03 Speedster Wont Start

[Jon4mitch]

2003 seadoo speedster m2 v6 240

Hello, I just bought this boat from member “tkalb22”. This boat won’t start unless I spray “starting fluid” , which I know not to do!!!! Just did it twice to see if it turns over and it does then dies out. This is where I’m at..... I turn key, get one beep, fuel lift pump runs for 2 seconds, main power relay closes and opens for two seconds. I’ve checked ALL sensors with volt meter and verified readings via service manual. All within range except map sensor has a few readings low, just slightly below range. Landyard works obviously. CPS works when I rotate flywheel by hand, you can see continuity change to open when I rotate. No spark, no fuel. Pulled plugs, checked with inline tester and also grounded plugs, no spark. Left plugs out and cranked, no fuel spraying out. Any further troubleshooting will help, Im only using a volt meter. Thank you in advance.

 

[Tim75]

2003 seadoo speedster m2 v6 240

Hello, I just bought this boat from member “tkalb22”. This boat won’t start unless I spray “starting fluid” , which I know not to do!!!! Just did it twice to see if it turns over and it does then dies out. This is where I’m at..... I turn key, get one beep, fuel lift pump runs for 2 seconds, main power relay closes and opens for two seconds. I’ve checked ALL sensors with volt meter and verified readings via service manual. All within range except map sensor has a few readings low, just slightly below range. Landyard works obviously. CPS works when I rotate flywheel by hand, you can see continuity change to open when I rotate. No spark, no fuel. Pulled plugs, checked with inline tester and also grounded plugs, no spark. Left plugs out and cranked, no fuel spraying out. Any further troubleshooting will help, Im only using a volt meter. Thank you in advance.

Start checking your ground wires. There are several. Remember- a tight screw does not guarantee a good connection. Move on to the connectors of the wiring harness. No green connections allowed. Injector harness- starboard side, down low. About 5/8 dia. 4 wires. Check ground wires for the 2 black boxes on top of block. Check insulation of everything. Merc had some crappy wires at one time and the insulation crumbled over time.

How do you know the e-stop lanyard is working if you have no spark? That is what it does- kill the spark.

Have you checked the fuel pressure? 36psi at the tire valve on top of the vst. Have you done a compression check lately? All plugs out, WOT. Should be better than 125psi x6. 140 is ideal.

Have you checked fuel delivery from each pump? There are 3. The lift pump (thump thump), engine driven pump, and electric pump inside the vst. Lift pump should run longer than 2 seconds. Maybe 15 sec.

What is your battery voltage when you are cranking? ECU may not work if less than 9.5V.

 

[Jon4mitch]

Start checking your ground wires. There are several. Remember- a tight screw does not guarantee a good connection. Move on to the connectors of the wiring harness. No green connections allowed. Injector harness- starboard side, down low. About 5/8 dia. 4 wires. Check ground wires for the 2 black boxes on top of block. Check insulation of everything. Merc had some crappy wires at one time and the insulation crumbled over time.

How do you know the e-stop lanyard is working if you have no spark? That is what it does- kill the spark.

Have you checked the fuel pressure? 36psi at the tire valve on top of the vst. Have you done a compression check lately? All plugs out, WOT. Should be better than 125psi x6. 140 is ideal.

Have you checked fuel delivery from each pump? There are 3. The lift pump (thump thump), engine driven pump, and electric pump inside the vst. Lift pump should run longer than 2 seconds. Maybe 15 sec.

What is your battery voltage when you are cranking? ECU may not work if less than 9.5V.

Hey, thanks for responding. I’ve checked every wire harness, took apart, cleaned throughly with contact cleaner and reapplied die-electric grease to all plugs. As far as e-stop, it’s a universal one, 1 NC contact and 1 NO contact. If I hook up it wrong, I don’t get a beep tone when I turn key. Is that correct? I will check the those 4 ground wires today as well as fuel pressure. Is the pump on the VST audible? Can you hear it running or should I just check voltage going to it. Battery goes down to about 10.8 when cranking. As far as lift pump, when I turn key on, I get one beep, main power relay latches, lift pump runs about two seconds, the main power relay opens.

