Electrical problems 96 SPI

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etemplet

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Well.... riding and it quit. Got home, batter shorted, 5 amp fuse blown. trying to test every component... don't know what this thing destroyed.
Testing the mag. wires using an ohm meter, trying to rule out a short in the engine wiring. I'm not sure the color of the wires but the 2 yellows are 0 ohms the BL/R to Back is 64 Ohms.

I am trying to figure out how to test anything else that could be shorted and causing problems with the MPEM. I am looking at the wiring diagram but it doesn't give me resistance values. I have a feeling this is going to take me a long long time to sort out. I even tore into the MPEM looking for the diode. Help is appreciated.
 
If someone can tell me what diode I need for the MPEM and were to get it I would appreciate it. Right now I am thinking the engine coil may have shorted everything out. I will do more tests.
 
Figured I'd share my dilemma on the Control unit for the SPI not sure it would be called an MPEM but this is it. Blowing the 5 amp fuse. I have not yet determined what is causing it. Solenoid looks good, I took readings on the Mag Coil. That may be the culprit as I am showing "0" Ohms resistance across the yellow wires. Says I should have like .5 ohms. Difficult for me to check. I am wondering if the rectifier could cause the problem. The battery shorted but I am wondering of the ski caused the short. Help would be appreciated in finding out what causes the voltage to come from the other direction and blow the ECM diode.

I spent some time today digging around in the module looking for the diode. If I find it... where can I purchase about 10 of them? :) Also I will need some instruction on how to change them. I am pretty sure I am not going about this the correct way but I'm in there. LOL Am I close?? How can I clean this off better without damaging the board? Help a brotha out. :)

Advice, instruction is always appreciated.18699.jpeg18701.jpeg
 
I've never torn into one like that but others on here have so you may find some relevant info on a previous thread.

What about the good MPEM I sent you? If it does not fix the ski with a new battery in it then you know the ski has an issue elsewhere.
 
Yes it has an issue for sure. I don't have troubleshooting plan. I want to eliminate the Coils in the Mag as the source. Seems like something shorted.
 
I would appreciate some help on where to begin troubleshooting the ski and what may have caused and is continuing to cause this situation. Seems like a short somewhere. What is the most logical place? What is the strangest place? I checked the solenoid and purchased a rectifier since there is no static test for the component. Could the ignition coil have caused this problem (complete and total engine failure... not even a cough) Afterwards.... nothing working electrically. MPEM diode failed as well. As mentioned... my battery shorted out as well. I replaced the battery and MPEM and checked what I could....same problem again. As I said, I'd like to rule out the Mag section on the engine.

If I disconnect the negative ring terminals on the control module from ground I should be able to test for a ground or positive leakage to the ground. Would it be a proper assumption that I simply test every wire to see which are grounded or shorted to ground? Would that be a proper path to resolve the problem?? That would not eliminate any wire or component that is shorted and making another wire HOT that shouldn't be. However, blowing the 5 amp fuse should at least give some indication of where the source... shouldn't it?

I'd rather not pull the engine to have a look at the charge coil. I am hoping if that is necessary I can get it out of there with the engine in place. I don't mind the extra work or difficulty. This is getting ugly.
 
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Check for metal shavings on the stator from the starter. This seems to happen more on the 587 and 720s than the 787. A lot of times I have noticed that the negative terminal will spark when hooking up the battery if this is the case, but not always. Have a 720 in my shop right now that the starter came loose on and caused this issue.
 
You can pull the mag housing and flywheel in the ski but it’s a pain. It sounds stator related to me.
 
Check for metal shavings on the stator from the starter. This seems to happen more on the 587 and 720s than the 787. A lot of times I have noticed that the negative terminal will spark when hooking up the battery if this is the case, but not always. Have a 720 in my shop right now that the starter came loose on and caused this issue.

Thanks for the input. I bought a GTX that had a corrosion problem and rust was all over the magnetic pick up. Took me a while to find it as everything checked good and this was my first real project. I will pull the flywheel and have a look next week. I put the ski away for now as I have other stuff going on. I was also thinking about the ignition coil. I actually have another coil. I love this ski it is so much fun and it is pretty quick for a SPI. Has some goodies on it.

