sharkbait03
New Member
Hi everybody! I have a really strange problem that I've been trying to troubleshoot on my 1999 Seadoo GTX LTD Carb and I hope someone who knows more than me can help me figure what is going on. I apologize if this post gets too long.
I bought this ski recently with a "bad" MPEM and there was a toggle switch spliced in the rear electrical box. I initially thought it was to bypass the MPEM, but found out it was to cut power On/Off. When trying to start the ski, I would have to flick that switch a bunch of times and keep putting the key on the DESS post on and off a bunch of times and hope I get lucky that power will get to the gauges and beeper. IF power gets to the gauges and it beeps, everything works 100%, it will fire up and run perfect. It shows hours, I tested the rev limiter, tells me low fuel and oil etc. (I have only tested on the hose, not on the water) Once I disconnect the key or battery, it's hard to get power reliably back to the gauges. I go through the process of finicking with the battery and/or key to get power.
Things I have done:
-At one point I thought the 5a fuse diode in the MPEM was the problem so I shaved all that plastic/rubber down to the motherboard to replace that 5a diode... only to realize my MPEM doesn't have one.
-All of the fuses tested good. Never had one blow on me.
-I've tested two batteries both having over 12v and both batteries are only 1-2 years old.
-I ended up printing out the electrical schematic and probed every wire for continuity going to the MPEM, I took apart the rear electrical box and cleaned everything including the two grounds in the rear ebox and the one ground towards the front of the motor next to the Magneto connector. I replaced both the + and - battery cables. I even ran a separate ground cable from the - battery post to a different part of the motor thinking it was a grounding issue -did not help.
-I ruled out the DESS post and key by testing continuity and resistance on the key (9 ohms).
-The start/stop button was giving me high resistance, but when the key was on and had power, it kept cranking over every time I clicked the button.
After all this, my problem is when I move the - connector on and off the battery, there's a small chance that one time I will get lights to the gauges. Also, sometimes when I connect the battery cable, I get a small spark, is that normal?
I am leaning towards the MPEM but I am not 100%. Is it possible that the MPEM could have an intermittent issue where sometimes it doesn't want to supply power to the gauges?
I bought this ski recently with a "bad" MPEM and there was a toggle switch spliced in the rear electrical box. I initially thought it was to bypass the MPEM, but found out it was to cut power On/Off. When trying to start the ski, I would have to flick that switch a bunch of times and keep putting the key on the DESS post on and off a bunch of times and hope I get lucky that power will get to the gauges and beeper. IF power gets to the gauges and it beeps, everything works 100%, it will fire up and run perfect. It shows hours, I tested the rev limiter, tells me low fuel and oil etc. (I have only tested on the hose, not on the water) Once I disconnect the key or battery, it's hard to get power reliably back to the gauges. I go through the process of finicking with the battery and/or key to get power.
Things I have done:
-At one point I thought the 5a fuse diode in the MPEM was the problem so I shaved all that plastic/rubber down to the motherboard to replace that 5a diode... only to realize my MPEM doesn't have one.
-All of the fuses tested good. Never had one blow on me.
-I've tested two batteries both having over 12v and both batteries are only 1-2 years old.
-I ended up printing out the electrical schematic and probed every wire for continuity going to the MPEM, I took apart the rear electrical box and cleaned everything including the two grounds in the rear ebox and the one ground towards the front of the motor next to the Magneto connector. I replaced both the + and - battery cables. I even ran a separate ground cable from the - battery post to a different part of the motor thinking it was a grounding issue -did not help.
-I ruled out the DESS post and key by testing continuity and resistance on the key (9 ohms).
-The start/stop button was giving me high resistance, but when the key was on and had power, it kept cranking over every time I clicked the button.
After all this, my problem is when I move the - connector on and off the battery, there's a small chance that one time I will get lights to the gauges. Also, sometimes when I connect the battery cable, I get a small spark, is that normal?
I am leaning towards the MPEM but I am not 100%. Is it possible that the MPEM could have an intermittent issue where sometimes it doesn't want to supply power to the gauges?
