300/440/550 dead 550 WTF???

[OldSkoot]

Ok, im not sure what to do next. First i had a starter that went, and it seems at the same time i had a solenoid go. the starter would not disengage, replaced starter, and replaced solenoid. push start and just a click from the cdi box. tried to jump solenoid and no start. I just spent hours running fresh grounds, putting a bilge in a bilge switch , yada yada yada..... what the hell can cause the soleniod to just click? the starter is not even clicking at all. Would it be a bad start relay? any help is welcome as i was hoping to ride this weekend.
I got another working box/starter but the 88 ( bad start issue) has been hacked and no longer has the quick connect, the good setup has the quick connect which means i gotta pull 2 magnetos just to swap back over to quick connects.

 

[jdakrt]

If its clicking then the solenoid is working. Check the starter cable for continuity and check the starter for a bad spot or binding. get you meter and verify you have 12v to and from the relay to be sure.

 

[OldSkoot]

well, it was a second bad starter. I have a manual but it does not mention the tuning for these two screws.

this pic is taken from the right rear side of the carb. i believe one is a mixer but not sure of the other. Anyone have any idea of base settings for these two?
I got the ski to start but she revs really high.
the only mods done are a pipe, water box, cut limiter electrical lines(left the limiter in place for now). I set the low @ 1 1/16 and the high @ 7/8 turned out from seat. but she revs really high and i had to pull the plug wires to get it to trun off.

 

[ChrisFiore15]

adjust the idle..
on the other side of carb.. where cable attaches... there is a screw that like rests on the thing where cable attaches to... the throttle wheel...
back that screw off a bit so it closes the butterfly more.. .

 

[OldSkoot]

yes i unscrewed the idle and made sure all pressure(cable) was off of it, and then i checked to make sure the cable had not come out of the housing up on the bars and last that the idle arm was not adjusted wrong(i backed it off so that it did not touch the stop arm). BUT it's official, i'm an idiot, the upper screw is the high. BUT what is that lower one in the pic? AND what are base settings for it? i just poured through the manual i have (82-83) and the downloaded online (78-91) and there is no mention of this lower screw in the pic. I initially thought it was a mixer screw but then i found on pwc today it MAY be a pilot? i need to join over there anyway.... is the lower screw like a "rough" idle screw or is it a mixer, or neither??? I guess my next question is ......w/o taking the carb off can i tell what carb itr is by mic'ing the venturi from the topside?
and why would the engine "diesel" and i have made no timing changes? i had to literally just now unplug both plug wires AND take out 1 plug just to get it to shut down?

 

[N2 H2O]

A run away engine normally means air leak. What year is your ski and is it a bn38 or bn44? It looks like a 44 in the pic. If it's a 440, theres a third adjuster on the other side of the carb that is the low screw. The high screw is the high speed adjuster, and the low screw is the pilot adjuster.

 

[OldSkoot]

No clue yet as to actual size, but yes I got the low is on the opposite(right not pictured, and high is upper in pic), what I don't get any info on is the pilot.
The ski was running fine except I had to crank the puss outta her to get her to start, when the starter went out I started digging around and saw the carb was really rich..... So I seated everything , clipped the limiter, and that's it carb related. I began with stock settings but cannot find info on the pilot . Is the pilot a kinda carb idle mixer? What is a base setting for it?
This is a 88 ski. Looks like several carbs were used in 88. Can I just Mic the Venturi to determine size?

 

[N2 H2O]

The 44s have 4 bolts on top and the 38s have 3 for future reference. You need to do a leak down test before you do anything if your motor ran away. That is a major problem and can cause the motor to lean out and seize and will make tuning impossible. Here are the stock carb settings:
high- 15/16
low- 1 1/8
pilot- 1 5/16

 

[OldSkoot]

K, it's a 4 bolter. Thnx a ton for that pilot base setting. Guess I need to see if the lame manual has specs for a leak down . Kinda stumped as to why no mention in my paper manual or the download as to specs for the pilot. Again thnx a lot man!

 

[N2 H2O]

The motor should hold 8-10 psi and drop no more than 1 psi per minute. Bad crank seals would explain the motor running away and the starting issues.


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[OldSkoot]

Well, these things are making me out to be a dumba**. The starters were very bad, but I found that my mani to header bolts had come loose and I tightened them back down and she almost purrs. Gonna make a new gasket tonight and hopefully all my woes will be over, well at least long enough to be able to run 2-3 tanks through her if the weather is nice.
Nh20 , thnx for the help man I appreciate it , the antique Kawi forum here looks almost dead and was even wondering if I'd get any replies.

 

[_evan]

If your using stuff for the gastet like RTV silicone take the manifold off and clean the crap out of it and sand it alittle. Then don't start it for a day or so. It will leak if you do. Trust me I know!

 

[OldSkoot]

no I don't use rtv anymore for gaskets, I just cut them out.