92 XP Problems/Flooded engine bay from a noob

[aggieben04]

Hi this is my first post as I just picked up a used 92 XP a few months ago. I wanted a little fun on the water without spending much money. I bought it from the original owner who by all accounts took great care of it. I have a few problems though I'd like to get some help getting addressed.

First of all it idles pretty fast and at full throttle makes a kind of wah wah sounds that would indicate it is hitting up against the rev limiter I assume. Is there any way to get rid of this and slow down the idle speed? It's pretty annoying.

Secondly, the biggest problem. My buddy had it out last weekend and fell of it and in the process, flooded the engine compartment half way. He's about 275 lbs. and in trying to get on the back of it in deep water, got water in the engine compartment. We had to tow it in and it would crank a few times and shoot a bit of water out the back but that was it. Now it won't even do that as I think the battery is dead. I bought a new battery when I got the ski but I think with all the attempts to start it, it went dead. What do I need to do to get this thing running? I'm not too terribly mechanically inclined so is this a simple fix or did we really screw something up? I think a major design flaw might be that the exhaust vent openings are at the back of the boat and are only a few inches above the water line so if you are trying to board from the water and tip the PWC back a little bit, it allows water into the engine compartment.

Third, I tried to get 2 people on the Sea Doo before we screwed it up and having 2 people almost sank it. This thing is rated for 2 people and up to 300lbs. so why wouldn't it carry the weight?

Fourth, I got a used trailer and replaced the tail lights and wiring. My trailer turn signals and brake lights work fine but the running tail lights don't work. I can't figure out why. Anyone know what might be causing that?

Sorry for the really long post but I'm a rookie PWC owner and am trying to get things going. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[seadoosnipe]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the Sea-Doo forum aggieben04.........glad to have you as a new member...
First off, don't worry about the length of the post....I like to read, especially when something is well written. Good job. Great pictures in my head of the issues you presented.
1. The idle issue. You have an adjustment screw on the bottom of the linkage that can be adjusted to lower RPM but I don't think that is your problem. I believe the problem will be in your throttle plate bushing and spring. Your engine is the 587cc with the twin Mikuni SBN carbs. If these are the original carbs and have never been rebuilt. Now is the time. What it sounds like to me, is the throttle plate bushing is beginning to stiffen up. This is normal with the age of your ski. The spring will not have the strength to pull it closed. You can check this by reaching down to the carb linkage and pushing the throttle plate open with your finger (this is where the throttle cable hooks up to the carbs). If it’s stiff, or doesn’t snap right back when you let it go, then that is your problem with the idle. Then, you can take off the synchronize bar and snap each carb, one at a time to see which one is sticking. If it’s obvious that they haven’t been rebuilt, they need it. The wah wah sound? That’s normal for the older model 2 cycle engines running WOT (wide open throttle) too, to a certain degree.
2. Let me address problems 2 and 3 at the same time. If he weighs 275 pounds, then he’s to big for that machine. The weight rating is for evenly displaced weight. Like 2 people at 150 pounds. The cargo bay of an aircraft can carry 2000 pounds (hypothetically), but if you put all that weight in the tail, it’s not going to get off the ground. It has to be displaced evenly. That’s what the weight rating is for. Also, the way the exhaust system is set up. If you look at it, it comes in and makes a type loop that is above the engine. That’s to keep water out. For it to get water into the exhaust that far, you had to really tip it up in an abnormal or over weighted kind of way. The design has remained the same, not just on the Rotax engine but on almost every marine, inboard motor application.
If you got water in the engine, then there are/were several steps you need(ed) to do as soon as this happened(s). If may be to late now. But let me see if we can come up with something. First, take off the electrical panel and check your fuses. Replace the ones that are bad. Then you need to pull the plugs and see if you can spin the motor over. If the motor turns over with no water coming out, then you need to put some type of water displacing lubricant (WD-40 or Cosmoline) in the engine to protect the metal surfaces. If the engine is already seized, you may take off the shaft guard on the back of the motor and gently try and turn the motor over with a pipe wrench (counterclockwise). If it turns over, you will need to spray that lubricant into the spark plug holes. Spray liberally, the carbs and linkage too. From there, if the engine turns over and you have sprayed lube into the cylinders (your 2-cycle oil if you have nothing else), then you can move on to the electrical system but the primary thing here is to protect your engine, don’t let it seize up. Its metal, it will rust.
With the motor that old, the seal on the magneto may be gone, allowing water to get into the stator and pickup coil. If we now have the motor turning over, you need to take one spark plug, connect it to the wire and connect the other one to the grounding lug. Then, with the plug grounded out, holding it down with an electrically safe tool of some kind (screwdriver) spin the motor over, looking for the spark at the tip of the plug. If you don’t have spark at the tip, then your electrical system is dead. If there are no more fuses bad, then you’ll need a mechanic to take over from here for trouble shooting. If you have a bad fuse, replace it with one of the same type, then try to look for spark again. If you have spark, then put the plugs back in and try to start it. If it won’t start, then refer to answer one. The carbs need to be rebuilt. You can check it by taking a fuel and oil mix of 40 or 50:1 and with it a small soda bottle, pour a half cap full of fuel into each cylinder through the spark plug holes. Then try and start it again. If it starts then goes dead, you’ll know the carbs or your fuel system is your problem.
Re-post after you’ve gone this far
3. The trailer? That may be a compatibility issue. Some cars/trucks have
running lights combined with the brake lights, some are stand alone. So you’ll have to get someone to look at what type lights your vehicle has and what type the trailer have. That’s about the best I can do for you on that one.
4. The XP ski is a sport model. Even though it’s rated for 300 pounds, that would really be pushing the limit on that model and year. It’s best to be rode by one person. With two people on it, it will be a bit un-stable by inexperienced riders. Once you get it moving, it would be a bit easier to handle. With the age of this ski, if your wearing ring is original (which would surprise me if it were), then your speed and performance has got to be greatly reduced, since it would have to be worn thin.
In closing, one more thing could have attributed to your “water in the hull”. The bailer tubes may not be hooked up or hooked up properly. They are used to pull a vacuum on water leaking into the hull while the ski is running. If this system is still there, but not attached to the hull like it is suppose to be, then water will come in when the power is applied to the nozzle. This ski, when first introduced in 1992 (16 years ago), was considered a rocket. A real nice machine. No matter how much someone takes care of something, without replacing and re-building things, it’s bound to lose it’s performance edge. I know, I bought a 1997 model Challenger and I’m almost finished with a lot of the repairs myself. It’s been a long journey for me, but I know how good this thing runs and I want it that way again!......
Now, you were saying, “bout the long post”…..

