I have a 1997 Seadoo XP that was having a starting issue at the start of the season. Took it in to a local shop and they said it needed a new starter. Replaced it with an aftermarket starter. Ran fine the first time out. Second time out it ran a while then starting having problems with key on. Check connections and found the 6 pin Deutsche that plugs into the top of the electrical box was missing the cap wedge that holds the receptacle pins in place and the connector seal. Thought I had it but still no key on. Started checking other connections and found the large connector that plug in bottom right of MPEM had the bottom right pin corroded. Clean the receptacle pin and the post that were corroded. Thought I had it again. Strong double beep with key on. But now I have a new issue. When I press the starter button, it starts out for 3-5 seconds trying to turn over the engine. Then it stops. When I try again, each starter button press only provides a single "clunk" of the starter trying to turn over the engine (not the repeated rapid attempts to turnover the engine). The battery is good (brand new) after I replaced a 2 month old battery that I thought was the issue. I charged to full again, then same thing. The clunking occurs with the battery reading 12.6-12.7 (after a full charge to 13.1-13.2. Looks like the driveshaft is spinning on the first go with the rapid sounds as it tries to start. Any thoughts on where to look next would be appreciated.
1997 Seadoo XP starting issue
- Thread starter hobbsmt
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Thanks for the reply. I really hope that isn't it because I have a feeling the dealer will expect me to pay the labor again to replace the replacement.
Anything else that you could suggest I check?
Ok. New development. I took the spark plugs out and hit the starter. A LOT OF FLUID shot out of the spark plug holes, so I think it was flooded and clamping down the pistons. So, shut off the fuel and kept holding the starter button until I had cleared out the chambers pretty well. Now it is trying to start but won't quite catch. Had to pull the battery because it started to run low. Have the spark plugs out letting the chamber air. Any suggestions from this point would be appreciated.
pretty sure it was fuel (oil and gas mix). Not 100% positive because the last time it had started was a day my son took it to the lake when the chop on the lake was the worst I have seen it in 25 years. So when he had it beach, waves were constantly rolling in. Could have push water up into the engine. Either way, I covered the spark plug holes with paper towels and had him keep hitting the start button until nothing but fuel was coming out. Worried it may have flooded again, so removed the spark plugs again and held the start button. Paper towels smelled of gas but had blue/black spotting from the Seadoo oil mixed with the gas. It is trying to start now but won't fire up. I also check the spark plugs by having them connect to the spark plug wires and grounding against the engine block. Both plugs sparked when holding the start button. Not sure what to do now. With the spark plugs in it will now try to turn over for a few seconds then stop. Press the button again, same thing. Just not firing up.
You still have too much fuel in the bottom of the crankcase. It gets brought up to the top when it tries to fire under compression. You are going to have to keep pumping that out and using a rag to tightly cover the empty sparkplug holes will help pump it out. Once you put the plugs back in they will probably keep getting fuel bridging the gap so it will usually cough once then you will have to pull the plugs and blow the fuel off and repeat. Eventually it will fire and start running.
Thanks. I did notice the spark plugs gapping with fuel today. So I will keep doing what you describe above to get all the excess fuel out. I did catch the plugs had a gap of about .030 also, where specs say .020-.024. So I adjusted them to spec.
Thanks again. I got it running. Smoke was coming out of the back end for a few minutes, then died down. Guessing it was burning off excess oil. Seems to be starting really well now.
Took it out Sunday. Started up really well. 2nd time it was quirky about starting and later in the day when out riding, it just konked off. Thinking it has to be some kind of electrical issue. I managed to get it going again after a few more starts and konk outs (as soon as I started to move) and it ran fine the rest of the day, but the double beep was very weak, where it had been very strong. Got home and started checking connections to the MPEM, focusing on the lower right (Connector #1 on Circuit diagram) which is where the corroded pin 2-1 had been. It looked fine, but I was worried it may still have had corrosion, too much dielectric grease, or water had gotten into the connector (as the orange seal is kinda worn out). I used a Q-tip to try to clean the MPEM pins (remove any dielectric grease they may have gotten on them), a wire to try to scrape (for corrosion) and toothpicks to remove any grease in the pin receptacles on the connector, Didn't seem to help and may have made it worse (though I checked other connections before trying to start). Now, I am still only getting a weak double beep with key on (almost sounds like tick-tick, but is a weak beep). Generally with weak double beep, the ski starts up fine. At times I get no double beep and the ski doesn't even attempt to start. I have also checked, cleaned, etc Connector #2 on the MPEM, disconnected and looked at the other connections near the MPEM, electrical box, and the connections under the storage box in front of the handle bar. (On the upside, gages that haven't worked well in a while seem to be working consistently now
) Any ideas on where to look next or how to troubleshoot would be appreciated. I am starting to think I may have a broken wire in one of the harnesses. (On a side note, I pulled the Wiring Diagram from SeaDooManuals.net for the 97 XP. Best I can tell based on Connector #1, my ski's wiring doesn't match (based on wire color) the diagram.) Not sure if someone did a major rewiring job at some point on it, but it is very different.I checked the DESS post per instructions from waterluvr in a different thread. Post checked out as good. I also checked the key and continuity across the grounds (side tabs) as he mentions, but got nothing when I placed the red lead on the side tab and black on the bottom tab. He mentions that it should read no more than 10 ohms, but I am getting infinite resistance. Wondering if this is right b/c my back-up key gives the same reading.
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