in the video, he's a strange one)
[video=youtube;NBGtGEBojcM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBGtGEBojcM[/video]

Honestly, I'm just awaiting your guys' input before I take this thing out to the lake and completely ruin it because I forgot something.

While I'm at it, does anyone have any tips for getting all of the oil out of the botom of the ski? I'll upload a picture of the diagram in the shop manual tomorrow because it's quite hilarious. I took the drain plug out as part of the priming system to let air bubbles out of the oil feed tube, and as I was trying to get the screw positioned I was holding a finger over what I thought was the drain plug screw hole, it actually was just a cast in the side of the engine that felt exactly like a screw hole, not sure what genius designed it that way. Anyway, I the tiny screw dropped out of my fingers as I was trying to figure what exactly was going on, and by the time I got it back in, a little bit more oil than I would have liked drained into the hull of the ski. I'm kind of chuckling now that I think about it, haha.

Anyway, I think I'll head to the lake in the morning if nobody has anything they'd like to add. Thanks guys!
 
that is a normal amount of smoke at idle, it should clear up once you get underway though. did you align the marks on the oil pump arm and body? if you adjust the idle speed, you'll want to adjust it again so that the marks are lined up. also i think your ski is a 95 rather than a 96, they're the same aside from the color scheme though. teal hood and seat was 95, green hood and seat was 96 according to seadoosource. http://www.seadoosource.com/seadoomodelreference.html
 
Woah, that's so strange. I've been following all of the instructions for the 96 GTS in my shop manual as well! That's crazy. They can't be that unalike if all of the diagrams look the same, haha.

As far as the marks go, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about. I never actually got a good look at the oil pump anyway, I just put my hands all over it and felt it. What should I look for? And is it even possible now that I have the carb and intake manifold back on the ski?
 
Woah, that's so strange. I've been following all of the instructions for the 96 GTS in my shop manual as well! That's crazy. They can't be that unalike if all of the diagrams look the same, haha.

As far as the marks go, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about. I never actually got a good look at the oil pump anyway, I just put my hands all over it and felt it. What should I look for? And is it even possible now that I have the carb and intake manifold back on the ski?

if you pull the airbox off you should be able to see the arm with a mirror. page 07-02-03 under section: Lubrication - adjustment shows how to synchronize the oil pump arm with the marks on the pump body.
 
Okay, I used a dental mirror (felt like a Seadoo dentist almost!) to check the alignment of the valve. Seems right, and is also in the same position I took it off in, so, I think that's fine.

Took it out to the lake this morning, read on a few sites that it was easier to tune the low speed screw while on the trailer, so I hogged one of the two boat ramps for about 10 minutes trying to get everything spot on. Took it out and ran it at 1/4 throttle for five minutes like the guide at seadoosource. The plugs were the most beautiful golden mocha brown I've ever seen (I think I was just delusional after working on taking the thing apart and putting it back together). Decided not to touch the high speed screw and see how it ran after that, and it's working like a dream, I couldn't be happier.

I still need to make sure the temperature sensor works though, so I'm going to do that tomorrow when I put the air box assembly back on (doing that shouldn't effect the carburetor tuning at all, should it?). Does anyone else hate putting that thing on and off? My allen wrench doesn't fit completely in engine compartment and I keep having to unseat and reseat the wrench in the bolt. Anyway, just a peeve.

Lastly, is it okay to run a tad higher quality fuel in the ski? Say, 89 octane instead of 87? What exactly would it effect? I couldn't find any definite information on the internet, nor could I find any information on the octane rating recommended by my shop manual.

Oh, also, does anyone know if there's a way to install the optional instruments that could have come with my model? All I have is a fuel gauge and oil light, I'd like a tachometer and a speedometer, the Seadoo shop manual said that it was optional on the GTS in 95, and I have a space for it in my dash.

(Maybe I'll open up a new thread for that question?)

Anyway, huge thanks to all of you guys. I'll definitely make a new thread when I find out what is happening with this new ski! I might be able to grab a video tomorrow, planning on taking it out on a celebratory outing. Maybe I'll sneak out a bottle of my parents champagne to have a re-christening, or just stop by the grocery store and by some sparkling champagne, hahaha.

