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96 Seadoo XP battery help!

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vabbatiello

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Need some help with a Seadoo XP 96. Getting it ready for a new season and looking forward to riding this year. It's been in storage for the past two years but this year I am ready to run.

I bought a new battery, changed the plugs, and got it started and runs great. I let the ski stand for a few days and now the battery is dead. (4) days to be exact. Charged the battery again and it started back up. Put a voltage meter and it runs at about 14.2 v at around 5000rpms. When the ski is off the battery is at 13.1 volts. I am going to test it daily to see what's going on and why is losing charge? When I turn the ski on it's starts charging back up.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys
 
You have a draw from you battery. I have a test to narrow your problem to the component that's bad, and I'll post it tomorrow as I'm not on my puter at this time where the file is.

Karl
 
You can take the negative cable off and put a volt meter between the negative post and the negative cable. See what kind of amps are being drawn. There should be none. If there is then something is running while the machine is off drawing down your battery.
 
scooper77515 said:
You can take the negative cable off and put a volt meter between the negative post and the negative cable. See what kind of amps are being drawn. There should be none. If there is then something is running while the machine is off drawing down your battery.
Click to expand...


at this time we can expect a draw on the system, that does help but will not isolate the problem....first off...do you have any aftermarket electronics installed?
 
Here is a basic draw test that works on a variaty of seadoos...
Disconnect the neg cable from the battery. Take a 12 volt test lamp and connect it between the cable end and the battery post (Lanyard cap must be off DESS post). If the test lamp lites then you have a constant draw on the battery and this is not good. I would then start disconnecting components, one at a time, to see if any of these are causing a draw on the battery. In your case I would start with the info gauge then go to the rectifier and then go to the VTS module, etc. Note: using a volt meter connected between the cable end and the battery post will not work. It must be a 12volt test LITE.
Lite on...draw. No lite on...no draw

Keep me posted on your results...

Karl
 
Ok- a little confused

I don't have a 12v test light but will get one if need be.

All I have is a Volt meter. I am a little confused on how I test the volt meter though. I remove the black cable from the battery and leave the red one attached. I then place the black volt meter pole to the black disconnected cord of the ski while I also attach the red pole to the red connected cable to the ski, right?
When doing that it shows me between .003 vdc and .005 vdc? I guess that means there is a draw correct? What do I do now? Should I start pulling fuses to see if it's the VTS that's causing this? I have heard the VTS somtimes will do this.

Guys- I really appreciate your help. I am a pretty handy guy but jet ski engines are totally new to me.
 
First please refer to Karl's post to you...he explained it just as I would have to you.....and you cannot use a volt meter at all to test for a draw it will not tell you anything.....next once you have the test light in place and if it stays lit up then lets proceed this way......once you have confirmed that the test light is on and staying on we have now confirmed a battery load draw....at this time leave the light connected and try disconnecting sensors and connectors one at a time while keeping an eye on the test light, if the test light goes out or dims you have found the entire problem or at least part of the draw....it is very simple to do, but please do not pull a hot and let it touch a ground....
 
The way I did it, your volt meter will need an AMP setting on it. You want to measure how many amps are being drawn from the battery.

Sometimes the amount drawn may be just a trickle, and may not light up a test light. A digital volt/ohm/amp meter will likely show you a reading in low ranges under 1, such as .255A. That isn't much, but will draw a battery down dead over days. It sounds like yours is maybe a higher draw though.

Negative cable off battery, and put positive tester lead on it, and negative tester lead on negative battery post. Check reading, then start looking for what is staying hot. You want that reading to be at or VERY close to ZERO. Down around .010 is about where your tester may be picking up error readings and is just not calibrating to zero.
 
ohms law

ohms law states that it takes one volt to push one amp through 1 ohm of resistance......where you have amprage you will always have voltage....if your voltmeter has an amp meter on it then it is now called an amp meter...stop confusing this guy........you can light up a test light with .5v it will be dim but will still light up....why?...because there is current running through it.....the small amount and I mean very small amount can be found on most cars almost every car if you take the neg cable loose you will find a very small amount of draw this is due to left over currant in system capacitors......in no way do you check for a draw with an volt/amp meter.

