96 XP revival

Note: This site contains eBay affiliate links for which SeaDooForum.com may be compensated
Status
Not open for further replies.
So I got the battery in and the starter yesterday. After tracing some wires I found 2 burnt fuses. One in the rear electrical box (for VTS) and one in the front grey box. A little 5 amp was shot.

Now when I push the start button I get power to the gauges but when I hook up the lanyard I don't get any beeps. I tested the DESS post and the lanyard with a multimeter and they both check out.

I tried pushing the start button 5 times to go into diagnostic mode and I don't hear any beeps. Could my beeper be shot? I want to crank this thing to check compression but it won't crank
 
The VTS can fry the MPEM. I would suggest unplugging both connectors to the VTS and then check all fuses again in the gray box.

It’s really common for the beeper to go bad and you can buy them directly from Floyd Bell for about $25.

Even with the beeper bad it should still crank but you won’t know if it’s recognizing the lanyard without the beeper.

Also with the lanyard off if you push the start button a few times the gauges should power up.
 
The gauges do power up without the lanyard so that's a good sign I guess lol.

I'm going to open up the grey box and check the lanyard circuit. I found a good video on YouTube to follow.

Would the gauges still show up if the MPEM was shot?
 
Can i test my beeper by grounding one of the wires, and applying voltage to the other?

I unplugged it from the harness and put 12v to one terminal, and grounded the other and it didn't make any sound. I would assume that is how it works
 
Can i test my beeper by grounding one of the wires, and applying voltage to the other?

I unplugged it from the harness and put 12v to one terminal, and grounded the other and it didn't make any sound. I would assume that is how it works

If you did that, jumping 12 volts to it and nothing happens it's bad.
 
They don’t always beep even when putting a direct 12v to them if it’s an OEM one as they are designed for a very quick pulse from the MPEM.

But the are very well known to go out so if it’s the original one there’s a very good chance it’s bad.
 
A little off topic, my ski came with an X1 prop. As far as I know it's stock. Doesn't have an aftermarket pipe, head is stamped bombardier, and the carbs/airbox are stock.

Is this impeller suitable for the ski? I wanna know before I bolt the pump back to the ski
 
It's a size too tall. The solas X design works great on these skis but the XO (16.5 X 23.5 pitch) works best for stock and lightly modded situations. The X1 has more pitch then that and it takes a lot of power to pull it properly. It will overload the engine a bit so I'd keep an eye out for a nice straight stock one or the XO.
 
The stock impeller on these are actually really good and hard to improve on.
If it were mine I would contact Nick or Jess at Westside Powersports Seadoo and get a good used OEM one. He sometimes has them refurbished to like new condition at reasonable prices.
 
Got my new beeper in. Tested it with 12v and it beeps when tested.

Put it in the ski , hooked up the lanyard and nothing. Gauges come on. DESS post? I tested the post with a procedure I found, testing the ring for continuity with specific wires, and it "checks out"

Anything else i could check why i'm getting no crank? I bumped the starter with a jumper wire from the positive post of the battery and it turned over so the starter at least works.

I tested the pin on the stator cover that goes to the black wire of the MPEM (bottom left pin, when looking at the cover from the front) for continuity to ground and it triggered with a beep, indicating continuity.

I pulled the MPEM out and started looking at connections.

If there is any testing I can do before I put it back in, let me know!

Is it the MPEM? :(
 
Got my new beeper in. Tested it with 12v and it beeps when tested.

Put it in the ski , hooked up the lanyard and nothing. Gauges come on. DESS post? I tested the post with a procedure I found, testing the ring for continuity with specific wires, and it "checks out"

Anything else i could check why i'm getting no crank? I bumped the starter with a jumper wire from the positive post of the battery and it turned over so the starter at least works.

I tested the pin on the stator cover that goes to the black wire of the MPEM (bottom left pin, when looking at the cover from the front) for continuity to ground and it triggered with a beep, indicating continuity.

I pulled the MPEM out and started looking at connections.

If there is any testing I can do before I put it back in, let me know!

Is it the MPEM? :(

Quite possibly. Question, clarify, not touching the start/stop button do the gauges come on when you stick the lanyard on the DESS post? If so, you should hear the 2 beeps. If they don't come on, if you press and hold the start/stop button does the beeper make a long single beep? Can you get it to beep at all when you force it into advanced diagnostic mode?

