1996 Seadoo GTX questions

[Bmedlin85]

Ok I bought 2 1996 GTX’s yesterday and have a couple of questions.

1.First of all what is the DESS? I remember on my 96 SPI the lanyard was just there to hold the killswitch button down.

2.Ok, on the 1st ski when I hook the lanyard up it beeps once. Then I can hit the starter and the motor turns over but will not start. The ski has been sitting for a year so I assuming that the carbs need to be cleaned. It appears the it is not getting fuel to the plugs.

3.On the 2nd ski when I hook the lanyard up it does nothing, not even a beep. It to has been sitting for a year.

Any thoughts?

 

[seadooya]

Make sure yuo have 2-new batteries, other than that, check fuses, poor a small cup of gas down plug holes, and see what happens. With the time spent sitting, it would not be a bad idea to pull the carbs, go through them, replace the grey fuel lines, install new plugs..etc

 

[Bmedlin85]

I do have the new batteries and new plugs so those are a check. I will try the gas in the cylinders tonight. Any idea with the ski that is not doing anything? Thanks for the info.

 

[seadooya]

theres a black box with red cables located under the rear seat, open it up and theres a fuse holder there. Inspect it for being good. Other than that, thee other fuse box location is underthe hood compartment, open that grey box up and inspect those...

 

[Bmedlin85]

I will be sure to check all of the fuses. I was told the skis ran last year so could a fuse go bad from just sitting?

 

[Dr Honda]

No... but when you hooked up the batteries... you could get a spike, and pop something.

Also... in that age of ski... the beeper could just be bad.

Last thing... you said that the ski that will beep only gave you one beep? That would indicate a problem. You should be getting 2 beeps.

On that thought... the DESS is a security system, and the lanyard had a chip in it. Did you try swapping the lanyards??

 

[Bmedlin85]

Ok that makes sense about blowing a fuse with the new battery. Yeah it is only giving me one beep on the ski that will turn over. I tried that lanyard on the other ski but still nothing. I did not try the the other lanyard on the one that turns over though.

 

[jhjesse]

1. Get two hot batteries
2. Check all fuses as mentioned in previous posts.
3. Clean ALL electrical connections and use dielectric grease.
4. Clean the lanyard keys good. Wash 'em or use a pencil eraser.
5. Remove DESS posts and clean every connection one at a time.

If you get two beeps that's good, if not and the ski is turning over with fire. Then replace plugs and start on the carbs. The beeper can be replaced as Dr. Honda mentioned.

More electrical problems have been solved by just a good through cleaning of the connections.

Just my opinion. That and about $2.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Mcdonalds. Good luck!

 

[Bmedlin85]

Thanks alot for the info so far yall. Looks like I have got a good bit of cleaning and searching to do. Here is a pic of the skis just for the heck of it.

 

[Bmedlin85]

So it turns out the ski does beep twice when I hook up the lanyard. I dipped the sparkplugs in some gas and reinstalled them. I hit the starter and what do you know, the dang thing started :cheers:!!! At idle (out of the water) what RPMs should it be reading? It is revving around 3500 rpms. It seems a little fast but I know that it idles higher out of water than in the water.

Now the 2nd ski. I installed the new battery and still the same thing, no beeps. I started moving some wires around in the front of the hull and all of a sudden it beeped once. I could not get it to beep again so I am assuming there is a loose wire somewhere.

 

[jhjesse]

Good news!
Now you sould clean all the connections on the dess post.

Next I would remove the carbs clean them and the internal filters. Then set the high and low carb settings to factory.

If the fuel lines are gray in color, then change them, clean the fuel selector valve and make sure the water seperator/filter is clean and sealed. The O ring on the water seperator can be a pain in the neck.

One last thing, if the gas is old I would drain and replace with fresh.

 

[Dr Honda]

The spec on "out of the water" idle is around 3000 rpm. You really can't adjust it until you put it into the water. It should be around 1500 in the water.

On the second ski.... all you can do is clean the post... and go thought all the wires to look for a loose connection. Pull everything apart... clean, grease, and reconnect.

 

[Bmedlin85]

When yall say clean the DESS post do you mean just the one that the lanyard plugs into?

I am also planning on putting the running ski in the water this evening just to see if the idle is around 1500 rpms. I also just want to run it for a few minutes since it has not been ran in a year. Would anyone recommend a carb cleaner or anything to spray inside the airbox while its running to clean things up a bit (internally)? I know that I probably just need to take the carbs off and clean them but I am going to do that later. Thanks again for all of the info. :cheers:

 

[voodoo]

On the first tank of the year I use 5 gallons premix to make sure there is oil while I wait to see the oil tank drop - mark the tank with tape and pencil line, once I know the oil is drinking then just add gas and go.

 

[Bmedlin85]

What ratio on that first tank of premix do you run?

 

[Bmedlin85]

Well I screwed around with the ski that is not doing anything again yesterday and still nothing. I checked all of the connections under the front storage box and everything appears to be good. Every now and then I can get it to beep once but thats it. I also noticed that the right button on the handlebar pad is missing. The rubber cover for the button is there but there is nothing under it like there is the left one. Could this have anything to do with the ski not starting? I didnt really think it could but I just thought I would check.

 

[seadooya]

that missing cover wont have anything to do with ski not starting. Use an eraser to clean the post and landyard, but have you checked all the fuses?

I thought you mentioned, one started and one didnt...so the one didnt, is that the one you dipped plugs into gas and now starts, or is it still dead?

 

[Bmedlin85]

It is not the cover that is missing, its the button.

No the ski that I dipped the plugs in gas started. The other is the one that I cannot get to do anything. Yes I check all of the fuses and they are ok. Why an eraser?

 

[Rotor13B]

It is not the cover that is missing, its the button.

No the ski that I dipped the plugs in gas started. The other is the one that I cannot get to do anything. Yes I check all of the fuses and they are ok. Why an eraser?

The button on the far right is just a blank.