96 XP Randomly Died

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brian303k

brian303k

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Hi all,
A little back ground on the ski and what I have looked at/ repaired so far. Long story short, the ski was purchased by my father in 97, essentially “new”. It was ridden up until about 05/06 and was passed on to me in 2015 after sitting all those years. In 2015 I Drained fuel and put new fuel and plugs in it and it started up on the trailer just fine. Once I got it in the water it ran great for 10 minutes and then fell on its face and was only running on one cylinder.
Fast forward to this summer(2020) since life has settled down and I can put my attention on the ski again. I have replaced all fuel lines with black automotive line, rebuilt the carbs, replaced rectifier, and a few other minor things like fuel float, etc.
Based on all the research I’ve done that was everything big needed to get it in the water. So yesterday I was able to take it out and she ran amazing. I was able to ride probably 3-4 hours problem free throughout the day, and went to go on one last ride and about 3-5 minutes in it died like the key had been pulled off. I was only going maybe 10mph when it happened. So I told the key off put it back on and got absolutely nothing, as if the battery was disconnected. So I double checked the connections and they were all good and tight, I figured the battery wasn’t charging and the rectifier I installed was bad.
Here’s where I’m at a total loss, after getting off the water and going to boat inspection to leave the lake it starts right up. No issue. I only ran it maybe 15 seconds before killing it. I get it home, check the battery voltage and it’s at 12.85v, fully charged. Starts up on the trailer again and ran for 2-3 minutes with the hose hooked up and would restart every time I killed it. I don’t know where to begin with this issue. Any info, tests or other things that I need to do maintenance wise is appreciated.
I should also mention that I never get beeps when the key is put on the post so I’m thinking beeper doesn’t work, and overall condition of the ski is near perfect, inside and out. No water damage to any electrical and no signs of water ever being in the hull. TIA
 
Sounds electrical, not fuel,,,maybe dess post is dying,,,shop manual tests don't always diagnose a failing dess post,,,check all yor connections,,,starting at the battery,,a weak connection there can sometimes replicate your symptoms,
 
I have read up in the DESS post tests and will check that tomorrow when I get time tomorrow and report back. I “tested” the key and it tested okay. I figured it is electrical. The fuel system is all new, I have read however that you can temporarily “seize” a 2 stroke if it’s running too lean. Hoping that is not the case as I recorded the high and low screws and double checked they were in the same position as they came out which ended up being stock location. But being higher elevation in CO I’m not sure that’s appropriate
 
I would check all grounds and butt connections in both front and back electrical boxes and main ground. These things are getting old wires can look good and not be. Start with the simple things.
 
I will do that as well today. Is there another ground coming off the motor besides starter to battery cable? I’ve also read that the plug on the front of the motor has weak pins that can back out and cause issues?
 
You are correct,,,pull the front plug,,,use a mirror to look at the male pins,,,then use a small screw driver to pull off the retaining clip on the female side.,,,also do an ohms test on the trigger coil...for all electrics to go...it's definitely electrical.
 
brian303k said:
and the rectifier I installed was bad.
Click to expand...

Was it an aftermarket? sometimes they fail premature shortly after installing. With a multi meter I'd ck the voltage at idle and revving on the ski. Should see about 13.5 volts +-.5 volts.

Yep, common on the beeper going out, had to replace it on both of my skis.
 
Okay, so went to see if the ski would start today and put the key on and gauge lights came on for half a second and went away and I hit the start button and nothing. So far I have checked the post, start/stop button, key and all battery cables and connections. Nothing is corroded or has resistance in it. Plug on the front of the motor looks good. All pins are good and straight. All fuses are good. I’m at a loss
 
Where is the best place to get a new starter solenoid/relay? I’m 99% sure I have it diagnosed as the solenoid. I have power to it from the battery but nothing going through it. All fuses are good. I jumped the posts with a screw driver and it cranked over normally.
 
You can find them on Amazon. If you have a seadoo dealer near you they should have one in stock
 
Mraw, thanks for the reply. When I jumped the solenoid I did not have to push the start/stop button. Also, would a bad solenoid cause the dash lights not to come on? I have power from the battery to solenoid, but when I push the start button with the key on the post and get no power to the other side of the solenoid. Does this make sense? The gauges not lighting up are making me question if the solenoid is even the problem.
 
