Can't get her running properly : 2004 Sportster 4-tec

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saidseven

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Hello all,

I am new to the boat scene. Just bought my first a 2004 SeaDoo Sportster and I am super excited to get out on the water. My first outing on the water boat was idling fine. As soon as I gave it some throttle the check engine and oil light came on followed by a long constant beep (seemed to go into limp mode). I took her back home to trouble shoot.

Here is what I have done so far:
  • bought a new battery
  • added some ethanol treatment
  • added a little octane booster
  • checked oil and coolant (both were fine)
  • Checked all the fuses with a light and made sure they were all the right amps
  • bought a Canndoo and ran it for codes
Here are the codes that came up:

P0231 - Fuel pump shorted to ground or open circuit
P0562 - Low Voltage (battery)
P0351 - Ignition coil #1 open circuit or shorted to ground or to 12V
The guages bounce around so something is screwy there as well.

So I figured I would troubleshoot the ignition coil error first (using service manual) and here is what I did:

  1. I removed the entire wire harness and checked continuity. All checked out and the harness is in very good shape (almost brand new)
  2. I ran the boat for five minutes with water hose connected and tested the voltage on coil1. The both read 12v with the boat running.
  3. Checked the spark plug and it looks brand new.
I am not sure what to do next. I think if the fuel pump/starter was not working it wouldn't idle healthy. Does this sound like a bad ECU? How can I test it?

Can anyone please give me any tips before I breakdown and just take it to a shop? Ive already dropped a fair amount just diagnosing it. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks!
 
Change the coil over to another cylinder and run the engine to see if fault code changes to new cylinder if yes coil is bad
Check voltage on battery before and after starting should increase and have battery load tested
Check fuel pump pressure and fuse and connector on pump for bad contacts
 
Could be a bad MPEM (that siemens thing on top of the intake manifold). I had that "Coil shorted" error and it was the mpem. You can pull the coil and using a cheap spark tester from autozone check the coil for spark. You can do the same with just an extra spark plug, plug it into the coil and hold it against something metal. You can crank the engine over without fear of it starting if you open the throttle all the way when you crank. This puts it into diagnostic mode (shuts off the fuel injection)
 
As for the pump, when you put the key on, you should hear it come on and pressurize the fuel rail. It makes a sort of humming inside the tank and shuts off after a sec or two.
 
Idoseadoo
It shuts of fuel and coil power as they share the same earth


Put another plug into coil and metal part of plug against engine metal part
Crank engine over normally and check for spark
You can kill the engine if it starts and you should of seen a spark
 
Idoseadoo
It shuts of fuel and coil power as they share the same earth


Put another plug into coil and metal part of plug against engine metal part
Crank engine over normally and check for spark
You can kill the engine if it starts and you should of seen a spark
Nope, I tested spark this way. It still sparks away.
 
I had a similar problem with my Utopia on one engine. Not exactly the same, but ...
When you say "give it some throttle" do you mean move the shifter out of neutral, or move it until it would normally rev up the engine? Mine was a neutral starter switch issue, and as soon as you moved the throttle our of the neutral position you'd get the noisy warning, but mine would die instead of going into limp home. See what happens if you leave the throttle assembly in neutral and rotate the butterfly at the throttle body itself. Mine would rev nicely.
I have no idea whether mine has any stored codes, but yours don't sound like my problem.
Worth a shot.

Jonas
 
Alright.. Thanks for all the responses. I finally got back to test again in the afternoon. This daylight saving darkness hampers what I can do after work.

I took the plug and the coil off of cylinder 2 (working) and swapped it to cylinder 1.
I started it up and refreshed the codes.
Same error reported for cylinder one. I did not give it any throttle, just idle.

So this makes me think the plug, harness, and coil are fine.
What is my next steps? I want to resolve the coil issue before moving on to the other codes as they are probably related.

I did however get a new code about the starter (open circuit)

When i turn on the boat I DO hear the fuel pump prime.
 
If your coils and connectors are fine, but you're not getting spark at one of the plugs, it is likely your ECU. I fried mine by jump starting the boat once. I knew better, but just was eager and not thinking. Be EXTRA careful when you're dealing with dead or dying batteries on seadoos. These systems are VERY delicate. If you recently tried to jump your battery off a running vehicle or a battery charger, your ECU is likely damaged.
 
If your coils and connectors are fine, but you're not getting spark at one of the plugs, it is likely your ECU. I fried mine by jump starting the boat once. I knew better, but just was eager and not thinking. Be EXTRA careful when you're dealing with dead or dying batteries on seadoos. These systems are VERY delicate. If you recently tried to jump your battery off a running vehicle or a battery charger, your ECU is likely damaged.

Damn. The day before I took it out for the first time I charged the battery using a car battery charger. But I never jumped it or started it with the cables connected. When I went to go look at the boat the owner did jump it with a booster pack because the battery was dead. Either that or the ECU was damaged before that. I guess it's hard to tell there was an issue because it idled fine.

Any advice on ordering a new ECU?
 
I Lost my ECU 3 weeks ago, boat just died in the water at full throttle. They are very sensitive the older they get, I have had a tough time finding a used one so bit the bullet and went brand new, 3 weeks and still back ordered. there are 2 currently on ebay with keys but 100+ hours on them
 
Double check your fuse with an ohm Meter also check contacts in fuse box

Did you a continuity check between fuse and coil and between ECU and coil ?
Are you getting g voltage at coil
 
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