GTX DI 2002 starts, runs fine, kill it and start it several times, eventually doesn’t start after killing engine

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Hello, so as title says.. I took my jetski out today and it’s fired right up for the first start. I rode it and I told runs great. We have a couple of people taking turns riding so we kill it and restart the engine every time we switch out riders. So we probably restarted the engine 5ish times total. Going on the 6th start, the engine doesn’t start.. it makes a ticking noise and a little bit of a humming noise but doesn’t start.

So, that’s the end of the fun for the day.. we let it dry out for a couple hours and try to start it out of the water at home and it starts.. so I’m assuming something is getting wet or something is corroded and it just needs to dry out in order to start again..

Another thing, is a little bit of water normal in the engine bay? Are GTX DIs water cooled? How would you drain this water, I’m thinking this little bit of water isn’t causing he engine to not start?? I’m not sure.

Any feedback on my issue here would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[tkarvelis]

How much water? Does the humming sound like it is coming from the rear of the ski above the drive shaft? If so, open the rear Electrical Box (E-BOX) and check for water. The humming is most likely the relay on the E-BOX

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

It’s sitting on the trailer, there’s about and inch of water sitting in the engine bay.

The humming sound is coming from the front and the click comes from the back, in a black box.

Any idea where the starter relay is located? Maybe in the black box you’re talking about in the back? Thinking we have a bad starter relay?

I tried starting it today, and it started 3 times and the 4th time it didn’t start.





Thanks for your help man.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

This is inside the black box, looks like the starter relay is in here?

 

[tkarvelis]

Yes. It is in the black box with the two large red wires on it. I dont think it is the solenoid (starting relay). It sounds more like the DESS key or post. When you put the key on, do you hear the fuel pump energize everytime, and do you beep? If not, it is most likely the key or post.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

When I put the key in, it beeps as always, and the fuel pump humms, and then a click in the black box.

It loses dash power if I leave the key in for a while.

So the key is bad? The dash will light up every time I put the key in.

 

[tkarvelis]

Not the key or post then. You should hear a very faint click when you put the key on in the EBOX. It is the relay that turns the MPEM on. The solenoid (with red wires) comes on when you hit the start button. If you have a volt meter, measure between ground and the two big post. One of the post should always read 12vdc, and the other will read 12 when the start button is pressed. If it does not all the time, the solenoid is bad.

 

[benjilafouine]

As for the water in the hull, you should not have more than a few cups of it after running on a 2 stroke. Have you tried running it with the seat removed to see if you can locate where the water comes from?

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

We get 12 volts in right side and 0 on left side. When we hit the key we get 12v on both sides.. so it’s not the starter relay. Any other ideas..?

Thanks again for helping man

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Maybe the starter Is bad? Any idea where that’s located?

 

[benjilafouine]

What I noticed on my 2003 Sea-Doo is that if I just barely touch the key to the post, I hear the click in the back fuse box but not the 2 beeps yet. If In continue to insert the key, then the display will get powered and I will get my 2 beeps. After that if I don't crank, I will get 4 beeps. One other symptom of a bad DESS post is that your ski will not just have issues starting, it will also stall when running just like if you pulled the key.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Runs great until I shut it off, it doesn’t kill itself. I can only start it couple times then it needs to sit before it can start again. Very annoying lol.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Yeah just a few cups on water in the hull.are you supposed to lift the jetski with the plugs unplugged and flush the water out?

Are these water cooled, that’s why there’s water in there? There’s a cooling tray.. so I’m assuming it is

 

[benjilafouine]

Could be the DESS post. If it is, it may get worse and then you will be sure. Also, for a few cups of water in the hull, no need to worry when in water but if you take it out of water, clean/dry it with a rag.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Thanks for your feedback man.

I took the starter out of the ski and put jumper cables on it and it sparked and was working, but I’m going to replace the starter because it’s looks like it has never been replaced.

Hopefully a new starter will fix my starting problems because the solenoid works fine from testing the volts. Also cleaned the cables connecting to the battery and no luck.

I don’t know if you know what a good/bad starter looks like but here’s mine..

