96/97 gts mpem

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Nis9446

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I need to replace the mpem on my 96 gts. The dealer near me can only order oem for 97. Will it work on my 96? Any experience with jet ski plus mpem? Was thinking about saving some money and ordering one of those but I’ve seen a lot of negative experiences with aftermarket mpem.
 
What makes you think the MPEM is bad?
More times than not the aftermarket ones are junk and don't work out of the box.
 
Ditto.
What's wrong with the ski? Sounds like it doesn't start...
What is it doing or not doing?

Just quit in the water last year, didn’t get to it until now. Nothing happens when you press the start button, and The 5 amp fuse blows when i connect the battery.
 
What makes you think the MPEM is bad?
More times than not the aftermarket ones are junk and don't work out of the box.

That’s kinda what I thought. I figured it’d be rolling the dice on an aftermarket one, do you have any idea if the 97 gts mpem would work on my 96? Mine has a 587
 
I would check the stator first. It may be grounding out. Unplug the wire connector to the stator on the front of the engine and check the wires with an ohm meter. You'll need a manual for the correct readings. I forget what they are. Small pieces of metal gather on the flywheel magnets from the starter and flywheel engaging and will bridge the gap and short it out to ground. You can also unplug it and try another fuse and see what that does.
 
I would check the stator first. It may be grounding out. Unplug the wire connector to the stator on the front of the engine and check the wires with an ohm meter. You'll need a manual for the correct readings. I forget what they are. Small pieces of metal gather on the flywheel magnets from the starter and flywheel engaging and will bridge the gap and short it out to ground. You can also unplug it and try another fuse and see what that does.

It's not the stator, it's the MPEM grounded internally. when the 5 amp fuse blows. It's very easy to confirm, check for continuity between a ground wire and the fuse on the MPEM.


Chester
 
Sorry I think I confused the no spark issue from the 787 with the 5 amp fuse blowing.
Good thing to do would be to get the part number off the mpem and look it up.
There are other OEM Sea Doo mpems that will work on your ski. I tried to look up the mpem on World Of Powersports fiche ( which goes all the way back to 1990 ) and they show 2 for a 1996, 1 without DESS and 1 with DESS... and I don't remember ever seeing that before. The part number on the MPEM sounds like the next thing to check out and that will point you in the right direction.
 
Check the rectifier first. My 96 SPI shut down at WFO throttle... dead as fried chicken. I replaced the Electronic control module and blew that one in seconds :) After months of growling at it and study on where to find the diode that needed to be replaced I attacked it again. I repaired two ECMs. What I found was the rectifier was the culprit. Once I replace the rectifier and got the diode in the correct direction the ski started right up. I posted a bunch of pictures of the process because I couldn't find anything usable on the internet.
 
It's not the stator, it's the MPEM grounded internally. when the 5 amp fuse blows. It's very easy to confirm, check for continuity between a ground wire and the fuse on the MPEM.


Chester

I got 0 ohms between the 5amp fuse and any ground wire. I do this with battery disconnected correct? Just want to double check
 
Sorry I think I confused the no spark issue from the 787 with the 5 amp fuse blowing.
Good thing to do would be to get the part number off the mpem and look it up.
There are other OEM Sea Doo mpems that will work on your ski. I tried to look up the mpem on World Of Powersports fiche ( which goes all the way back to 1990 ) and they show 2 for a 1996, 1 without DESS and 1 with DESS... and I don't remember ever seeing that before. The part number on the MPEM sounds like the next thing to check out and that will point you in the right direction.

Mine does not have a dess key, and the part number on mine is 278-000-821. I’ll search around and see what I can find but still kinda wondering if the mpem for the 97 would work on mine.
 
What's the part number on the MPEM? I got the two I repaired and use them for testing purposes. I have the diode soldered to a wire that gets it away from the MPEM circuitry. I don't have the proper tools so it is not a neat job but it works. I also bought about 6 diodes. Never blew one up yet though. As I said, once I found the rectifier bad.... which was easy... it was just me not having the diode wired the correct way. I allocated myself a week to get it resolved and it only took 5 hours. :) I was stoked !! LOL
 
Here's what it looks like. :D :D It is the Diode on the right. I dug the crap out of their with my small screw driver and assorted tools. I thought about setting it on fire once or twice and stabbed myself in the finger more than once. Ha ha but that beotch belongs to me now. Muhaaahaaaha !! SPI MPEM ECM (4).jpgSPI MPEM ECM (3).jpgSPI MPEM ECM (1).jpgSPI MPEM ECM (6).jpgSPI MPEM ECM (5).jpg
 
