96 GTX Issues

[MC87SS]

Hey everyone, been a while. I hate how life gets in the way of ski time.
Beginning of last year i bought a 96 GTX to replace one of my 95s, It ran good but as always needed some TLC. Did all the normal changing the fuel lines, cleaning the carbs, cleaned the rave valves, etc. Went out a few times last season and although it ran good i could never get it to rev over 6500 rpm. Labor day i was at the river and the driveshaft bearing went and water started flowing in so i put it on the trailer. A couple weeks later my son decided to take the 95 out while i was away and since he didn't know anything about them managed to destroy the wear ring and overheat it melting the oil line and exhaust coupling. Thats a story for another time.
Over the winter i got new rave bellows and springs, a new water regulator and driveshaft bearing. Last week i finally got time to work on them. Installed everything and went to the lake for a test run. The 96 ran great but still maxed out at 6500 rpm.
What should i try next to get it into the 6800 - 6900 range?

Second problem happened tonight, i went to start it, clipped on the DSS key and no beep. Battery dead? Ok hook up the battery charger and i hear a hum coming from inside the ski, sounds like its down at the starter. Clip on the key no double beep, push the start button and get a single long beep.
Does it sound like the starter got stuck? Shorted out?
I took off the positive battery cable and charged the battery. When i touched the cable back to the battery i got a pretty good spark even though everything was off and the key was not on the post.
I was really wanting to finally enjoy them this weekend before its to late.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MC87SS]

Messed with it a little tonight, unhooked the starter wire from the solenoid to isolate it from the rest of the system.
Took out the spark plugs and using jumper cables turned the starter over to make sure it wasn't froze up. It cranked like crazy. Put everything back together and after charging the battery a while i was able to crank it. Didn't start it since i had the fuel lines unhooked working on the fuel selector. There seams to be a pretty heavy current draw, would a bad starter cause this even though it works?

I have an extra starter from my 95, is it the same for the 96?

 

[Seadoobuddy]

What is pictured is NOT a 96 GTX, it looks like a 95. I have a 96 (see my profile pics) and starting that year in the darker green color....not like yours. Please check the back of hull vin tag and look at the last 2 digits...that is the yr.

Try putting a meter on the battery...it should read about 12.8 V, then check the same meter while cranking the motor over....what does it read? 10.5 or so......????.
If it starts check the voltage again.....should be about 13.5 -14 or so, while running.

 

[MC87SS]

Whats pictured is my 2 95s, i also have the 96 i have listed in my profile.
Thanks i will try that tomorrow.
Seams like i have some kind of short or heavy battery drain.
Didn't know if this sounded like a common problem before i started tracing down all the wires.

 

[Mickirig1]

Make sure all the cables have clean connections and protected with Dielectric grease. The ground on the engine can cause a lot of problems. The ground on rectifier needs to be done too.