97 GS - NO spark

[Kuzma823]

I have a 1997 Seadoo GS which is having problems. I had it out two weeks ago and by the end of the day it was having trouble starting. It would need to be turned over several times before it would successfully start. I pulled the ski out of the water at the end of the day and it started right up. I figured it was either bad gas or bad plugs.
I went and purchased new plugs (BR8EIX) and put them in the ski. Took it out last weekend and it started right up. Ran fine for 30 minutes than suddenly died and would not restart. Pulled the ski out of the water and it would not start. I pulled the plugs out of the cylinders, plugged them into the ignition wire caps, held the the tip against the metal and tried to start the ski.(did this for EACH plug, also held the plugs to the cylinder head and to a bare metal support.) No spark was comming from either plug. I tested the ignition coil and thought it was shot.
I replaced the ignition coil, wires, and plug caps and still no spark. I tested both ingition coils with ohm meter and it read 1.0 with the meter set at 200 ohms and a lead on each of the ignition coil posts. I also put a lead on each plug cap and it read 20 with the ohm meter set at 200k, so the caps are connected well. What else could it be? Do I need to start looking at a new CPU?

Thank you

 

[timmyboy76]

trim the wires back 1/4in from boots ends.

You can unplug the white wire from coil, and when hit'n start button, using a 12v light tester, if it lights up, then you know you got power to coil.

 

[Kuzma823]

Thanks Tim for the suggestions. Trimmed the wires back took reading across wires and reading was 12.72k ohms, 21.3 k ohms with caps attached. Re-tested primary posts and it read 0.6 ohms (used better multi-meter). So the ignition coil, wires, caps and plugs all check out fine.
Disconnected the white cable and hit the start button, the light did not light. Used multimeter to read volts, only .6 AC when the button is pressed (service manual says it should be over 20 volts AC).
I also tried to check the generator coil but could not get a solid reading because of the small/awkward position of the multi-meter leads and the small connector. It would show 160 and pos or neg 90 ohms... but those would just flash and then it would go back to infinity. So I cannot rely on those readings.
So it is narrowed down to the MPEM, the generator coil and the harness. (Could not check the harness because my arms arent long enough to reach both ends... will try to test tomorrow with a friend)
Any suggestions on how to proceed?

 

[Kuzma823]

Well, I took it to the shop today and they should get to it by Tuesday(places get really backed up around here). I will let you know what the resolution is but the fact that the one mechanic said "that its incredibly rare to have the stator/generator die" means that its probably the MPEM @ $500 for the part.
Here is hoping just a damaged wire...:rofl:

 

[Kuzma823]

Forgot to post an update: The problem ended up being a bad stator/generator, water some how got into the front of the engine and shorted it out (that part is supposed to be completely dry). Figures I would break the part that no one else seems to break:rofl:

If anyone else has to replace this part, it cost me about $550 for the shop to do it so try and do it yourself. I would have done it myself but I didnt have the special "seadoo tools" the manual calls for.

Thanks again for all the advice in trying to find the problem

 

[southernmiller2006]

1997 seadoo gsi

Hey I just bought a 1997 seadoo gsi 717
it has no spark!!
I replaced the stator due to the guy i bought it from telling me that what the shop said was wrong
still no spark
tested spark plugs they are fine
I turned it over probing the white wire on the coil its not getting power now i lost can anyone please help??

 

[Kuzma823]

I have had a little experience with the electric components since I started this thread:rofl:

First thing first, if you havent done so, check the fuses in the MPEM to make sure they arent blown. Might help to disconnect battery and pull the fuses, not sure if it will help but some cpus just need to be reset by pulling all possible power from the unit. Couldnt hurt

To test the components do:
Stator(actually just the gererator coil)
Pull the red and black red connectors out of the stator to verify it does work
-resistance over the two wires should be 40-76 ohms
-switch multimeter to AC and put the positive cable on the red/black wire and the negative cable on the black cable. Crank the engine, you should get a reading between 18-25 volts.
-If measurements dont fall in/around the stated ranges, the coil is probably bad.

Ignition coil
-Disconect the black and white wires from the terminals of the ignition coil, place one wire of the ohm meter on each of the terminals. Readings should be .33-.62ohms
-Disconect the spark plug caps from the plug wires and place a ohm meter cable on each spark plug cable, resistance should be between 8400-15600 ohms (add about 4k ohms per cap if left in place. I registered 13k without caps and 21k with caps installed)
-If measurements dont fall in/around the stated ranges, the coil is probably bad.

If both components are good and you are getting power from the generator coil(stator), unplug both wires from the ignition coil (white and black) place the voltmeter in AC mode and measure the voltage across the wires. If the voltage is not atleast 20 volts AC then either the MPEM or the wiring harness is defective.

If you do not get the voltage needed, check the continuity of the white wire from the ignition coil to where it goes into the MPEM to check for a break in the wire. The only thing that would be left is a bad MPEM.

Most of these tests came directly from the service manual. Good luck and I hope its something cheap

 

[southernmiller2006]

hmmm

checked all of this and still nothing
do u think the lanyard could affect the spark when i plug it in it doesnt beep?
it does turn the screen on and 12 volt low is flashing on the screen

 

[Kuzma823]

I doubt the lanyard is the issue, beep or no beep. Sometimes they just stop beeping correctly. My 97 GTX hasnt beeped for years but it still runs perfectly.
The main reason I doubt the plug is an issue is the fact that it cranks. If the key was not recognized the ski would emit a long beep(if speaker still works) and would not even crank over the engine, the gauges MIGHT light up though.

12volt low means that the battery is low. Check the voltage and look for 12.3-12.4 volts atleast, 12.9 would be fully charged for some batteries. If the voltage is good and you still see the '12v low' message then you might have some bad connections. Check all wiring connections (especially battery connections) to verify they are tight and clean.