 

[Jon4mitch]

Hey, thanks for responding. I’ve checked every wire harness, took apart, cleaned throughly with contact cleaner and reapplied die-electric grease to all plugs. As far as e-stop, it’s a universal one, 1 NC contact and 1 NO contact. If I hook up it wrong, I don’t get a beep tone when I turn key. Is that correct? I will check the those 4 ground wires today as well as fuel pressure. Is the pump on the VST audible? Can you hear it running or should I just check voltage going to it. Battery goes down to about 10.8 when cranking. As far as lift pump, when I turn key on, I get one beep, main power relay latches, lift pump runs about two seconds, the main power relay opens.

Just checked all grounds. All good. Checked pressure

Hey, thanks for responding. I’ve checked every wire harness, took apart, cleaned throughly with contact cleaner and reapplied die-electric grease to all plugs. As far as e-stop, it’s a universal one, 1 NC contact and 1 NO contact. If I hook up it wrong, I don’t get a beep tone when I turn key. Is that correct? I will check the those 4 ground wires today as well as fuel pressure. Is the pump on the VST audible? Can you hear it running or should I just check voltage going to it. Battery goes down to about 10.8 when cranking. As far as lift pump, when I turn key on, I get one beep, main power relay latches, lift pump runs about two seconds, the main power relay opens.

just checked all grounds. All are good. Checked pressure at tire valve on top and only have 12psi. When cranking goes down to almost zero. Suggestions?

 

[Tim75]

Just checked all grounds. All good. Checked pressure

just checked all grounds. All are good. Checked pressure at tire valve on top and only have 12psi. When cranking goes down to almost zero. Suggestions?

The pump motor inside vst is a continuous running pump (unlike your lift pump). You can easily feel it if you touch the vst housing with key on. You can check flow INTO the vst by loosening the brass drain screw on the side of the vst. You should have a continuous flow from that drain with key on. With only 12psi, we have a place to start. Check the voltage at the 2 wires that power the vst. Also check the ends of the wires. Polarity matters. The motor will run wired either way. It will only build pressure wired correctly. I have had a wire break at the connector so that I had intermittent power to the pump. Every time the boat bounced, the engine would quit. The pump from Merc is several hundred $. There are aftermarket units on ebay for about $50. The worst part of the job is getting the vst off of the engine. You willl also need the o-ring between halves of the vst. About $25. You could also have issues with pressure regulator. BUT- since pressure drops of while cranking, I don't think that is an issue.

Not sure about your "main power relay". What is that? I don't have any such sound on my engine. Only the starter solenoid at key START.

Kill switch- if you disconnect the black/yellow wire from switch, that should disable the switch.

 

[Jon4mitch]

So I took out fuel regulator, nozzle tip that seats inside VST was bent. Used a nail to try press on spring inside regulator. Wouldn’t move. Stuck closed. With a LOT of force I managed to push it and it stuck open now. Buying new one obviously. The main power relay is located right next to starter solenoid, it sends power to 4 fuses that power fuel injector harness, electric fuel pump, coils, oil pump etc. when I turn key, all power up for about 2-3 seconds. After that , power to two fuses drop out, which are fuel injectors, coils, electric fuel pump(both of them). When I crank, they come back on. Electric pump in VST does not stay running while key in run. Only when cranking. I took off entire VST, to clean and go through and possible buy a new pump, since I have it all out. I will remove black w/yellow wire when I get new regulator and reinstall VST.

 

[Jon4mitch]

Well I got new regulator and installed. Took all pumps apart and cleaned. Fires right up on land with hose. Started about 10 times (once a day for about 3 minutes). Put in water, idled great in forward for about ten minutes then dies, starts back up, runs about 5 seconds and dies again. Put back on trailer, on land at marina, starts and runs fine, put back in water, left it on trailer, starts then dies right away. ANY SUGGESTIONS???

 

[ripcuda]

Your diag seems pretty thorough, so you probably already checked this... but 10.8v while cranking seems low... weak battery? What is your running voltage? Are your voltage regs (2 of them) working proper... ie charging?

Cheers!

 

[Jon4mitch]

Running voltage is 12.3VDC

 

[Jon4mitch]

Like I mentioned, purrs like a kitten on land, I can whack the throttle and comes back to idle pretty smoothly.