You have the same gray box my 96' GSX has. It has the split MPEM/CDI. I tried everything, my DESS post checked out but I couldn't get the 2 beeps and the 12 volts to the solenoid. Nick at Westsidepowersports hooked me up with a good MPEM and quick turn around for about $200. That's good news because it's about $400 if you had the 1 piece MPEM like on the 97' up models.
 
I just went out there and gave that a try.

When I put the lanyard on the post nothing happens. if I press the button five times in rapid succession nothing happens but the gauges turned on. Held start button and got nothing. The beeper does not make any audible sound

So at this point I would guess the only issue is the MPEM? It should go into diagnostic mode without the key on the post and it's not even doing that
 
Last edited:
I just went out there and gave that a try.

When I put the lanyard on the post nothing happens. if I press the button five times in rapid succession nothing happens but the gauges turned on. Held start button and got nothing. The beeper does not make any audible sound

So at this point I would guess the only issue is the MPEM? It should go into diagnostic mode without the key on the post and it's not even doing that

Since you tested the DESS post before in post #63 and it checked out, at this point I'd say it's likely the MPEM, like I was indicating earlier, you need the MPEM part only, not the CDI module, so cost wise you'll get a little bit of break compared to the 1 piece MPEM/CDI skis.

The only other thing I can think of is testing the wires for continuity from the lanyard touch point on the DESS post all the way to the MPEM barrel connectors. This is to rule out any bad male/female connector under the steering. I'd have one more look at those wires and also check where the beeper wires ties in at the MPEM.

Sucks if you have a bad MPEM, but if this wire stuff and DESS post is all good might be a time to call Nick at Westside and price a MPEM for a 96' XP or 96' GSX, should be the same part number from what I remember.
 
Last edited:
Just suggesting a check. A guy brought me a 96XP that would not do anything. Did ohm checks on the CDI and tested side by side with a spare unit I had on hand. Couldn't find much of a discrepancy but when I swapped the CDI units the ski fired right up. Swapped them back.... deader than fried chicken. I'm sure we all have stories. :)

Does the XP have the ground wire on the rear electric box the needs to be connected to the battery ground like the 1996 GTX?
 
Can i test my beeper by grounding one of the wires, and applying voltage to the other?

I unplugged it from the harness and put 12v to one terminal, and grounded the other and it didn't make any sound. I would assume that is how it works

If you reverse polarity it won't beep.
 
Just suggesting a check. A guy brought me a 96XP that would not do anything. Did ohm checks on the CDI and tested side by side with a spare unit I had on hand. Couldn't find much of a discrepancy but when I swapped the CDI units the ski fired right up.

He'd just be throwing money at it buying a CDI module, given his trouble shooting thus far swapping it is not going to solve his issue. It's a start energizing issue, not a firing issue. I can go out to my ski and unplug the CDI module and I'll still get the 2 beeps and 12 volts to the starter solenoid. The ski will go through the sequence to crank but it won't fire.
 
Could still be the DESS post or a beeper. What beeper did you buy?

I have seen bad DESS post test good on specs and not work.

And aftermarket and OEM beepers work when connecting directly to batteries but not respond to the small pulse the MPEM sends.

With the gauges coming on after pressing the start button that’s telling us the MPEM is waking up and responding.
 
Last edited:
I reached out to Nick at West Side Powersports.

He suggested a DESS Post, so I pulled the trigger one one. It should be here sometime next week. His reasoning was the same as above, if the gauge is responding it means the MPEM is waking up, and just because a post "tests good" doesn't mean it is actually good.

If it then cranks over, I will continue putting it together. I am hesitant to put the carbs and fuel lines all back together until this is resolved just because its so nice to work on with all the shit out of the way.

I also bought an X0 prop - found one new in box for 130. Not bad.

Anyone want an X1? LOL

Thanks for all of your help guys!
 
I hope he's right. Be way cooler to spend $50 than $200 lol

I'm gonna roll the dice on his knowledge and put parts of this thing back together. Gonna put the carbs and raves back on. Then hopefully when the DESS post shows up I'll hook it up and crank it over.

Is there any harm in running the engine without the pump attached? I don't want to put the pump back on just yet because I have to wait for the XO prop to show up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top