Did you check you fuses in the rear E-box? If you have power there open the Grey Ebox up front next to the gas tank. Check fuses. Check the grounds in the rear ebox THROUGH the rear ebox connector that get that big goofy boot over it, find the little ground that connects to your battery negative. Use a meter on OHMs touch one lead on the screw with all the grounds on the bottom of the coil then touch the other lead to the ring terminal on the little ground that goes to your battery. All the while you battery should be completely disconnected and don't hold put your hands on the leads where you make the connection. You body will read continuity giving you a false test.. But, If you're not getting power to the gauges you have some bad fuses in the back or front e-box more than likely. The 7.5amp fuse in the rear ebox is for the VTS, if that is blown just leave it for now and move to the next fuse.
 
Racer, I have checked and double checked all fuses in front and rear boxes, I believe I checked that small ground but will double check. The plug on top of the black ebox has no corrosion. Everything in this ski is extremely clean and shows no signs of wear. I’ll double check the small ground wire shortly and report back. I’m just very confused by this all. How it shut down on water doesn’t seem like the starter solenoid. And I had power at the gauges this morning and then nothing after I hit the start button
 
I don’t get gauge lights with the lanyard or by pushing start/stop button without lanyard. The beeper doesn’t work either so I can’t tell anything based on that either. Should be able to check the small ground here in 30 minutes or so
 
Okay, so I rechecked all the fuses, front and rear, and they all check out good. Visually inspected and tested on continuity setting on VDOM. I checked the resistance of the small ground wire and got 0.2ohms, I also rechecked ground to the starter and also got 0.2ohms
 
Have voltage at all fuses. Just had it fire up again. Only difference is I had the grey box up front opened up. Short in a wire maybe?
 
I think it’s power to it or somewhere just up the line from it since I’m getting no gauge activity and then I randomly will and it reads the key every time as long as the gauges wake up. I will trace back from the relay towards the battery to see where I start to get power to things and follow up with that later.
 
So, I have determined my area of issue but am struggling to find what wire is actually the cause. The red/purple wire that runs from the black box to grey box was intermittently making contact somewhere either where it connects to MPEM or splits into red/blue and red/purple. Recommendations on repairing these wires? I can only find one small area on the red/blue wire coming off the relay holder w/ 5amp fuse on top where the insulation was worn threw and some individual copper strands scratched, but intact
 
I just want to close this off with an official repair. After tracing the red/purple wire from the black rear box to the front grey box, I began look to see where voltage was being lost in the circuit. I did notice the relay on the DCI would click, but only when the lanyard was on. After wiggling around some wires I found that the very first connection in the grey box from the red/purple wire was not very snug. I repaired that and still had the same issue and kept following the red/purple wire. Right where this wire splits off to power the MPEM and DCI was my problem. The wire had to back track and at that tight turn it had kinked and split the insulation and broke 2-3 wire strands inside the insulation not allowing full power to reach MPEM or DCI. After clipping back and repairing with waterproof bullet connectors I have not had an issue persist. Obviously time will tell as I cannot really recreate the ski hitting waves on the trailer. I will follow up later this week or next if this still persists. But at this point no news is good news! Thanks for all the insight and help on this. Very glad to have found the issue and it be a very cheap and easy fix.
 
Mine is doing the exact same thing. Runs fine then its like someone turned off a power switch - taking the lanyard on and off does nothing - no juice. I pulled the black cover off of the front fuse holder on what I guess is the MEPM and wiggled the fuses. It will start and run fine - but out of the blue will die out in the lake . It is really hard to get the storage box out and wiggle the fuse in the middle of the lake. I cleaned and checked the fuses and everything looks fine - no corrosion anywhere. Sometimes won't start after sitting for a bit also, once wiggling the fuse didn't work, but went out later and it started fine. Very frustrating. I guess I need to put it up on the trailer and give it a once over electrical wise - check all of the wiring.
 
Sounds very similar. Just unplug all the connections on that grey box and get it out of the ski for inspection. Way easier that way. Then if you find something set in the ski opened up and plug everything in and mess with wire/fuse or whatever you find. Also, when it won’t start pay attention if gauges light up
 
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