I guess it is time for me to learn about the electrics on these things. I want to get some test equipment. I can't get into the female plugs very well with my ohm meter leads. I need some real small alligator types.

I am still very interested in how to find and replace the diode on the Control Module. I kinda hacked my way into this one. Need to know how to clean this up good enough to see and do a good job on the next one. I looked for videos and didn't see any.

Have a great weekend guys. I'm off to the shop/shed to... GIT SUM !! :D :D
 
The ski has been sitting.... punished. I tested the charge coil 15 times as best I could get to it.
The range is .05 - .6 on the yellow back to yellow wire. I have gotten readings in range but I'm probably not making good contact. I am putting the Ohm Meter points directly on the connector which is difficult.
Most of the readings are all zeros which... it couldn't read zero if it wasn't actually zero. :)

The other coil tests out at 60 Ohms so that one is in range. I will assume the black wire on the bottom right is the ground. Nothing is grounded. I was glad I could remove the cover easily. It sure looks great in there. Nice and clean. Hard for me to believe there is a problem but my ECM blew out and my battery shorted so... I guess I gotta pull the stator.

Question.... Will the removal tool that works on the 787 work on this ski to pull the mag?
 
So here ya go, my 1st try at electronics. LOL I think I found the diode. I checked both ways and it was Zero on both. I'm thinking about making this my TEST board if it survives. I'm gonna run a wire outside this box with the diode so I can change/replace it. What a pain... Proper tools would be nice.Diode B.jpgDiode.jpg
 
I am starting back on this repair again. I am caught up somewhat so I have some time. I have a short or something going on that keeps blowing the diode on the ECM. I am going over the wiring diagram How many ways can this ski back feed and blow the diode?? Which ones are more likely? Gonna remove the stator and have a look. I can jump the starter and turn the ski over so I 'm thinking it isn't the starter. Since the battery went to 10.5 volts something went wrong. Initially I thought the battery shorted out. I replaced the ECM and the diode blew on that one as well. I can't swear to it but I believe the diode was still good with everything connected. It may have failed when I hit the start button. Either way, with everything reconnected.... the ski never tried to start. Just silence and a blown diode.
 
Would it be a good idea to check each wire to ground ? I'm just figuring where I should start. I bought a rectifier to replace the one in the ski. I'm gonna test and check the starter solenoid. Input is appreciated.
 
It's just gonna blow it up Matt like it did the last one. I have to find the problem. I'm giving myself a week on this one once I get started. :) Gonna be an adventure. I brought it back home and it is going in the shop today. Right after I get my air compressor fixed up and functional... I'll start testing. I'm converting my air compressor motor to 3 phase. I even hate working on that electrical stuff and that's simple. Ha ha.
 
Brought the SPI back from it's storage spot at the airport. :) My first ski... bought about a year and a half ago. I love this ski. :D Pretty snappy for an SPI but as some may remember it has a factory pipe, electronics, and is nicely set up. Hit 48mph on it before the malfunction. Let the games begin. :D SPI 1-22-09 (1).JPG
 

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I think that ski came with a 720 in it. The SPI was a very rare model in 97. That makes sense to me now about it having the Factory pipe.
 
Matt this is definitely a 587. We had this discussion previously on another thread. LOL
 
OK..... OOOOO.... Kay !!! I started testing today. Going in depth on a repair has lots of benefits. I'm beginning to understand the electrical system functions. I tested the start relay, the ignition coil, and I did some in depth testing on the rectifier. The yellow/black to black wire measures as a 38 M ohm resistance. The replacement rectifier I purchased (I think it is new, been a while since I bought it) reads OL on those same wires. All other checks are equal. I am thinking.... if this Yellow/Black wires is able to go to ground that it may be the reason the diode and 5amp fuse are blowing in the ECM. I'm still gonna pull the stator and have a look. It'd be nice is this is the problem.

I think I remember reading in the manual there is no way to test the rectifier to determine if is good or bad. That may be true in some cases but this looks to be an obvious reason to replace. I'll post more later.
 
