Please Help I am New! No fuel??

[gtx23]

Hello Everyone- I am new to the world of PWC's. I am tech inclined and savy as I have spent much time around boats and dirt bikes. But these sea doo engines prove to be a little bit different.

Here is what I need help with

I recently bought a 2000 Sea Doo GTX. It is having a few problems. The red light on the dash is blinking and it says low fuel so I filled the tank up. The light still flashes and the display says low fuel. I think i have figured out my sending unit is bad.

On another note the ski will not fire. the engine cranks. I changed the plugs and cranked the engine for a while and removed the plugs. Dry as a bone.

I removed the filter in the front of the ski that is located downstream of the fuel selector valve. it has fuel in it. My question is how can i confirm I am not getting fuel. Obviously its getting fuel to the filter how can i see if its getting to the carb or to the intake?

A little different than on my bikes and boats that are either gravity fed, primer bulbs, or electronic fuel pumps.

It seems this pulls fuel off of crankcase vacuum.

One more question if i were to remove plugs and put premix in the cylinder and try to fire it would that be okay? My logic is if it fires on that then runs out of gas a few seconds later it is in fact true I am not getting fuel. The carbs seem to be difficult to get to because i have to remove exhaust and intake manifolds so i was hoping there was a way to confirm I am not getting fuel before removing so many things.

Please help a newbie out!!

 

[Triorieel]

1) The fuel sending unit is fixable. They stop working for a couple simple reasons. I had to repair both my seadoos and a family members (thats 3 out of 3 seadoos for me). In our case it was a surface mount fuse inside the sending unit that I bypassed with 1/4 piece of copper wire. I then installed a glass fuse in the wire outside of the sending unit(this way if it ever blows again, it has easy access). There are also other possibilities (the magnet came of the float, the float is stuck, etc..). The low fuel beep that happens every couple minutes is more annoying then not knowing your fuel amount as if you run out, you always have the reserve option. 2 of my seadoos came with the fuel sensor shorted so they always read full fuel and stopped the beeping.

2) I know you said there is fuel in the fuel filter AFTER the selector, but I just have to ask, have you tried the fuel selector int he on position AND the reserve position?

Assuming your 2000 carb'd gtx is like my 1998 carb'd gtx's, If my seadoo's weren't getting fuel, I'm fairly certain they would still be getting oil (I hope someone can confirm/deny this). My seadoo has an accel pump that I use as a primer. When I go to start the seadoo for the first time in a long time, I pump the throttle 5 times, pull the choke and hit the start while still holding the choke. I don't hold the throttle while the starter is turning the engine because the throttle will add more oil when the engine is spinning; makes for an oil flooded smokey start. The only time I touch the throttle a bit while starting is when the seadoo is almost started and dies right away (but this is part of me keeping my seadoo at 1200rpm for idle rather then the 1500 recommended by the manual).

Before taking the carb off, I would remove the fuel supply line at the carb to see if fuel is getting there. If there is fuel there, be ready for the fuel to come out as you would be siphoning at this point(pinch the hose or quickly put it back on the carb). There might be an air leak somewhere (I know people have mentioned the fuel filter sometimes doesn't properly seal).

Again, assuming your doo is like my doo, the carb removal isn't bad; just a bit tedious. I don't have to do anything to the exaust to get the carbs out, its just you have 3 lines and 3 cables going to the carb. And if you touch the two cables on the mag side (front of the seadoo), you will have to re-adjust your oil pump. I use a snake camera to look at the oil notches, I think other people use mirrors? Still a bit annoying. If you can fix the carb without removing the cables, that is easier (maybe removing the bracket the cables attach to and pop off the cables from the wheel works...I will probably try this the next time myself).

After this, I would be looking at cleaning the carb or doing a whole carb kit.

 

[gtx23]

Thanks Trio that is a lot of helpful information. I did try pumping the throttle while starting too just try to at least get some fuel and oil residue on the plugs to confirm its getting there and got nothing. Plugs dry as a bone. Next will check the oring seal on the fuel filter as it is getting fuel but maybe has an air leak. If it is leaking air obviously vacuum wont pull fuel to the carb. Maybe in order to try this I will just bypass the fuel filter for an attempt at firing. then I will know. I will try to get to the fuel supply line on the carb unfortunately i think our models may be a little different because the exhaust manifold seems to cover all of that I will try to post pictures tonight when i get home. One thing I have tried to research and still am uncertain if would cause no start is the "RAVE" Rotax Adjustable Variable Exhaust. To my knowledge the valve opens and closes based on exhaust pressure and the adjustment of the diaphragm this does not seem like it would hinder the motor from starting especially if it is a fuel supply issue. ;

This motor started last season and ran all day then the next day would not fire I put it away for the season and now here I am. Starting with the basics, motor turns free, spark, and fuel.

I will check a few things tonight and report back.

My last question is the red light on the dash. It blinks and I assume that because the message says low fuel that is why it blinks, this could not be anything else could it? It obviously isn't overheating if its not running and it has oil in the reservoir.

The tank was empty all off season so I am hoping that maybe the float is just stuck. My first move is to shake the ski and jostle the fuel around in the tank to see if the float frees up. if not i will check my connections and move on from there.

thanks for helping this newb out!!

 

[Triorieel]

My seadoos will blink and say battery low when they aren't running(which makes sense, because they aren't getting the charge voltage from the stator). It also blinks with fuel low.

I wouldn't worry about it at this stage unless you are getting some other message that sounds catastrophic.

I think I forgot to explain how the float works. The float has magnets on it, and as it slides up and down it passes reed switches. The reed switches will close the electrical loop when a magnet is near. Depending on which reed switch is triggered, the mpem knows where the float is and knows how much fuel is in the tank.

 

[snikwad003]

What color are your fuel lines?

 

[gtx23]

They are gray. they have not yet deteriorated but I will be replacing them as well. I expected to see particles in the fuel filter but it was clear.

Can someone confirm that my plugs should be wet. I put brand new plugs in cranked the motor and pumped the throttle to feed it. did that with the choke on and off for about 30 seconds

when i pulled the plugs they were bone dry.

I would expect them to have fuel residue or oil on them. Tonight I will squirt some pre mix into the cylinders and try to fire. if it fires and then dies i would assume its not getting fuel supply.

 

[snikwad003]

Try the pre mix in the plug holes but with gray lines your internal carb filters are probably clogged and since it's new to you you need to rebuild carbs anyway.

 

[dieselndoo]

Where abouts in ca are you?