Fuel selector bypass. Is this right?

[spx787]

I suspect the selector may be my problem so I want to bypass it for troubleshooting purposes.

I got a brass T and took the on, off and reserve lines off the selector on to the T. I am taking it to the water tomorrow evening to check it out. Just want to make sure this is a sufficient way to bypass it.

 

[JJinSC]

That should work.


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[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

That'll work fine!

 

[racerxxx]

Pretty sure all you needed to do was take the ON (or RES) line off the selector and put that on the inlet to the water separator and you were done, no "T".

 

[Matt Braley]

Right but the O-ring in the separator is a common culprit for air leaks so for a test that rules out problems in your supply..... go right from the RES to the fuel inlet fitting. Put a inline filter in the line somewhere so you don't plug your carb filters though.

 

[racerxxx]

Right but the O-ring in the separator is a common culprit for air leaks so for a test that rules out problems in your supply..... go right from the RES to the fuel inlet fitting. Put a inline filter in the line somewhere so you don't plug your carb filters though.

Good call Matt on the separator, I forget that stuff cause I just always buy new ones.

 

[spx787]

So if bypassing the selector doesn't work, I'll try what Matt said and bypass the separator and go straight from the RES to the inlet on the carb.

I am currently premixing and read somewhere that the oil in the fuel can cause an inline filter to clog. Is this true?

 

[AdamXP800]

No, premixing will not clog your inline filter.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

agree with adam, if premix clogged the filter, I would have gone through several filters over the past 3 years.

 

[spx787]

I might as well explain why I am trouble shooting. I am now getting bogging from idle to throttle and intermittently at at all throttle settings.

Rewind to Sunday. The SPX was doing what I just described above. So I parked at shore. When I went to put it back on the trailer at the end of the day I decided to do a quick go around. The son of bitch ran like a scalded dog! I ended up riding it for about 30 more minutes and had zero bogging! I took it out yesterday and the bogging issue was back. Moving the fuel selector from ON to RES seemed to help. It would still bog on RES but not nearly as bad as it did in the ON position. I did this several times to make sure it wasn't just a coincidence. That's why I am trying to bypass the selector now. I want to either find out that's the problem or rule that out.

I have changed out all the grey lines with automotive fuel lines, took apart and cleaned the carbs and also the entire fuel system (including pulling the tank). I did a pop off and pressure test on the carbs recently. Both pop offs were good. The PTO carb was not holding the 10 psi for the full 30 seconds but it wasn't terribly bad. I plan on rebuilding the carbs soon but I want to single out any other things that could possibly be causing this besides the carb.

*edit* I also put a new rectifier on it a few weeks ago.

As yall can tell, I'm new to jet skis, two strokes and carbs but I have learned an immense amount from these forums and I appreciate you guys putting up with my questions and giving advice.

 

[1983]

-From your other thread, if you have a bleed down, even in the slightest, that rear PTO carb is causing a rich condition, which will cause your symptoms. I would fix one thing at a time as to know what your end culprit was that really fixed the bogging issue. Like I said, take the airbox and arrestor assembly off, put on safety glasses, start up ski and with a mirror and flashlight shine it into each carb throat. The PTO carb will be dribbling fuel into throat at idle which is in turn flooding out that cylinder causing bogging. It will be a combination of problems on your ski from this to the selector if so.

-Most likely what is happening when you are changing selector from ON to RES and what not is that your inducing a lean mixture by shutting off the fuel supply momentarily, as I mentioned before. I had to do this on mine to get it to clear out from its rich flooded mixture that was caused by my MAG carb needle and seat ever so slightly stuck open. Be very careful if you try this, and know when to turn the fuel back on. I had to do this as I was stranded way out in middle of lake, and only way to keep it running was wide open throttle until it cleared up and took off.

-On your bypass go from tank outlet straight to carb inlet, and like stated above install a simple inline fuel filter near the carb inlet.

-Rob

 

[Strizzo]

the T will work fine for testing purposes as long as the tank has enough fuel. with the T, if you get down to where you would need to switch to reserve, the carbs would pull air from the ON pickup and nothing from the RES side. if the fix is to be permanent, or if you want to ride for a while to make sure its the problem, you would hook to the RES side and plug the ON side of the baffle.

 

[spx787]

Rob, you're right. I went ahead and ordered a rebuild kit from OSD. It should be here Tuesday. I'll be rebuilding both carbs as I am sure it's gonna come down to that anyway. I KNOW the PTO carb needs it. I had a bit of money in my PayPal account so I just went ahead and took the leap.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

fyi, SBT sells a good quality fuel selector for like $21 shipped on ebay.

so if you do find its part of the problem, its a cheap replacement for a brand new part.

 

[spx787]

Yeah, I knew I could get a new selector cheap. I guess I was just hoping it would be something simple and not expensive. That's never my luck most the time though.

I've owned this jet ski for about 6 weeks now and only really have gotten to truly enjoy it about three times due to these types of issues. I finally said "screw it" and just bought the rebuild kit already. I need to enjoy this thing several more times before it gets too cold. Luckily in south Texas, I may be able to ride well into November.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

i've learned from experience that any "new to you" ski should be expected to have its share of issues either due to neglect from previous owner, lack of use, or the most obvious is that the seller wanted to get rid of his "problem child" while it was running good for a change.

if it makes you feel better its also my experience that once you work out the bugs and get it running spot on, they tend to stay that way for a long time.

the purchase of rebuild kits IMO is a no brainer step in the process.

