'96 Seadoo GSX No Spark, No power to coil

[Vandy34]

Alright,

I'm working on a '96 Seadoo GSX for a buddy of mine. Came in, zero spark. Ignition coil resistance was EXTREMELY high, so I swapped it with a known good one. Redid all the connectors inside of the rear e-box due to corrosion from moisture in the box. Previous ignition coil was burnt up and seemed to have water inside of it.

Put the key in, no double beep like normal on Seadoos, hit the start button and rolls over great with great compression (130 ish both cylinders). Getting plenty of fuel so stopped cranking in order to avoid flooding. Decided to take a peek at the pickup coil (or whatever your term is, the magnet in the mag housing). Little dirty and had a couple shavings, but tightly held in and overall not bad. Cleaned it up with a rag and electronic cleaner and threw it back together. Went to crank again and still no spark. Cleaned up my ground points throughout the whole ski and gave it a shot again, nothing. Made sure all fuses were good, (VTS fuse was blown, swapped it, still nothing. The rest were fine). Decided to voltage test the ignition coil positive wire, and barely any voltage coming in from the mpem/cdi (think it was like .1 volts). Any ideas? Only thing I could think of is that it needs a new cdi/mpem.

Any thoughts and ideas appreciated,
Jake

 

[artr]

Here is an excellent video that goes through the entire ignition system of a 96 XP which I think is similar to yours. He tests the ignition coil input with a test light, not a volt meter. I would try the test light on the ignition coil input. If you don't get a good signal on that coil input I would then check that the CDI connectors are tight and clean. Also check that the holder relay is supplying 12V to the CDI while cranking (I had one that tested ok statically as shown in the video but dropped the 12V while cranking on cold starts). You should probably replace the beeper because there is a beep code for no 12V at the CDI as well as the overheating alarm and other failures.

 

[Vandy34]

Okay, I’ve attached a picture of what i’m looking at. It seems i’m completely missing the CDI and relay holder, correct? Or is this some other type of system that was wired in previous to his ownership?

 

[Vandy34]

Update - pulled MPEM/cdi. P/N 278001047 on the back. Looks like its the combined CDI and MPEM. Still not getting any spark. Motor cranks just fine, compression good, new plugs & ignition coil. Is it possible for the CDI to go bad separately from the MPEM, even if its in the same box?

 

[artr]

The part numbers you need can be found in the 96 GSX parts manual you can download at seadoomanuals.net. It lists the MPEM as 278 000 897 and shows a separate CDI unit. Maybe someone on the forum can identify that MPEM you have or you could call a dealer parts department and find out where that part is used. They might also be able to tell you if that part is usable in a 96 GSX or if that might be your problem.

 

[artr]

If you google that seadoo part number you have it shows as a module for certain serial numbered 96 GSXs. I am not familiar with testing that module but maybe other members can help.