Thanks again guys!
 
You should be using at least the top of the air box mount where the mesh screen goes, as long as you've been using that, the air box shouldn't change things. Hopefully you've been using the flame arrestor screen, as otherwise you could've blown yourself up if the engine had backfired and ignited fuel vapors inside the hull.

If you haven't been using the mesh screen, you'll be running a bit richer than before, but it should be ok as long as you're in the neighborhood on the carb settings.
 
Yup, I've been using the mesh screen, no worries. Thanks for looking out for me there, I like myself rare, not well done.
 
Well. I'm almost ready to like, start this thing on fire and laugh maniacally as it burns to a crisp. Almost.

It's acting up yet again after performing like a dream tomorrow. Only difference today is having the flame arrestor cover on, and having an extra person on the ski. It would constantly surge and die out and almost stall. I had my friend capture a video of it, if that helps.

I think I might take the electrical box apart tonight and look for any corrosion (it has been in the ocean before, but it's always been cleaned really well afterwards).

Anyway, here's the video.
[video=youtube;hrTILhl8mgs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrTILhl8mgs[/video]

What do I check next? My only thought is that when I replaced the grey tempo lines I replaced them with fuel sizes too small? Or I have gunk in the selector knob? I'm willing to check anything. I just want my beloved jetski to work correctly. Maybe it just doesn't like my friends.
 
(By the way, the best place to hear the problem is around 38 seconds into the video.)

Also, the engine seemed a tad hot today, even after just idling around for five minutes in order to read the plugs for the low speed setting it was getting pretty hot. It felt almost hotter than it was when I idled around yesterday. However, I did check to see if the temperature gauge was working, by grounding the sensor lead while the engine was running. It never beeped at me.

Does anyone know what temperature the sufrace of the engine should be around? I have a infrared temperature sensor I could use.

*sigh*

Ah, and for the news on the 'free' XP, it seems as though it's been up on a plastic jetski dock thing, out of the water (though the plastic ramp has been on dirt for a year or two) and it's also been covered and winterized. So... hopefully there shouldn't be any work required on that! - It's a 96.
 
Does anyone else hate putting that thing on and off? My allen wrench doesn't fit completely in engine compartment and I keep having to unseat and reseat the wrench in the bolt. Anyway, just a peeve.

Oh yes, indeed!

Watching this thread with intrest. Us GTS guys have to stick together!
 
I am not sure what the surface temp on the seadoo engine should be, but normal marine engines run thermistat of about 150-160. It makes sense to me that since your jet pump supplies water to your engine, idling around may cause it to run hot especially if there is some sort of blockage in your head, block or plumbing. But keep in mind you cannot read plugs from idling around, if you do and they show lean at an idle that only shows low speed mixture is lean. Normally on 2 stroke "bikes", which is what I mostly know.... you run wide open for a time and shut off and immediately check the plug. Also running hot at a low speed may mean it is lean..... How does it take the gas? If it stumbles at first try turning your low speed setting out a 1/8 turn at a time until it gets better.
 
Yeah, the carb tuning guide at seadoosource said to ride around for five minutes at quarter throttle to check the tuning of the low speed screw. Honestly, since I don't have a tach, I'm honestly feel like I'm just hunting around blind for the right settings.

However, at this point, another component of the ski is suspect. I really don't think it's the carb, to me, if it were the carb not being tuned correctly, it wouldn't run as it does in the video at all. I think a carb issue would make the ski unable to reach speed, or be tuned incorrectly at speed or at idle. I don't think a carb tuning issue can create intermittent issues like I'm experiencing in the video.

Does anybody know how to get the electrical box out? I can't seem to wiggle it free from the ski, and the only solution seems to be to take the oil tank back out, and that's something I'd rather not do if I don't have to.
 
