seadoo will crank over sometimes but not everytime

[Bdyanich]

Hey everyone.
I recently bout a 1998 Seadoo bombardier GSX limited with the 951cc in it. We got it from a friend and he said it didnt run very well so we started to work on it. We rebuilt the carbs and everything to that degree. We also replaced the beeper so we could figure out what was wrong with it. Now, you will put the key on and press the start button and all we get is one long beep for about a second. If you take the key off and put it back on it will eventually beep twice and start. As soon as you pull the key off, its back to the same thing as before. We also found out if you pull the fuse in the back electrical box it will eventually beep twice and start. I have been looking around and a few people say their is a relay in the starter that could be bad. I checked all the fuses that I could fine(might have missed some) and they were all clean. This machine has only 80 hours on it and it seems to have a lot of problems. If anyone has any ideas on why this is doing what it is doing please message me back on this thread. I really would like to get out on the water with it and have some fun. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ckrawiec]

MY first recommendation would be to go through the wiring of that ski THOROUGHLY. You need to check EVERY plug, connector, fuse, fuse block for any water/corrosion etc......take every connection apart, clean it, make it pristine.....then see if that makes any improvements. YES, you will have a fair amount of dis-assembly but it'll be worth it. Good Luck.

 

[Bdyanich]

Okay. I will do that. Do you have a diagram of the wiring and where all of the connectors are located?

 

[Ckrawiec]

Okay. I will do that. Do you have a diagram of the wiring and where all of the connectors are located?

I could send you the wiring diagram for your ski BUT that is merely a schematic of the system....YOU will have to painstakingly go through every nook and cranny of the ski following the wiring harnesses to find all the components, plugs, connectors, electrical boxes, etc.....there is no easy way around that work.....it is hands on, eyes open.

You can also EASILY find and download the '98 Shop Manual for free....a simple google search should find it.

 

[Bdyanich]

Okay. Thanks for you help. I will try this later today and see what happens. I will let you know the outcome. Thanks again.

 

[Bdyanich]

So I spent an hour or two checking all of the connections for corrosion. I sprayed some cleaner in them and put some dielectric grease in it. I am still having the same issue as before. I am wondering if it is possible a relay somewhere would be bad or the key post. I get two new keys about 3 weeks ago and now it works sometimes. Also if I leave the key on the ski and pull the fuse in the back electrical box out and put it back in, it will beep twice every once and a while. Then it will start. Other than that it is still not working half the time.

 

[Chester]

MY first recommendation would be to go through the wiring of that ski THOROUGHLY. You need to check EVERY plug, connector, fuse, fuse block for any water/corrosion etc......take every connection apart, clean it, make it pristine.....then see if that makes any improvements. YES, you will have a fair amount of dis-assembly but it'll be worth it. Good Luck.

It's a bad key and or DESS post. There's nothing wrong with the rest of your electrical system.

Chester

 

[GGuillot]

I get two new keys about 3 weeks ago and now it works sometimes.

The DESS keys are new? and were programmed to match the ski's MPEM? when they get really old they tend to be unreliable. You could ohm ck them with a multi meter, new ones usually register about 6-7 ohms, old ones can be as high as 20 ohms. It's been observed that when they get over 10 ohms they can be unreliable.

On the DESS post...run a continuity check all the way from the post where you apply the lanyard to the last point in the MPEM, which is the barrel connectors where it connects. Pay attention to the male/female connector under the steering, sometimes the pins in this connector can cause problems. When doing your continuity test listening for the beep on the meter, move wires around and see if it breaks the circuit.

If all this checks out, run all the grounds down on the ski and make sure they're good.

 

[Bdyanich]

Okay. I will try that. Ill run the test with the multimeter and see what happens. Was going to order a new post for it anyways. Does the new post need to be programed?

 

[mikidymac]

No post has nothing to do with lanyard programming.

 

[Bdyanich]

Okay. Thanks for all the help.

 

[biggadgetman]

my ski would just hit really hard like it was going to turn over, then sometimes it would. It turned out to be grounding. I just cant tell you which ground it was. The big one from the cylinder head straight to the battery seemed to have been the biggest factor but I believe mine had several little grounding problems. It never misses on startup now.