You can pull the mag housing and flywheel in the ski but it’s a pain. It sounds stator related to me.

I was going to pull the flywheel but after I found the rectifier issue I gave it a try as is. When I connected the negative cable on the battery.... I got a good spark and blew the 5 amp fuse. The readings on the Mag wires are all within tolerance so I figured I'd give it a shot.
 
I"ll mention again the original failure. Ski was running great and all of a sudden "deader than shite," Never to be revived again. Swapped ECM, blew that one up immediately and took out the diode on that one too. I got one ECM fixed up with a diode replacement. The diode survived the blown fuse of today. As mentioned above I plan to pull the flywheel. It would be nice to find something there but the readings say there isn't a problem.

I plan to disconnect some wires, reconnect the battery and find out what's going on. I dislike working on the electrics and electronics but going in this deep I'm gonna learn a whole lot about it like it or not. :D :D Input is appreciated
 
I"ll mention again the original failure. Ski was running great and all of a sudden "deader than shite," Never to be revived again. Swapped ECM, blew that one up immediately and took out the diode on that one too. I got one ECM fixed up with a diode replacement. The diode survived the blown fuse of today. As mentioned above I plan to pull the flywheel. It would be nice to find something there but the readings say there isn't a problem.

I plan to disconnect some wires, reconnect the battery and find out what's going on. I dislike working on the electrics and electronics but going in this deep I'm gonna learn a whole lot about it like it or not. :D:D Input is appreciated

Stick one probe on a ground, use the other probe doing a continuity check onto other wires, you've got a direct short somewhere. Even if the stator is indicating an ohm reading doesn't mean it's not grounding out somewhere. Same thing for other components.
 
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Well Well Well..... I spent about 8 hours on the ski today. I may have mentioned I have two ECMs for the ski. The one that was on the ski when it quit and one I got from a forum member which failed immediately upon install which was my fault. That was a long time ago in experience hours for me. :) They ski sat for 8 months. I performed my first diode swap on both ECMs. I installed the old one because that was the first diode I replaced. After much ciphering and wire looking, and testing and blowing fuses I figured out I had the diode installed backwards. What do I know about these ECMs? I thought the current went the other way. :) I had the weirdest issue. Couldn't get the ski to work but every now and the when I pushed the safety switch the starter would engage. I also figured at that to reset it I had to disconnect the plug on the front of the motor.

After trying many things, chasing wires and cleaning plugs I decided to install the second ECM which also has a repaired Diode. I installed that ECM and connected it up. VIOLA that ski turned over when I asked it to. I turned on the gas and it cranked right up after some coaxing. Now... it won't shut off. Pushing the start/stop button engages the starter for an instant. Pulling off the safety cap does absolutely nothing. Reinstalling the Safety cap the starter gives a little bump.

To complicate matters I have a factory pipe with the electronic module under the SeaDoo ECM. I checked my wires many many times and the Start/Stop and Safety switch. I even disconnected the trick Factory Electronics. I'm thinking both ECMs were damaged by the electrical problem but the second one was less damaged. I'm gonna try a replacement. BUT....

Is there a chance I have a problem with the Stator?? I tested it a number of times and the readings are good. The ski runs but it seems that voltage is bleeding from somewhere. I'm happy though.... now I know a whole whole lot about the seadoo electrical systems. That was my weakest skill. Input is appreciated.
 
Initial failure root cause ?? Did the batter short out and take out the rectifier. Or did the rectifier short out take out the diode and 5 amp fuse and that is was drained the battery down to 10.5 volts and short it out. I couldn't get the battery to charge after the failure. Oh well.... I'm happy !! I get to leave the factory pipe and all that go fast stuff on the ski. It's an SPI but I hit 48mph one time. :) :D That ski is FUN to ride. I can't wait to race the SPX.
 
Got R Did !!! the Red Factory ignition box kinda complicated things for me. I had a ground on the coil from the Red Ignition box (Factory Pipe) but not a ground from the Control Module. Fired that baby right up and it stops when I ask it to. :D :D I ordered another Control Module but I'm gonna try a permanent repair on the diode replacement. I love this ski !! Did I say that already ?? :D :D
 
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