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The part number for the 97 mpem is 278001025. Looks like all the aftermarket ones fit both 97 and 96. And the diagram shown for both years looks exactly the same as the one in my ski. I’m think it’s safe to say it’ll work just fine. Correct me if I’m wrong cause I’m new to this
 
Here's what it looks like. :D :D It is the Diode on the right. I dug the crap out of their with my small screw driver and assorted tools. I thought about setting it on fire once or twice and stabbed myself in the finger more than once. Ha ha but that beotch belongs to me now. Muhaaahaaaha !! View attachment 40362View attachment 40363View attachment 40364View attachment 40365View attachment 40366

Haha! Not sure if I could tackle that one, is there somewhere I can find instructions on how to repair that diode?
 
Haha! Not sure if I could tackle that one, is there somewhere I can find instructions on how to repair that diode?

I just showed you. :) I couldn't find a single picture of this on the internet and nothing but generalities. I dug into it and found the bad diode. It's the one on the right. Check it with your meter. If you can continuity on both sides.... it's bad and... it's bad that's why your fuse is blowing. Buy a few diodes and if blows replace it. Cheap and simple but tedious. As mentioned I used my rig as a test then I bought a good MPEM when I was sure the problem was cured.

I tested the mag 15 times thinking I had a problem there but lucky for me I have a few of them to compare. An electrical engineer type guru told me it wouldn't be the mag. He was right.
 
I just showed you. :) I couldn't find a single picture of this on the internet and nothing but generalities. I dug into it and found the bad diode. It's the one on the right. Check it with your meter. If you can continuity on both sides.... it's bad and... it's bad that's why your fuse is blowing. Buy a few diodes and if blows replace it. Cheap and simple but tedious. As mentioned I used my rig as a test then I bought a good MPEM when I was sure the problem was cured.

I tested the mag 15 times thinking I had a problem there but lucky for me I have a few of them to compare. An electrical engineer type guru told me it wouldn't be the mag. He was right.

Hmm, might give that a try so I can be sure, do you know what kind of diode I need and where to buy it?
 
As an aside, I wonder how many mpems, time, and monies are wasted simply because bombardier engineers decided to place the diode inside the unit rather than in the fuse box. Grr
 
As an aside, I wonder how many mpems, time, and monies are wasted simply because bombardier engineers decided to place the diode inside the unit rather than in the fuse box. Grr
That was probably a management decision. LOL They could have fused it better I am sure.... it was a conspiracy. :D
 
Sorry I think I confused the no spark issue from the 787 with the 5 amp fuse blowing.
Good thing to do would be to get the part number off the mpem and look it up.
There are other OEM Sea Doo mpems that will work on your ski. I tried to look up the mpem on World Of Powersports fiche ( which goes all the way back to 1990 ) and they show 2 for a 1996, 1 without DESS and 1 with DESS... and I don't remember ever seeing that before. The part number on the MPEM sounds like the next thing to check out and that will point you in the right direction.
You're thinking about the 15 amp fuse. The 787 MPEM 5 amp fuse is an internal short to ground.

Chester
 
Mine does not have a dess key, and the part number on mine is 278-000-821. I’ll search around and see what I can find but still kinda wondering if the mpem for the 97 would work on mine.

Most Sea Doo's switched to DESS in 96 and all were DESS in 97. That's why I asked if yours had the DESS on it. As you don't have DESS the OEM Sea Doo for 97 won't work. You can fix yours, buy a used one on ebay or an aftermarket one. Check the rectifier to see if it's good. If you look on ebay search - 278-000-821 and 278000821 as they will show different results.
 
Most Sea Doo's switched to DESS in 96 and all were DESS in 97. That's why I asked if yours had the DESS on it. As you don't have DESS the OEM Sea Doo for 97 won't work. You can fix yours, buy a used one on ebay or an aftermarket one. Check the rectifier to see if it's good. If you look on ebay search - 278-000-821 and 278000821 as they will show different results.

Ohh ok wasn’t aware that all of them had DESS in 97. How would I check the rectifier? In my manual it says there is no static test available, and the only other way provided in the manual to test it requires the engine to be running, which mine obviously doesn’t start.
 
I haven't worked on a 587 in a while which is why I said to test the stator magneto and we heard that can't be it. The rec/reg rectifies the ac current to dc and then regulates the max it puts out to run the ski and charge the battery. The best check for the rec reg is to check the battery hooked up not running and start and idle the ski and it should go up a little, and then about 14.5 max when revving the engine. Did you check ebay and other places for the mpem?
 
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