96 sea doo xp help

[Sterny331]

Hello everyone,

new here and also new owner of a 96 xp. Had some troubles on the lake this weekend with the ski. It will fire up but will die out if either too much throttle is given. I was able to get it to start quite a few times by giving it very light throttle for about 60 seconds then it would run and be fine till it was shut down again. Repeated the same process about a dozen times. Where should I start? The day before I took it out(first time I’ve taken it out) I replaced all of the grey fuel lines with some standard automotive 1/4 fuel line. Plugs are also new.

 

[racerxxx]

Well, you need to rebuild your carbs with genuine Mikuni carb kits and needle and seats. Just verify your springs inside a dark in color. Do not use any of the springs in the kit is always reuse the needle arm. Your needles are shot, they leak allowing the gas to flood the engine after it sits.

 

[Sterny331]

Ok. I can do that. Is that for sure what you think is causing this? It started up okay on the trailer. Changed the fuel lines and then it started acting up when it was in water.

 

[racerxxx]

Well, if you haven't rebuilt then yet, they need it. It sounds like it to me. Starts fine yin the trailer cold, use the ski, let it sit a little, hard to start hot. Sounds typical like un rebuilt carbs. Let some other guys chime in. I could be missing something though.

 

[Sterny331]

I highly doubt they have been done. I’m not entirely sure. The fuel lines were they grey oem ones so I’m assuming the carbs are also in original state.

 

[Saludadoo]

I think you can pull fuel pump off the right carb the one toward the back of the ski and clean the filter inside the carb without pulling the whole thing apart.
For a quick fix on my single carb SP 586 I was waiting on parts so I pulled the carb off and just cleaned the filter out it was 3/4 full of junk put an external filter on the line and that fixed it.
mine started fine, but would bog out if I gave it more then half throttle.

 

[Major Woody]

Welcome!!

It's not a clogged carb filter problem. You should not run the ski in this state. The entire fuel system needs to be gone through. The ski is 24 years old. It is time for new fuel selector, and carb rebuild with genuine parts. There is a carb rebuild thread as a "sticky" at the top of this forum. Follow the instructions exactly, including the JIS impact bits so you don't strip the screws out. Replace the carb base gaskets. I may be making some assumptions here but it sounds like perhaps some preventative maintenance has been deferred. If the fuel lines are original, the oil lines probably are too. Those need replacing. Also pull the VTS cover off and look inside. Hopefully it is dry. If so, replace the VTS boot with the correct plastic clamps so the VTS remains dry. This is the time to take care of some stuff, so you don't damage this engine by running it lean.

 

[JeremyD615]

Yep, it sounds like leaking needles and time for a full carb rebuild and fuel selector replacement. It really should have been done right after you replaced the fuel lines and before the ski was run. Those lines break down into a green goo that clogs the small orifices in the carbs, so it’s a good thing you caught the problem now rather than after it went lean and burned a piston... Just follow the carb rebuild sticky, and do NOT add another inline filter. They restrict fuel flow and are an extra source to get air leaks from. There are a total of four fuel filters on this ski already, so you don’t need to add another.

 

[Sterny331]

i have a slight update and still would like some insight. so i replaced the fuel lines, took the carbs off and rebuilt them. i did all gaskets and replaced seats and needles(used the factory springs. not the ones from the mikuni kit). replaced fuel selector. dialed in the oil pump to where the marks line up. i adjusted the low idle speed 1.5 turns out. and kept the high all the way in. so it starts and runs seems to start and idle fine. we ran it for a bit this weekend. on sunday after riding it for maybe an hour the ski starting doing the same thing where it didnt want to go past half throttle. Could this be rave valves? I did not touch those.

 

[Sterny331]

also compression is 150 on both.

 

[Major Woody]

Even if it isn't the power valves, you should remove and clean them as a part of your ordinary preventative maintenance. If the diaphragms look good and you see no evidence of blowby, you can probably get away without replacing the O-ring seals. As you will see, one valve will come completely out by simply removing the capscrews. The other one will hit the exhaust manifold and will need to be disassembled in place to get the valve "blade" out for cleaning. I kinda doubt this is your problem, it sounds electrical but I am not that technically strong on ignition issues.

 

[JeremyD615]

Definitely clean and inspect the raves, but this could also be a rectifier problem. You can check by opening the grey electrical box and unplugging the red wire from the regulator. You won’t charge the battery like this, but you can ride for 30 minutes or so to see if the problem is gone.