97 GTI No Spark

[Davoo]

Hello All,
I am attempting to troubleshoot a 97 GTI that I currently have no spark and would like to try and get some opinions on the direction I should continue on.

Here is the breakdown.
New battery
New after market MPEM
All electrical connections cleaned with contact cleaner and tested for continuity throughout the wiring harness.

Through testing when the DESS key is plugged in I get two beeps. Start/Stop button works and engine cranks over, but no spark. When checking the white wire to the ignition coil I see .2 Vdc at best. Following the service manual I have tested the Stator and have 58.9 ohms on the generating coil. I also read 46.6 VAC on the generating coil when cranking. For the battery charging coil I have 1.0 ohm (out of spec per manual) and 6.5 VAC when cranking. Additionally, I have tested the primary side of the Ignition coil and have .4 ohm. I have not tested the secondary since it doesn't seem I am receiving the proper voltage to the primary.

So a couple of questions with this-
1. Low oil light active - would the MPEM disable the ignition system due to the oil system ?
2. Would the MPEM disable the ignition system if the engine temperature sensor is bad ?
3. The stator battery charging coil ohm reading is out of spec. Would this cause issues to the MPEM not allowing spark ?

Thank you!

 

[Eduard!]

Hello everyone. I have the same story with my boat Sportster LE 2000. It gives two signals, the starter turns, but there is no spark, the magneto is OK, I put MPEM together with the key on the Jetsky - there is a spark and the engine works as it should, I install the original MPEM with the key from the Jetsky on the boat - two signals, the starter turns but there is no spark. Maybe someone has an idea?

 

[Venturian1]

The white wire from the MPEM to the ig coil should have 12V when cranking. If it doesn't, unplug the wiring harness connector at the top of the rear elect box and check it there. If not 12V there unplug the big connector on the mpem and check for oxidation on both female plug and male pins on mpem. Also check that all of the wires are pushed into the harness plug all the way. If everything is clean use an ohmeter and check for resistance of the white wire, from mpem plug to ig coil. All 4 or 5 black wires grounded at the base of the ig coil should be checked as well. If all is good, I would suspect the mpem. The spark plug boots on the ends of the wires have resistors built in, I think they are suppose to be around 5k ohms, both should be close to the same resistance. Finally, while the boot is off the plug wire, snip 1/4" off the end of the wire before reinstalling boot. Use dielectric compound on the rubber parts so they slide together fully and put a small zip tie on to hold it in. When
checking wires for resistance, wiggle the wire and connections and watch for fluctuation of the ohms. I had one wire that looked fine at both ends, but in the middle the copper had turned to green dust, the insulation was swelled there, and the wire felt stiff. It had 12 volts getting through it still, there were one or two strands of copper wire not yet oxidized, but there wasn't enough amps to do anything, under a load.
I have a yellow 97 gti. and a 2000 gti. and 3 other seadoos and two wave runners, all running. Troubleshooting gtets easier when you can just switch out parts (try other parts) that you know are good. And usually quicker than a lot of testing wires.

 

[etemplet]

Hello everyone. I have the same story with my boat Sportster LE 2000. It gives two signals, the starter turns, but there is no spark, the magneto is OK, I put MPEM together with the key on the Jetsky - there is a spark and the engine works as it should, I install the original MPEM with the key from the Jetsky on the boat - two signals, the starter turns but there is no spark. Maybe someone has an idea?

This should be posted in the boat section but... check your plug going into the Mag on the engine. I had the problem on Speedster. Sometimes the wires corrode or break inside the plug. Be careful taking the plug apart. Good Luck

 

[Venturian1]

You've got bad wire(s) or harness plug(s). The easy way to start is feeling how flexible wires are. Find a stiff or lumpy one, replace that section of the wire. I'd cut the wire close to the suspected bad area and strip off the insulation. The stranded copper wire should be bright and shiny, like new. If not cut it back a little farther, strip off insulation and inspect again. If its discolored, it will be difficult to solder in a new piece of wire.
If wires are all good, you'll find a high resistance connection within a wiring harness connector, or one of the wires in the connector is not pushed in as far as it should be. This can happen when pins don't quite line up with the female end of the wire, and pushing the two connectors together, a pin forces the female end to back out of the harness connector. All of these connector parts I believe are available still, and if you need to replace one of the crimped on ends, you will need the type of crimping pliers that make a "W" crimp. Also to remove a wire from a connector, there's a snap-on tool set to get, or be creative and, what I used to do was use telescopic radio antenna, disassemble and choose the sight size tube that fits snugly over the crimped on end, and work that little tube over the wire from the mating side of the plug far enough to collapse the tiny brass barbs that hold it in place. You'll have to disassemble the connector some and pull out the orange silicone seal from the backside, and push in on the wire you want to remove, from the backside before sliding the antenna tube over it from the frontside to allow the release the barbs that get embedded in the plastic connector.
An example: You pinch the release levers on one of the 26 wire connectors connected to the mpem, and unplug it from the mpem. This connector has a few pieces to it that keeps the wires tight and in place and watertight, and must be disassembled. the manual shows how it is put together. If you look closely at the face of the connector, you;ll see the brass wire end in each hole of the 26 pin connector (that has a wire in it. Not all spots are always occupied by a wire, and these will have a silicone rubber plug inserted to seal it off). If you pull on any wire from the back side you'll notice it won't pull out, (If one does pull out, withdraw it and bend the barbs back out then push it back in, and check that it stays put this time) even with the connector disassembled. This is because the tiny barbs on each brass crimped-on end are snagging on the connector housing like they're designed to do. so, to remove a wire from the connector, first push in on that wire from the back side. push and pull, you should feel a bit of movement. Now hold it in and put the tube over the female end from the face of the connector as far as it will go without forcing the wire you're holding in to move, and with the tube collapsing the barbs, you can gently withdraw the wire from the backside. The manual states which snap-on tool to buy. its a set of 5 or 6 small tools. I paid $80 for mine.