 

[spx787]

Not knowing any better, I bought the ski without a water test. Of course, it started and ran on the trailer like a champ. First time on the water though, bogging. I got a decent deal and the most expensive part I've bought is the carb rebuild kit. Next ski I won't make that mistake again.

 

[1983]

-The needle and seat most likely do need to be replaced, and in my case I did replace them in both carbs. I just wish I had done the mirror with flashlight airbox off idling test before I took carbs apart. I have a feeling I could have just got away with doing the lever adjustment at the needle and seat on my carb that was bleeding down prior to and vs. replacing the needles and seats. It was good to see how everything works, once you do it a couple times you will know these carbs inside and out to a T.

-Try adjusting lever per those .PDF and carb rebuild instructions I posted in the other thread. It really makes all the difference with a >1mm adjustment to the arm which will close the needle at rest. You should verify the bleed down with diaphragm metal 4 screw cover off, and then with diagram and cover installed and bolted on. That was my issue, once cover was on it was pushing on diaphragm ever so slightly opening needle. I adjusted arm and all good to go with easy starts and no more bogging at lake.

-Rob

 

[spx787]

Went to the lake this evening. She ran real good with the selector bypassed! I'll be buying a new valve soon.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

-The needle and seat most likely do need to be replaced, and in my case I did replace them in both carbs. I just wish I had done the mirror with flashlight airbox off idling test before I took carbs apart. I have a feeling I could have just got away with doing the lever adjustment at the needle and seat on my carb that was bleeding down prior to and vs. replacing the needles and seats. It was good to see how everything works, once you do it a couple times you will know these carbs inside and out to a T.

-Try adjusting lever per those .PDF and carb rebuild instructions I posted in the other thread. It really makes all the difference with a >1mm adjustment to the arm which will close the needle at rest. You should verify the bleed down with diaphragm metal 4 screw cover off, and then with diagram and cover installed and bolted on. That was my issue, once cover was on it was pushing on diaphragm ever so slightly opening needle. I adjusted arm and all good to go with easy starts and no more bogging at lake.

-Rob

I could see this happening if your metering diaphragm was stiff from a decade or more of age with our funky fuels drying out the rubber compounds the diaphragm stiffens and begins to "oil can". The metering diaphragm should be soft nearly as a rose petal and the metering lever should be flush with the bottom of fuel chamber.

Also worn metering needle will allow fuel to pee down the intakes as the vibration from the engine causes leakage, this is one reason we try to use the small metering orifice and weaker spring as opposed to large orifice and stronger spring.

The 951 motor must have a 2.0 orifice but all the rest can use 1.5 if I recall.

 

[1983]

Sweet, ride that ski til it's cold out, then put on some gear and ride some more!

Rob

Went to the lake this evening. She ran real good with the selector bypassed! I'll be buying a new valve soon.

 

[1983]

PO of my ski advised that carbs had been "rebuilt" prior to my possession. You have to take that with a grain of salt though. Who knows what PO mechanic did or his level of expertise. Luckily all of my internal carb components were in decent shape. So after adjustments to lever from carb dribbling issue I was good to go.
[MENTION=73840]spx787[/MENTION] let us know how it does after selector replacement and carb rebuild. Plus as you know get some pics of the ski out on the water!

I could see this happening if your metering diaphragm was stiff from a decade or more of age with our funky fuels drying out the rubber compounds the diaphragm stiffens and begins to "oil can". The metering diaphragm should be soft nearly as a rose petal and the metering lever should be flush with the bottom of fuel chamber.

Also worn metering needle will allow fuel to pee down the intakes as the vibration from the engine causes leakage, this is one reason we try to use the small metering orifice and weaker spring as opposed to large orifice and stronger spring.

The 951 motor must have a 2.0 orifice but all the rest can use 1.5 if I recall.

 

[spx787]

Ok, Just so I get this right. I will be taking the ski to my parents lake house this weekend and I want to make sure I get the most out of a tank of fuel. So....

I run off the baffle reserve nipple straight to the carb inlet and put an inline filter in between. Can I then hook the OFF and ON lines back up to the selector? I'm thinking yes since the fuel will be feeding directly to the carb from the RES part of the baffle. The OFF line I know will not be a factor since I will be bypassing the water separator but will the ON line being from the baffle to the selector cause any issues? I wouldn't think so and I'm thinking I can just do this in lieu of plugging it.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Say what? If you want to drain the tank completely and not leave some in there than run off the reserve pickup tube and cap the normal one off. I'm leaving it up to you as to how to cap it off, it's best I think to place a cap on the nipple somewhere, like on the tank. But whatever you can find in your garage and have no chance of fuel leaking into your bilge (BOOM!).

ie: Any open lines connected to the tank might allow nasty things to happen, so cap it/them!

I would at least run some kind of filter unless you plan on rebuilding the carbs anyway but it's not easy to rebuild them when in the middle of the lake!

 

[spx787]

How about leaving the ON line hooked up to the baffle and putting a bolt with a worm clamp on the open end as a plug then folding a kink in the hose and hold that with a zip tie? Seems that should work.

And I already have an inline filter to put between the RES baffle nipple and the carb inlet so no worries there.