Couple of problems with my boat

[Baysideblues]

Well i just got my boat 4 days ago and the boat is awesome i love it. There are just a couple of problems that if some one could help me out on it would be great.

1. My gas gauge doesnt work all the wires look fine and in place that gauge is just dead. I dont mind lifting up the trunk to look at the gas tank but i would like to get the gauge working.

2. The hole that water is suppose to drain out of the deck from by the feet of the driver seems to be pluged anyone know how to unplug that?

3. What should i use to clean out the engine bay and the underneth compartment on the deck to get rid of the oil and stained stuff?

4. What size gas tank do i have?

5. Why do you guys ever come off the water these boats are a blast. The only reason im off the water is cuz im stupid and didnt bring sun block and im as red as a lobster.

thanks nate :cheers:

 

[mazjag]

Nate,you have to say what boat and year...jason

 

[JPX]

3. What should i use to clean out the engine bay and the underneth compartment on the deck to get rid of the oil and stained stuff?

Oil Eater - does an excellent job getting that slimy stuff from inside the hull.

 

[DiveMode]

Nate- I believe your gas tank is the same size as mine... 27 gal capacity. The deck drain hole by your feet... I found a water bottle cap in mine when it plugged up. Unwound a wire hanger and poked it from the front & rear till I was able to pull out the cap. If you've got leaves, sticks, caps, etc... that should work. It's just a straight line tube from the front to the back with a little flap in the rear... no valves or anything in the middle of the tube to ruin.
My gas gauge doesn't work either, I lift up the trunk myself when I'm filling up. I've found that I run about 20 gal of gas in 2 days of solid running... pulling wakeboards & stuff. Hard WOT holeshots & all...

If you don't have the shop manual for your boat maybe think about joining this site as a premium member... they've got the manuals for you online right here and all the tech help you'll ever need.

 

[Baysideblues]

<<<<<I have a 1995 Speedster with 2 85s

 

[DiveMode]

yeah, my 96 has twin 85's.

 

[SeadooBOB Square Pants]

Scupper Valve and More

First off welcome Nate,
Ok so I thought my drain was plugged as well, well come to find out it was actually a faulty scupper valve. That is the valve at the back of the boat someone mentioned. If the flapper valve at the back gets old and wore out it tends to be well.....completely useless, I am still wanting on my Seadoo guys to get me a PVC ball valve for my boat so I can replace the flapper valve and so my boat will stop leaking. So I guess what I am trying to say is clean out your tube and if water still doesn't drain correctly you have a bad valve. My gas gauge also doesn't work no biggy just find out how long your boat will run on whole tank to a 1/2 tank and then calculate from there.

 

[imnothot02]

where do you get the valve? I have a 95 speedster that has the same problem...

 

[unclejay]

Answers

There is a fix for the gas guage ! A $ 20 float kit from

http://www.seadoosource.com/fuelfloat.html

You need to remove the grey electric box to make the fix, takes about 1 hour for everything. You do NOT need to remove the wires from the electrical box, just lay it off to the side. Be sure to mark the 4 fuel lines before you remove them. Also be sure the completely re-seat the entire pickup baffle otherwise the electric box will sit on it and break it. The float kit looks too small but it works fine.

The grey electric box is held on with 2 lock nuts (not metric). Loosen them slowly and carefully otherwise they may start to rotate the bolt, if that happens you will have to hold the bolt with jam nuts while you loosen the lock nut.
Do not hold it with vise grips, it is very difficult to replace (requires seat removal)

Be careful disassembling the pickup baffle to replace the float. Don't pry the bottom cap off, you need to push in the little tabs gently, the plastic will be old and may be brittle.

You do not need to empty the fuel tank. Put a towel over the opening and ground yourself, this is not a high risk operation.

Plugged drain hole - I actually went the opposite route, I bought a marine plug at Ace hardware and plugged mine so oil from the bilge doesn't flow into the ski locker. (like when towing down hill). Whatever water drains into there can be removed with a sponge. All early Speedsters leak a lot of oil into the bilge. You don't need to mess with the scupper valve unless you're getting lots of water in the bilge - a quart or so after a day is normal.

Your gas tank is $ 110 size ! (at $ 4.10 a gallon) When I bought my '95 it was about $ 30

 

[JPX]

Just throwing in some visual aids.....

There is a fix for the gas guage ! A $ 20 float kit from
http://www.seadoosource.com/fuelfloat.html
.............
The grey Be careful disassembling the pickup baffle to replace the float. Don't pry the bottom cap off, you need to push in the little tabs gently, the plastic will be old and may be brittle.

​

You do not need to empty the fuel tank. Put a towel over the opening and ground yourself, this is not a high risk operation.

​

 

[imnothot02]

sweetness, of all the boards im a member of for different intrests i must say this one is by far the best!

 

[Baysideblues]

First off welcome Nate,
Ok so I thought my drain was plugged as well, well come to find out it was actually a faulty scupper valve. That is the valve at the back of the boat someone mentioned. If the flapper valve at the back gets old and wore out it tends to be well.....completely useless, I am still wanting on my Seadoo guys to get me a PVC ball valve for my boat so I can replace the flapper valve and so my boat will stop leaking. So I guess what I am trying to say is clean out your tube and if water still doesn't drain correctly you have a bad valve. My gas gauge also doesn't work no biggy just find out how long your boat will run on whole tank to a 1/2 tank and then calculate from there.

