1996 gsx starting issues

[air9]

Hello everyone. I bought my first jet ski just over a month ago. Its a 1996 gsx with 100 hours on it. Previous owner had a local dealer change the fuel lines and clean the carbs. Also had a new battery installed.

Ski runs great, when I can actually get it started. I normally take the ski out on weekends. Meaning its sits in the garage during the week.

So when I try to start it before heading to the lake, the engine turns over but doesn't seem to want to catch. After a few attempts it will spin once or twice then stop. To the point were it won't turn over at all. I get the one beep and low 12v message on the gauge.

At this point I disconnect the battery and put it on a tender for a few minutes. Reinstall and it fires right. Rode 8 hours last weekend with multiple stops and starts and had no issues.

So is my battery not holding a charge? Is it not being charged while in the ski? Is my starter or solenoid going? Rectifier or stator issue?

I checked all fuses which were good. No water or moisture inside the vts box etc.

Looking for opinions or help before I start spending money on unneeded parts.

 

[donkey]

well after sitting a week,none of my skis just fire up,,,they all crank n crank n crank,with choke,,unless i squirt some carb spray in the air box,through the little rubber grommet hole,then they fire up in a couple seconds.but,all of my skis have deka batteries,and i can crank an engine in bursts for many many minutes without draining the battery.so u may just not have a battery with alot of reserve?

 

[Matt Braley]

First step is a new 325cc or better agm battery. They can be found for $80 bucksish and a 787 needs good power to crank correctly. Load testing your battery probably will show that it drops below 10v while cranking. The coil won't fire at that point. So when it runs up on some resistance then starts spinning and won't start that is why.

There are other things that can do it like: cables that are corroded internally, bad solenoid(starter relay in rear black box), leaky inner crank seals putting rv oil in the cylinders and raising compression, tired starter, etc. But with your description I'd say a fresh high powered battery will take that symptom away for a couple years.

 

[air9]

Thanks for the advice guys. The PO said the battery was new, but you never know. I thought maybe the battery was draining from attempting to start it to many times.

I'll pick up a new battery this week and see if that solves my issues. Where is the best place to get one from and what are some good brands to look for?

Also, if i take the plugs out the engine turns over with ease. Would this mean the starter and solenoid are good?

 

[air9]

Well it looks like the battery was the issue. I left it on a charger for the weekend. Put it back in the ski today with some fresh spark plugs and it started right up on the first crank.

This also seemed to fix an issue i was having with my gauge. It would always reset the clock every time i would start it and the LCD screen would do strange things. But this all seemed to be fixed with a nicely charged battery.

Since the riding season is almost over, i'll probably try to limp through the rest of the summer by charging my current battery when not in use and buy a new one next year. Thanks everyone for your help and saving me money before i bought unneeded parts.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Anytime electronics reset it is almost always a battery issue and or a connection issue.


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[air9]

Bumping this up. Time to get the ski out for the season!

I bought a new agm battery for this year hoping that it will fix my starting issues. My ground cable looks a little rough though. Green corrosion on the battery end. On my old battery the negative terminal was melted slightly. I'm guessing this might have been caused by a lose/bad connection. I would like to replace it but the oem cable seems to be discontinued. Can I just use a ground cable from like auto zone etc..??

The previous owner had the starter rebuilt with new brushes by the local dealer prior to my purchase. It looks like they used a new bolt for the ground connection on starter. I'm wondering if maybe this could be a problem as well? Is adding a second ground wire a bad idea or overkill?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Bumping this up. Time to get the ski out for the season!

I bought a new agm battery for this year hoping that it will fix my starting issues. My ground cable looks a little rough though. Green corrosion on the battery end. On my old battery the negative terminal was melted slightly. I'm guessing this might have been caused by a lose/bad connection. I would like to replace it but the oem cable seems to be discontinued. Can I just use a ground cable from like auto zone etc..??

The previous owner had the starter rebuilt with new brushes by the local dealer prior to my purchase. It looks like they used a new bolt for the ground connection on starter. I'm wondering if maybe this could be a problem as well? Is adding a second ground wire a bad idea or overkill?

Thanks in advance.

Two options,,, Walk into a local auto parts store and get a ready made generic cable. Or, [MENTION=41828]Minnetonka4me[/MENTION] makes a higher quality cable for the skis.

 

[air9]

Thanks coastie. Exactly the info i was looking for. I'll try a generic one from the auto parts store. If that fixes my issue i'll be in contact with minnetonka for a nice set. Thanks again.