Correct. The carb tuning guide at seadoosource recommended running at quarter throttle for five minutes to check the setting of the low speed screw, before continuing on to checking the tuning of the high speed screw. Though, when I'm out at the lake I'm starting to feel as though I'm just hunting blind at correct settings. I don't have a tachometer, so I have no idea how to set the correct idle RPM, and the guides all say to try and get the craft to move at 2-3 mph, and I don't have a speedometer (and GPS speed seems to be quite inaccurate at low speeds). - Is there any way I could paint a black mark on my flywheel with a sharpie and use some sort of handheld digital unit? I believe I have one for my gas model airplane engines (though, it would make sense to me to draw two lines at 360° to one another if I'm using something that's designed for a prop.

Anyway, at this point, I'm beginning to think that it's not the carb's fault. I feel as though an incorrectly tuned carb would cause some sort of hinderance of top speed, or a lean running situation, or bogging, but that's not what the ski has ever done. The ski will run fine at speed and then die out and then speed back up. It really doesn't sound like tuning issue, does it?

Does anyone know how to get the electrical box out? I can't seem to wiggle it free of the hull. Does it require the removal of the oil tank? That's something I'd rather not have to do without being completely necessary.

Edit : Woops, I thought my first post wasn't submitted and I lost it, so I retyped it, and I don't seem to have the ability to delete it D:
 
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1 connect a volt meter to the battery and run it again. Look for over or under voltage when it bogs.
2 it sounds like fuel starvation, Not sure from what.

You could hook up a temporary primer to it and give it a shot when it bogs out.
 
Connect a volt meter to the battery and run it again. Look for over or under voltage when it bogs.

Hmm. I'll have to whip up some leads for my voltmeter that I can screw between the battery leads and the terminals, the bog only seems to happen at high speeds (and high rpms) so I'll need a way to be riding at speed on the ski.

it sounds like fuel starvation, Not sure from what.

Do you think it could be the size of the fuel lines I'm using? Actually, that doesn't seem suspect, I keep having to come back to the fact that the thing ran for 10 hours or so this season while only bogging a few times. Maybe I'll take the fuel selector nozzle out and re-clean that.

Could it be water in the fuel?
 
Water in fuel, Definitely could be.

I'm thinking that something has dislodged somewhere and is partially clogging the fuel feed to the carbs. Selector valve or pickup tube would be the first places I would look.

Try blowing back through the system from the carb to see if there is any restriction that seems to go away.

What size are you using ?

1/4 inch is what I use.

If you get out there again and do a plug chop. Hold it at that bog point and hit the kill while letting go of the throttle. Check the plugs and they might tell you whats happening. Ie , White = lean, Black = rich, brown = good, light tan = close to lean.

In the video it doesn't seem to stay boging for long. Does it keep recovering when it does?


Another thing could be a crack in a fitting at the selector or tank pickup .
 
I'm using quarter inch sized fuel tubing. I'll do the blow test, I'll try to perform a pressure test as well, sometimes the inside of the hull has a faint gasoline odor that I can't really explain, could the bogging be a loss of fuel pressure?

As for if it stays bogging for long, it's hard to explain. It seems to bog down, and come really close to stalling, sometimes if I keep the throttle depressed the engine will recover, and sometimes it will stall. I can sometimes keep it from stalling by letting go of the throttle. It seems to bog down, and then work fine for about 30 seconds, then bog again. Though sometimes they are more spaced out (up to 5-10 minutes) and sometimes they are close together.

Also, once or twice after bogging and trying to give the ski throttle again, holding down full throttle has almost no response for 10 seconds or so, and then the engine picks up.

Throttle response from idle is pretty great though, actually.


Looking at the microfiche, I see a filter at the bottom of the fuel baffle that I've never cleaned. Though, I remember the fuel baffle to be kind of troublesome to remove, so that might take me a while. I can't actually remember it was even possible to remove the fuel tank without removing the oil tank.... Gosh, I really don't want to have to deal with any more oil tubes.

I'll start looking again tomorrow.

Edit : What could have caused water in the fuel? (I don't actually think I winterized the ski before putting it in my garage in August and taking it out to give it to the shop in March)
 
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Most water in fuel comes from water in the tanks at the gas pump. Did you install a filter before the carb when you did the fuel lines? If you suspect the fuel selector, they're cheap enough to replace rather than try to clean.

Edit: make sure the filter isn't backwards, and bypass the selector to see if it is causing your fuel restriction.
 
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