Thanks Seadoo Bob That is exactlly what the problem was!! All I did was pull the rubber valve out alil bit and took the boat out no water what so ever thanks dude.

There is a fix for the gas guage ! A $ 20 float kit from

http://www.seadoosource.com/fuelfloat.html

You need to remove the grey electric box to make the fix, takes about 1 hour for everything. You do NOT need to remove the wires from the electrical box, just lay it off to the side. Be sure to mark the 4 fuel lines before you remove them. Also be sure the completely re-seat the entire pickup baffle otherwise the electric box will sit on it and break it. The float kit looks too small but it works fine.

The grey electric box is held on with 2 lock nuts (not metric). Loosen them slowly and carefully otherwise they may start to rotate the bolt, if that happens you will have to hold the bolt with jam nuts while you loosen the lock nut.
Do not hold it with vise grips, it is very difficult to replace (requires seat removal)

Be careful disassembling the pickup baffle to replace the float. Don't pry the bottom cap off, you need to push in the little tabs gently, the plastic will be old and may be brittle.

You do not need to empty the fuel tank. Put a towel over the opening and ground yourself, this is not a high risk operation.

Plugged drain hole - I actually went the opposite route, I bought a marine plug at Ace hardware and plugged mine so oil from the bilge doesn't flow into the ski locker. (like when towing down hill). Whatever water drains into there can be removed with a sponge. All early Speedsters leak a lot of oil into the bilge. You don't need to mess with the scupper valve unless you're getting lots of water in the bilge - a quart or so after a day is normal.

Your gas tank is $ 110 size ! (at $ 4.10 a gallon) When I bought my '95 it was about $ 30

Thanks a ton unclejay I will buy that kit. I dont have a problem looking in the back at the tank but when the girlfriend has the boat out i would really like to not get a call saying she ran out of gas. Thanks excellent write up..

 

[daveyjones]

I just paid $28 for a scupper valve replacement for my 1996 Speedster. I was getting about a quart of water in the cockpit. It's wasn't terrible, but annoying.

The new one is quite different (black with semi-transparent ball, and clear rubber seal). This one protrudes outside the transom. Removed the thin white ring on the outside and screwed the new one in. It didn't come with screws so I used the old ones, but they are a little short...

I still had to get that torn up black rubber "valve" (recalled years ago) out, to do so disconnected white flexible drain tubing and pulled it out between the PVC threaded plug and tubing. (done from inside the engine compartment).

I can post a pic if you want of the new one installed. Also I am assuming the rectangular drain hole points down on the scupper valve.

There were no instructions and even the shop manuals/updates don't show the new setup. I hope this helps.

 

[vilord]

A picture would be great! I may add this to my list of items, my old valve is in the always-open-a-bit position.

 

[TOBASCO]

Being a newbie here myself (just bought a '94 Speedster), I'm gonna ask the stupid question.

Given the water that can flow into the cockpit (an annoyance), what would be the problem with just putting a cork stopper into the drain holes to just prevent water from backing up into the cockpit, and the center storage area as well?

 

[vilord]

The drain hole in the cockpit is meant to drain off water while you are operating, if you plugged it, water could accumulate in the bilge faster than the bilge pump could drain it, and you could flood your engines.

The amount of water that comes in through that drain should be minimal unless you have the front of the boat overloaded, as normally the drain is lower than the cockpit footwell.

 

[topshelf]

I just paid $28 for a scupper valve replacement for my 1996 Speedster. I was getting about a quart of water in the cockpit. It's wasn't terrible, but annoying.

The new one is quite different (black with semi-transparent ball, and clear rubber seal). This one protrudes outside the transom. Removed the thin white ring on the outside and screwed the new one in. It didn't come with screws so I used the old ones, but they are a little short...

I still had to get that torn up black rubber "valve" (recalled years ago) out, to do so disconnected white flexible drain tubing and pulled it out between the PVC threaded plug and tubing. (done from inside the engine compartment).

I can post a pic if you want of the new one installed. Also I am assuming the rectangular drain hole points down on the scupper valve.

There were no instructions and even the shop manuals/updates don't show the new setup. I hope this helps.

daveyjones..have a 96 speedster and the black flap is located on the outside not inside and also attached with a white plastic casing..the black flap seems to be open 1/4 and takes on alot of water, seems its old..this should be flush correct..can you provide that picture of your new scupper valve.
Thanks,
Topshelf

 

[miketyler]

Does anyone know if the white float shown will work as a replacement for the black ones with the four small wafer magnets?

My fuel float no longer floats and as a result I have no fuel indication. Gauge indication works fine with the sender tube pulled and float in different positions.

My ship is a 96 model Seadoo Challenger with the single engine. I have had her several years and this is the only problem I have had thus far. The boat was stored for about 3 years and I noticed this problem immediately.

 

[unclejay]

Yes

The white float is the one I mentioned in my post. It will fix your fuel gauge, but read the entire post carefully before you begin.

 

[miketyler]

ok, I already have the unit out and carefully removed the float. On my model Challenger, I didnt have to pull the electrical box as it was over center enough to clear. However, the retractable ski pole assembly was right above the sender tube and had to be removed for clearance.

So you are saying the white float works fine as a replacement for the apparently older style charcoal-colored floats?

EDIT: Called my local dealer and they confirm the white float is a newer style and replaces the older black float. $12.99 + tax, Cant beat that