1995 XP - Ski cranked last weekend out of water but not this weekend in water

[shattered00]

Hello all,

I took my 96 and 95 XPs out today. The 95 would not start at all (while on the water) and I want to see if you all believe this could be why. Below are the things I have tried and what I am thinking may be the issue but I would like to get further information before I throw more money at the problem.

- Ski tries to turn over with gusto (i.e. the starter does not sound sluggish), HOWEVER, it is a POS aftermarket that I bought before I knew that those were garbage.
- The fuel filter up front above the oil tank has fuel in it but I am not sure if the carbs are getting fuel or not
- There is spark in both spark plugs
- The fuel selector has been replaced with OEM
- The baffle tubes have all been blown out with an air compressor
- The clamps on the fuel lines have been tightened
- The battery has been load tested and was fully charged
- Fuel lines replaced with non-grey lines
- The carbs were rebuilt with a genuine Mikuni kit that came with new needles and seats and said it was for both a 1995 XP and a 1996 GTI - Are these models compatible or is it possible that the carb kit is wrong for my model if it is also for a 1996 GTI and that is causing the problem? I checked seadoo source and the only thing that says it is different is the pop off pressure, low speed adjustment, and "jetting" whatever that is

Please note that I was and am still a noob when the carbs were rebuilt and the pop off pressure WAS NOT tested when the carbs were rebuilt. The original spring was not used and I am not sure where it is anymore. Is it possible that this is causing the ski to fail to start?

Is it also possible that even though the aftermarket starter sounds like it is cranking just fine, it could in fact be the problem with the ski not starting? I have an OEM one in the garage so that problem wouldn't cost any money to fix, but I was going to put as much wear on the aftermarket as possible before it crapped out.

Thank you again for all of the help.

 

[jts32]

Check compression. A low compression motor may start on the trailer, but can be hard starting, or not start at all in the water

 

[shattered00]

My apologies, I forgot to add that in the list. Compression is at 150 for each cylinder (the engine was rebuilt a few years ago and only has about 15 hours on it. I should also note that it will no longer crank out of the water like it did last weekend. Thank you for the suggestion though.

 

[jts32]

If it's not cranking at all, pull the junk aftermarket starter and throw in the OEM. May not be the problem, but the aftermarket will fail at some point anyway

 

[shattered00]

Okay, I will do that to at least eliminate that as a possibility for my problem. Thanks.

 

[jts32]

Once you have a known good starter, you can start to diagnose other parts if it still won't start

 

[shattered00]

Hello and happy Easter.

I am tackling the starter removal now and I cannot for the life of me get the 6mm bolt that is directly under the tuning pipe out. I used a t shaped tool in the past but it is no longer working (can't get the tool to line up). I recall reading in the past where someone recommended a gear swivel Allen head but I am not sure which one would actually fit there.

Would anyone be able to recommend to me a tool to purchase that would make getting this bolt out much easier? Thank you.