 

[benjilafouine]

People, especially @mikidymac here will tell you only to buy an OEM starter, not the eBay junk. Even if they seem to be working, they don't crank.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

How bout this one?

https://www.amazon.com/STARTER-FITS-SEADOO-951cc-278-000-987/dp/B008Y3RSIC

 

[mikidymac]

How bout this one?

https://www.amazon.com/STARTER-FITS-SEADOO-951cc-278-000-987/dp/B008Y3RSIC

Nope, absolute garbage. None of the aftermarket starters are any good. Just get new brushes for yours and enjoy.

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Ok thanks man I called a local dealership and they charge 250$ for new oem starter.. and they said they will take a look at mine and let me know it’s condition. Gonna let them look at mine first before I spend the 250$.

Probably going to buy a new solenoid as well since they are cheap.. are after market solenoids bad as well? How much are these usually, they are like under 20 bucks on amazon.

Thanks for the help y’all

 

[Ckrawiec]

Thanks for your feedback man.

I took the starter out of the ski and put jumper cables on it and it sparked and was working, but I’m going to replace the starter because it’s looks like it has never been replaced.

Hopefully a new starter will fix my starting problems because the solenoid works fine from testing the volts. Also cleaned the cables connecting to the battery and no luck.

I don’t know if you know what a good/bad starter looks like but here’s mine..

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I don't see where anyone has indicated that the machine won't restart after awhile could mean that your rectifier/regulator is not putting out voltage to keep the battery maintained for the next "start" cycle.

A simple test is to meter the battery terminals with the ski running....a good working rectifier should show a steady voltage of 13.5 up to 14.5 V DC on the battery. The rectifier converts the AC voltage generated by the stator coil into DC voltage for the ski and battery.

It truly sonds like your battery is being used up by the constant re-starts (changing riders), etc....Mine did the same thing......would start in the morning but would struggle by end of day if we started/stopped multiple times. If you let the battery rest, the voltage may equalize to allow the ski to re-start (assuming all other systems are in sync -> carbs, FI, spark, etc).

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Thanks for the comment, ckrawiec.

I have a battery charger I keep on the battery at home. It will shut off if the battery is fully charged and if it needs charge it will turn back on. So, I’m sure the battery is working as it’s supposed to. Also, its brand new, bought a new battery last month.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Thanks for the comment, ckrawiec.

I have a battery charger I keep on the battery at home. It will shut off if the battery is fully charged and if it needs charge it will turn back on. So, I’m sure the battery is working as it’s supposed to. Also, its brand new, bought a new battery last month.

Here are some other tidbits of info...for your reading pleasure...

 

[mikidymac]

New batteries can fail. To be sure you need to test the voltage at rest, when cranking and when running at 4,000rpm.

The brushes for the starter are only $25. I am sure the dealership will just try to sell you a new starter.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Thanks for the comment, ckrawiec.

I have a battery charger I keep on the battery at home. It will shut off if the battery is fully charged and if it needs charge it will turn back on. So, I’m sure the battery is working as it’s supposed to. Also, its brand new, bought a new battery last month.

The battery may be working fine (assuming it is), but these skis need a lot of juice to turn that flywheel to crank the engine over especially in the water...so IF the ski (while running) is not keeping a higher voltage (13.5 - 14.5) back to the battery, everytime you hit that start button is sucking the battery power....you may get away with it for a full days ride but that battery is tired by the end of the day....sitting overnight may allow the battery to equalize again for a re-start the next day but repeating the pattern will eventually drain the battery to the point where it won't have enough cold cracking amps left to juice the starter....even though the battery looks fine and may meter out fine...she may not really have what it takes....

 

[Gtxdiseadoo]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, going to get the new starter installed tomorrow. Hope it fires right up, if not I'll install the new solenoid I bought as well.. lol.

I'm a newbie when it comes to jetskis, if anyone could give me an overview of regular maintenance for GTX DI 2002 that would be awesome.. I just read about oil in the jet pump and I have no idea when the last time that has been changed.

My ski just had it's wear ring and impeller replaced, it ran great before it started to not start. Also has a new rebuilt engine in it, hoping to make this baby last a while, so maintenance is key here. So far I've been keeping up on oil (seadoo xps 2 stroke synthetic oil) and putting premium 91 octane gas in it. Other than that, I don't really know much about maintenance. Is there oil filters, and how often should pump oil be changed, other stuff??

Thanks..