Jump Starting....?

[seadoosnipe]

There have been quite a few members asking about the safety of jump starting your ski/boat. While its not common practice to do this, there are times when you may get stranded and find there is no other choice. To jump for that purpose is o.k, but if you have a bad battery and jump it continously, just so the charging system will run the electronics of the ski, eventually, you will burn up your regulator.

To jump a battery, follow carefully. The vehicle (boat, car, tractor, helicopter) your starting from, must be a 12 volt DC (direct current) battery. This vehicle must not be running. Attach the jumper cables to that vehicle. Then, attach the positive to your ski/boat battery. Then, attach the ground to the engine block, preferably to the grounding lug at the engine, coming from your battery. This will keep a spark from arcing to your positive post and creating explosive conditions.

What the "superstition" is all about with this procedure, is that if the vehicle your starting from is running and you connect cables to it, your not sending 12 volts to your battery and electrical system, your sending anywhere from 13.5 to 14 volts. This may cause you to overload and short your electronic control module or mpem.

It's best to have a jump box available or if you own a boat, put a second battery in dedicated to your accessories, so that you won't run down your primary battery. You will need to use a switch to isolate your battery when the engine is off. Here is a link to the switch you see in most boat applications. http://www.boatmartusa.com/marinema...with-field-disconnect-p-433.html?currency=USD

Remember, a jump is normally used for emergency situations. Don't do it habitually, you may damage your rectifier/regulator.

 

[ROC 87]

I have a friend that used cables to jump his 96 GTS ski.(I not sure(doubt)he followed your advise) Now as soon as you connect the battery it blows the 5amp fuse in the electrical box. Do you have any ideas of the problem or advice as to what to check and how. Thanks

 

[seadoosnipe]

Bad news....

Well, that doesn't sound to good, sounds like he's damaged the MPEM.

But, there is good news. Rather than replace it, there is a member in the forum, All Things Custom, who works on these things. Seems he's found a way to fix mpem's that constantly blow their fuse.

Heres a link to his buy/sell/trade add..........http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=2254

You may want to click on his ebay link. I haven't seen him in the forum in a while. I think he does small engine repair work from his garage and is swamped. I spoke to him by phone a couple months or so, said he was swamped.

Give him a try. I think if he can fix it, it's about $100 bucks, verses the replacement cost.......:cheers:

 

[All Things Custom]

:agree: LOL

What he said... Never ever ever... jumpstart a seadoo ski.

It blows a circuit in the MPEM that I do repair, so if you want to pay for a new MPEM or pay me $140.00 with shipping go ahead. ( I do need to make a living you know)

Seadoo knew this back in 1989 when they produced their MPEM and the fix they had was to stick a sticker in the hull that says something like Dont jump battery while in ski.... rather than fixing theier design flaw.

 

[Johnson8537]

Just curious does your FIX also fix seadoo design flaw???

 

[wryirshwit]

quick jump

you can do a quick jump with another PWC, car or boat just do it quick burst not long burst on the starter. to get it going or you will fry your starter. don't do it to often or you will fry your starter. just incase battery is dead for emergency.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Only with the engine turned off!

You can only jump in this manner as long as the engine from the vehicle your jumping from is turned off.........

If you read the first post, it's not about the starter getting hot, it's all about the voltage from a running vehicle. When your 12 vdc system is running, their is between 13.5 and 14 vdc being generated....but at the mpem, it's only using 12 of those volts........If you jump from a battery with 14, you endanger blowing the mpem..........plain and simple. It's not about the starter.:cheers:

 

[shootawave]

Above all the previous postings as first stated! Please let the engine compartment air out completely first! This is a confined space that will keep the potential Volatile gas compounds in the hull, thus creating an explosive atmosphere. If it blows up, it wont be a fun day......Stay safe always please!

 

[seadoosnipe]

Explosive atmosphere.......

Being safe is always paramount, but if you have a ski or boat that has built up enough parts per million of fuel vapor, to ignite while jump starting and you can't smell it...........:cheers:

 

[timmyboy76]

what, in other words..dont jump start with a "cold"...:rofl:

 

[shootawave]

EXACTLY Guys! You would be amazed that it can be a thin line on the PPM's I have seen enough of the aftermath personaly and its not pretty. A lot of the general public just dont know about vapours, flashpoints or voc's (volatile organic compounds) Just a quick word of caution!!! and yes i like the cold part too.. use someone elses nose or a gas meter Thanks guys.

 

[popasodatastie]

would it work to jump start a jet ski with another jet ski battery or is that still not adviseable?