 

[kustomkarl]

Hey Louis, what was the title of that book you wrote?...:ack::hat:

 

[aggieben04]

Wow thanks for the response man. I'll have to dive into that this weekend. Sounds like a big scary process but I think if I take it step by step I'll be able to figure it out. I have a shop manual too so that will help.

 

[kustomkarl]

If you get in a jam...come on back and I'm sure we can point you in the right direction. This is a friendly place with lots of active members eager to help.

Karl

 

[aggieben04]

It's fixed! Wow I couldn't believe it was that easy. I took it to my dad's house and all we had to do was take the spark plugs out and crank the engine. Sure enough some water came shooting out of the spark plug holes. Now I tried this a few days ago at my house but it didn't work for me. We put the plugs back in and after a few attempts we managed to get it running strong and we also turned down the idle. We did a little bit of work on the trailer electrical system and everything is working great. Thanks for all of your help! I'll be back out on the water tomorrow assuming it doesn't rain here in beautiful Austin, TX.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Lucky you......

You were very lucky that you got to it when you did. Or, started doing "google" to find answers to your questions. It's obvious your intelligence told you that, "I've got to do something". Most just shrug their sholders and say "oh well", then put it away. It seizes up, then they take it out some weeks or months later, expecting it to start.
Great job. Glad to see your problems turned out to be minor.....
Let us know if you need something else.:cheers:
P.S.....that friend of yours is still to big for that machine. Break it to him gently, but he needs to be riding a GTI or one of the other "larger weight capacity" three seaters............be nice, but be honest, cause your only gonna end up sinking it again.
Oh, BTW, check your bailer tubes to make sure they are not letting water into your hull. It being an older ski, I wouldn't doubt that they aren't just laying in the hull.....................:cheers:

 

[aggieben04]

I'll check them out. Thanks for the tip. And the big guy is not someone I see very often so I think his riding days are done. He felt really bad anyway.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Big guy!....

Well, although I stand by the idea he's too big, I think there were other underlying facts that helped cause your flooding...the shaft seal, the bailer tubes.....or even your engines cooling system, if there is a bad hose or leak. Just don't take it for granted that since it starts, all's fine. You will need to get to the "root cause" of why you took on so much water. I don't believe he was totally, the only reason..........
Hope to see you have a wonderful riding season. Me and my daughters just came back in from jumping small swells on the Bay......great time!...:cheers:

 

[aggieben04]

Good point. I'll root around in there and see that everything is hooked up properly.

 

[All Things Custom]

water leaks make me crazy!!!!

Here is the best way I have found to track them down....

First make sure the hull is dry inside, hook up the hose and replace the drain plug. start the ski up and turn the water on about 1/2 way. This does 2 things, It sends enough pressure to your cooling system to show any leaks and second it will help flush some of the sand and debris out of your head and cooling system. I then stand there with a can of wd 40 and spray a few shots in the impeller wear ring area to reduce friction and prevent overheating it. and I spray my carbon ring to keep it cool also... On a 92 you dont have a carbon ring...

if you run it for a few minutes and there is no water present in the hull then shut it off and unhook the hose.

Next, fill the inside of the ski with water, be carefull when filling you dont get the water so deep that the electrical or the carbs go under but put enough to fill the bottom of the ski and to cover the driveshaft. Now grab a flashlight and crawl around under the ski looking for small streams of water to locate the problem spot....