1996 GTX won't accelerate

[bob]

recently i replaced a fuel baffle for my '96 GTX because the fuel meter stopped working. The GTX worked fine, for the next couple minutes, then it wouldnt go above 2000rpms (in the water.) So i took her out of the water, cut the ends of the fuel lines, and reattached them with new clamps (to make sure they were sealed.) I took her back out to the water, ran great for the whole 30 minutes or so that i was out, averaged a peak of 6770rpms. The next weekend, when i took her out on to the water...the same problem was back. I checked the lines that attach to the fuel baffle, and everything was tight.

okay..so i figured, maybe it was a coggled fuel line? Filter? checked them all...except the one in the carb, but everything else was fine. Pulled the plugs...they were REALLY dark black, and soaked in gas.

Any takers as to what might be wrong? I'm thinking of rebuilding the carbs for the heck of it. (hasn't ever been done) Is it possible for the carb screws to have turned loose on their own? nothing on the engine has ever been tampered with (except the rave valves being cleaned at the beginning of the season.)

thanks!
bob

[ August 20, 2002, 08:01 PM: Message edited by: bob ]

[Bill O'Neal]

Sounds like rebuilding the carbs is in order. It sure cannot hurt it. A 96 is well overdue by now.

[SP]

When you replaced the fuel tank baffle the pickup tubes for the reserve and on fuel lines should have a "rattler" at the end. These "rattlers" have a small check ball in them, if they get gummy you could have this problem if it sat for a week.

Try changing from On to Reserve, maybe only one "rattler" is stuck....

[brad]

I had a similar problem with my 96xp. I was doing the exact same troubleshooting as you are. I ended up rebuilding the carbs too. That still didnt do it. Then I found that if I just turned the shut off valve to reserve the ski ran fine. Try that first and then work from there, b/c you may not need a carb rebuild after all.
good luck!

[Bill O'Neal]

SP,
96 model Sea Doo's don't have check valves (rattlers) in the fuel pickup lines. They have plastic baffels with fuel gauge senders in them.

Brad,
All 96 model boats could stand a carb inspection and internal filter cleaning, wether you think it needs it or not. What if you are wrong ? Are you willing to bet his pistons on it not needing the filters cleaned ? It is called prevenitive maintence.
Yes there are other reasons that his boat may be acting up, but without knowing if the filters are clean or not, doesn't help me diagnose his problem and he could damage his motor before he gets a chance to get it worked out.

My thinking was maybe he got some debris into the fuel system ( he said he snipped hoses and replaced a fuel baffel) and the debris is allowing his needles to be held open ( very black sparkplugs ) or the needles are just worn out. Rebuilding the carbs includes testing the needles and seats and replacing them if necessary.

If your boat only runs good in the reserve position, you should spend the $15 and buy a new fuel selector valve and fix it before that portion of the valve gets as clogged up as the on position portion of the valve, or you too might be buying pistons.

[clevek]

am wondering about the fuel gauge problem you originally had, did changing the baffle(s) fix that problem? My 94 gtx fuel gauge is also broken, and wondering if it is something i can trouble shoot and fix myself, the local shop is extremely busy, and two weeks out on repairs, just had it in for regular maintenance service and asked them to ffix the gauge problem, but they did not do that...any thoughts? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Bill O'Neal]

When fuel gauges fail, it is usually the baffel that is bad. Sometimes just the magnet falls off of the float in the sending unit. The float is removeable by removing the plate at the bottom of the baffel. If you find the magnet has fallen off, glue it back on to the float.

Baffel is a stupid name for a fuel pickup/sending unit......

[stumpy]

I have the same problem with my fuel guage on my 94 gtx. I will try your suggestions about the magnets. Oh, btw Bill, BAFFLE is how it is supposed to be spelled. hehe. :D

[Colin GSXL]

From the Oxford English Dictionary.........

"baffle
/"bf()l/ verb 1 perplex. 2 frustrate. noun device that hinders flow of fluid or sound. bafflement noun. baffling adjective.

·verb 1colloquial bamboozle, bemuse, bewilder, confound, confuse, floor, colloquial flummox, mystify, perplex, puzzle, stump. 2defeat, foil, frustrate, thwart. baffling see INEXPLICABLE."

I guess it's called a baffle because it holds a pocket of fairly static fuel while the rest of the tank is sloshing about so ensuring no fuel starvation. Of course some of the other deffinitions could apply e.g. frustrate, puzzle, bewilder, etc, etc.........

Don't suppose this will help fix your ski though!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Colin