 

[rippinsurf]

sorry to keep the changed subject going but ive noticed a very nice spark shooting from my starter because the starter cable cant be tightend all the way cause the stud is broken or loose in the starter... i wasnt worried about it cause it starts jus fine and never acts like it dont want to... but now youve got me scared ima go start it one day and BAM! ZING! ZOOM! RIGHT TO THE MOON! that would SUCK!!! ive no fuel leaks but you never know one day huh... perhaps jus letting it air before each start would be good huh.. or even jus taking the seat off... hell i could deal with a flame but a bomb would suck haha.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Jump starting...

There is a sticky in the forum on jump starting. If you have to do it, use one of the jump packs or from anohter vehicle, with the engine off. The issue with jumping from a car or other vehicle while running is the other vehicles charging system coming into contact with yours. The battery is designed to start at 12 VDC, not from 14 VDC that is being supplied from an outside source....

As for the spark at the starter, .....this is likely a loose connection or bad wire. This needs to be troubleshooted and found ASAP. This type short can cause you to short out the MPEM. Then, you'll be replacing a lot more than a stud on a starter!.........:ack:

 

[mojo0107]

Oops!

I think that is how I fried the VTS fuse on my old ride... I put an all new vts system in it cuz the stealersip told me too...and it was a fuse. LOL. I hate them... I've seen PWC's w/ a second battery, that was hooked up to the charger that only ran a radio/mp3 player, it would discharge only the radio battery and not the engine one. Is this ok on the ride and how hard is it to do this?

 

[Chris_cox]

you can wire it so that the 2nd battery is charged with the oem battery but only powers accesories

 

[05GTXSC]

Is it OK to have a trickle charger on it while it is still hooked up?

 

[captainjack987]

yes it is fine. In my experience marine batteries arnt of the highest quality and i find replacing them every season is a good bet to keep everything predictable.

 

[BillinNH]

My experience with my 11 year old GTI is if I get 3 seasons out of a battery, it was a good battery. Our season is short and I keep mine on a trickle charge, and in a heated basement over the winter. The one I have is 3 years old now so I'm going to replace it as a matter of course when I put it in the water this weekend.

 

[CragarShinoda]

Why jump your boat or PWC off anyway? Just roll it off. lol I kid, I kid!:rofl:

 

[orbital02]

This is probably going to sound dumb but I did what the first post said NOT to do. I hooked up my truck to jump my battery with it on twice. I must have got lucky the first time, but after the second it started and ran for about 200 yds. before it bogged down and died. I checked the fuses and the only one blown was some 7.5 amp fuse (anyone know what that one goes to?) The other thing I noticed was it now won't get spark at all. It turns over fine, but no spark. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[larrylongboat]

i need a mobile mechanic to service my jetskis at my home in longboat key near saras

bad battery and jump it continously, just so the charging system will run the electronics of the ski, eventually, you will burn up your regulator.

To jump a battery, follow carefully. The vehicle (boat, car, tractor, helicopter) your starting from, must be a 12 volt DC (direct current) battery. This vehicle must not be running. Attach the jumper cables to that vehicle. Then, attach the positive to your ski/boat battery. Then, attach the ground to the engine block, preferably to the grounding lug at the engine, coming from your battery. This will keep a spark from arcing to your positive post and creating explosive conditions.

What the "superstition" is all about with this procedure, is that if the vehicle your starting from is running and you connect cables to it, your not sending 12 volts to your battery and electrical system, your sending anywhere from 13.5 to 14 volts. This may cause you to overload and short your electronic control module or mpem.

It's best to have a jump box available or if you own a boat, put a second battery in dedicated to your accessories, so that you won't run down your primary battery. You will need to use a switch to isolate your battery when the engine is off. Here is a link to the switch you see in most boat applications. http://www.boatmartusa.com/marinema...with-field-disconnect-p-433.html?currency=USD

Remember, a jump is normally used for emergency situations. Don't do it habitually, you may damage your rectifier/regulator.[/QUOTE]

 

[RustyStunts]

good s***? ride on!

 

[seadoosnipe]

Jump starting....

This has always been a topic of interest to our members. We are so used to just jumping off our cars when our battery is dead. But, with the PWC's or jet boats, you take a risk in damaging your MPEM or ECU. These electrical units are very expensive to replace so I would always caution against' doing it.

You can jump from another battery, only if the one you are jumping from is shut down or their alternator is unpluged. It's the charging system of the other vehicle, no matter is it's a car, boat train or plane, you need to isolate the charging systems.............:cheers:

 

[heythere152]

i have a 98 gsx. my battery just died, should i disconnect the positive cable and charge that way or neg cable removed . all skis are 12 volt correct?