Major Woody
Active Member
Hello all!
Love this forum and really appreciate those of you who take the time to share your knowledge. As I learn more, I hope to do the same.
I've been enjoying my '97 GSX for a few years now but have wanted to add a 96 XP to the stable as I like to play/jump. Knowing it would be a buyer's market during the dark days of winter, I recently picked up this XP off the local Craigslist for $500 with trailer. Seller bought it last year but is not a PWC guy and jacked the wiring all up when he could not get it to start.
At some point in the past, somebody really loved this ski. It has custom airbrushed "Calvin & Hobbes" graphics (which I suspect were painted by John Dady of Blowsion here in the Portland area), R&D trim tabs and R&D grate. The impeller is a mystery, and other than the oil pump delete, the engine appears to be all stock.
It was stored outside for one winter under a tarp. Was it winterized? Who knows, but last winter wasn't that cold so fingers crossed that there's no freeze damage. The gas is tinted blue and the guy said he was using "marine 2 stroke" in it, so I'll be dumping the gas. (RAVE blades look ok though they could use a cleaning). The ad said it ran and the seller claimed that it ran great for him when he first bought it, until it suddenly wouldn't respond to the key anymore. However, when I got there it was on a charger and the wires to the start button were completely melted. It appears that when he couldn't get it to start, he decided to wire the start button directly to the solenoid using house wiring and those crimp-on wire tap splices they sell at the car stereo store.
It appears he must have fried the MPEM because the battery had 14 volts and the buzzer is good and all the fuses (front and back) are good but I get no beeps, no gauges, no signs of life whatsoever (can't get it into diagnostic mode and nothing happens when pressing the start button with the key off).
I removed the front electrical box and tested the MPEM using the guide from here; all the combinations of wires test "open circuit" (no resistance at all). Is it fair to presume that the MPEM is toast?
I disconnected the DESS post and checked continuity. It checks out properly with and without the key. The key is clean and looks fine. Putting the key on the post results in a closed circuit so I think the post is unlikely to be the issue.
The solenoid is new, as is the battery and the starter (he replaced those first with OEM when it first developed the starting issue).
The fuel lines are new.
I did do a compression test by arcing the solenoid with a screwdriver and got 150/150. The engine is painted silver so based on that and the compression being strong, it looks like it may have been a fairly recent SBT rebuild?
I already replaced the fried start button and redid the seat (black friday sale).
My plan is to remove the dated/damaged but funny graphics, wet sand and buff the hull, add Blacktip mats, deal with other cosmetics issues, add a single gauge hood (multi-gauge only), check and if necessary replace the VTS control (motor works on 12v but is disconnected from rest of harness), pull the engine and drain any oil from it (who knows what is in there--the lines have some mystery blue stuff), have the carbs rebuilt/popoff set as a precaution, put the oil injection back on, change the pump oil and drive the piss out of it.
Is there anything else I should go through before trying to start it, based on what I know about the ski?
Love this forum and really appreciate those of you who take the time to share your knowledge. As I learn more, I hope to do the same.
I've been enjoying my '97 GSX for a few years now but have wanted to add a 96 XP to the stable as I like to play/jump. Knowing it would be a buyer's market during the dark days of winter, I recently picked up this XP off the local Craigslist for $500 with trailer. Seller bought it last year but is not a PWC guy and jacked the wiring all up when he could not get it to start.
At some point in the past, somebody really loved this ski. It has custom airbrushed "Calvin & Hobbes" graphics (which I suspect were painted by John Dady of Blowsion here in the Portland area), R&D trim tabs and R&D grate. The impeller is a mystery, and other than the oil pump delete, the engine appears to be all stock.
It was stored outside for one winter under a tarp. Was it winterized? Who knows, but last winter wasn't that cold so fingers crossed that there's no freeze damage. The gas is tinted blue and the guy said he was using "marine 2 stroke" in it, so I'll be dumping the gas. (RAVE blades look ok though they could use a cleaning). The ad said it ran and the seller claimed that it ran great for him when he first bought it, until it suddenly wouldn't respond to the key anymore. However, when I got there it was on a charger and the wires to the start button were completely melted. It appears that when he couldn't get it to start, he decided to wire the start button directly to the solenoid using house wiring and those crimp-on wire tap splices they sell at the car stereo store.
It appears he must have fried the MPEM because the battery had 14 volts and the buzzer is good and all the fuses (front and back) are good but I get no beeps, no gauges, no signs of life whatsoever (can't get it into diagnostic mode and nothing happens when pressing the start button with the key off).
I removed the front electrical box and tested the MPEM using the guide from here; all the combinations of wires test "open circuit" (no resistance at all). Is it fair to presume that the MPEM is toast?
I disconnected the DESS post and checked continuity. It checks out properly with and without the key. The key is clean and looks fine. Putting the key on the post results in a closed circuit so I think the post is unlikely to be the issue.
The solenoid is new, as is the battery and the starter (he replaced those first with OEM when it first developed the starting issue).
The fuel lines are new.
I did do a compression test by arcing the solenoid with a screwdriver and got 150/150. The engine is painted silver so based on that and the compression being strong, it looks like it may have been a fairly recent SBT rebuild?
I already replaced the fried start button and redid the seat (black friday sale).
My plan is to remove the dated/damaged but funny graphics, wet sand and buff the hull, add Blacktip mats, deal with other cosmetics issues, add a single gauge hood (multi-gauge only), check and if necessary replace the VTS control (motor works on 12v but is disconnected from rest of harness), pull the engine and drain any oil from it (who knows what is in there--the lines have some mystery blue stuff), have the carbs rebuilt/popoff set as a precaution, put the oil injection back on, change the pump oil and drive the piss out of it.
Is there anything else I should go through before trying to start it, based on what I know about the ski?
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