Recent content by soccerdad

It was the battery. I towed it back and eventually swapped the battery out with my other ski. Bam, started right up. But the odd thing is that the battery tests at 12.6VDC. But on a charger it immediately goes into trickle mode because the charger thinks it is full. But then put the battery...

I had almost exactly the same problem on a 21 gti-se 170. Rode for 30 minutes and then dead, but my gauges were flickering and it said it could not read the key. I towed it back and eventually swapped the battery out with my other ski. Bam, started right up. But the odd thing is that the...

I stopped in the middle of a ride to take a picture. I left the key on the post and killed it with the stop button. When I went to start it less than a minute later, it sounded like it was about to crank and then the display reads something like the key is not correct. And the display...

A beautiful day at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia! It was 61 degrees today and I looked down at the floaters and thought to myself that they would be sad if not ridden! So we went out for a quick ride, my daughter and I. Lots of things to be thankful for today!

The 97s also have the same integrated MPEM.

Some 96's have a one-off MPEM (one year and model only) with the integrated CDI and some have the separated style. The integrated ones are harder to find and are twice the price. The late year 96 ones have the integrated.

I would bypass everything in the fuel system. Run hose from the fuel pickup directly to the carb. No valves, filters or anything. That will let you know for sure that part works. The next test is a pain, but it will tell you a lot. You can pull the electrical box out of the 97 along with...

And that is what I did. They were gone though and should be trouble free with proper maintenance pending anything that just breaks because it is old. I decided that I was over thinking it. These things are actually pretty basic machines. A running motor, a good jet pump and a decent battery...

A little sadness. I sold my last two two-stroke skis today. Shamu and Lemonade are moving on to live with a nice family down near Lake Wylie in NC. Thanks so much for all the help over the years! I have over 1700 posts on this forum! An amazing journey. I still have a couple new GTI-SE's...

What is everyone's feelings about selling older skis to people that are non-mechanical? I am selling some skis and potential buyers seem to be lacking in any abilities to keep them running if something goes wrong. They are in top shape now with everything working, but they are 25+ years old...

I can verify that just two beeps doesn't always mean the 97 MPEM is good. I had one that the CDI section was bad, and it beeped twice, but never started. It only shot an occasional spark and caused HUGE backfires.... New MPEM cured it.

Here is tool I made for cheap. Note that some question it and some love it. It is simple and I aligned all my motors with it. And the drive shafts are not bound up and carbon seals are not showing any weird wear. YMMV Inexpensive engine alignment tool- DIY

I did the same thing last season. Move from a 96 GSX and 96 GTX. Actually still have both. I bought 2021 GTI SE skis. One 130 and one 170. Both are great. But they are a lot heavier than the two stroke skis as you know. So not as nimble and just feel heavy. But they are trouble free so...

BTW, you can also just bypass that relay for testing. Look at the wiring diagram. You can disconnect the relay and connect the two wires that go across the contact together. I think they will just plug in together. This will keep power on the CDI continuously. It will work for testing, but...

That is the holder relay and could be the problem, but you will just be throwing parts at it unless you get the beeper working. A test light should work if you can't get a good beeper. They almost always are bad so you MUST get something to replace it. The gauges lighting up tell you almost...