Any 12v electrical class will teach you that you only use a test light to test for a draw.
 
and by the way if it is stored up current left in a capacitor then with the test light hooked up will drain it doen and the light will go out if it is not a constant draw......oh wait...thats where a volt/amp meter will not work.......I work with electronics almost everyday.
 
though if it does come down to it you can use an amp meter just prefered is a test light, if you do use a amp meter try to use just that and not a multimeter with an amp setting on it because if you do use a multimeter/voltmeter with an amp setting and have over 10 amps you will pop the fuse and or fry the meter.
 
I used this last on a slow draw on my Maverick. Couldn't figure out where it was, but by putting the amp meter on it, I saw that it was a very weak draw. Started to pull fuses until I found that the circuit with the dome light on it was the culprit. Then I pulled the dome light, not it. Kept digging and found that the door-open buzzer was always hot, but not enough to make it vibrate enough to buzz. Cut that damned thing out and checked for draw, and none. Battery hasn't died since!

But it was a low enough draw that it would NOT light up a light. But it DID kill the battery over a 2 week sitting. And weakened it over a week to where it was hard to start.

I used the amp meter set on mA once I figured that it was a very weak draw, and that gave me the idea to start looking at things I normally wouldn't, such as the door buzzer. Normally you think if it isn't buzzing, it is not hot, but this weak draw had me thinking something was up even though the electronic devices were not activated.

I agree totally, I would never use it on anything with a serious draw like 10A. But if something was drawing 10A, you could probably feel the hot wires or devices just by touching them.
 
Bandaide

another thing you can try and i know it doesnt fix the problem but you can do a main disconnect or leave an automatic trickle charger on it.
 
Battery/Electric HELP!

Ok, I bought a 12v test light and started disconnecting today. Here is what I found. Nothing happened when I disconnected any of the plugs in the ski. The only time the light when out is when I disconnected the main plug where both the positive/negative leads come into the box.
I also looked at the fuses. All the fuses were good. Even the 15 amp inside the electrial pannel. I did find that when I removed both the 5 amp and 15amp at the same time the light would go out? Do you guys know what those fuses belong to? I am thinking this is where the draw is occuring. Hopefully is not anything to serious.
How should I proceed from here? Everyone's feedback has been very helpful and I appreciate you guy taking the time to help a rookie jet ski mechanic!
 
Battery/Electric HELP!

ok, I think I found the problem but before I do anything I want to check with the professionals. (you guys). When I take the 15amp fuse out of the box (not the main fuse box) the one inside where the positive/negative connection come in the 12v light goes off. There are two wires on that fuse, one is red and the other is red with a pinkish strip. The wire with the strip looks like it has a connection on it that looks a little corroded? I am not 100 sure and it isn't something that I can just pull right off. Looks like it needs to be cut in order to be check and then re-done. Would this be the cause for the draw?
 
I got the wiring diagram out and there is no Red/Pink wire in it. I have Red/Purple and Red/Blue. I am going to assume the Red/Purple is the one you are looking at?

Red/Purple goes to Starter Solenoid.

There is a Red and Red/Purple set coming out of the Electronic Module and going to the Starter Solenoid. Maybe that is it?

If so, the solenoid may need to be replaced. Maybe it is stuck half on.

If you want, PM me with your email address and I will scan the diagram for you and let you chase it down.
 
Please don't stop here Guys. I think I have the same problem. My battery is always run down and I have to put a trickle charge on my ski all the time. I even have a 2 week old diehard that I just had to charge again to get ski started. Also my VTS trim does not work. I also think I have a draw! I understand all the testing with the light between the ground post and the ground wire and then pulling plug to see if light goes out.

Where is the VTS trim plug on a 1996 XP?

Also what was the outcome of vabbatiello's ski?
 
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