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96 GTX No power at all

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Gotcha sorry I didn’t fully understand what you said. Does it make sense for the motor to not want to start because the starter lacks the power to spin the crankshaft fast enough?
 
Yes, that and the power draw will also lead to weaker spark as well. Kind of a snowball effect all contributing to intermittent starting or no start.
 
What I found on my 96 GTX is that if the starter is good a weak battery will turn over the engine but if the voltage drops below 10V then the cdi will not fire the plugs (even though the engine cranks). Charge your battery then monitor the voltage when you crank the engine. If the voltage drops significantly then battery might not be good (even if new, have it load tested) or the starter is bad and dragging the voltage down. If the voltage stays near 12V while cranking but it behaves like your video I would suspect the starter.
 
So a little update tested the battery while cranking and the voltage dropped to almost half. Load tested the battery and it was bad so I went and swapped it for a good one and its a noticeable difference when cranking it doesn’t cut off on me as much when I hold the start button down. I’m gunna get me an OEM starter and see what that does. Im thinking its cutting off because the starter cant handle the power? Not sure if that sounds right. Thanks for the help y’all.
 
Would really be sure your battery and ground cables are good, clean and well connected before moving to far ahead. But would get an OEM starter for sure.
 
So another update I got an oem starter and wow what a difference its sounds much better when cranking, BUT still didn’t start. It would turn the starter fine until the motor built up compression (I’m thinking) then it would stop and whine and act like it was trying to turn the motor over. This makes me think its the Battery again. I also read the voltage in the battery as I cranked it and the voltage dropped again like the last battery I had. I’m scared to load test it again thinking this one will be bad. The auto parts store tested the new one before I took it home and it checked out. My question is is there a certain battery I need to be using? I know these skis require a lot of power to start them, I’m thinking this Die hard battery from Advanced auto parts is not that right battery to use. Also my wires and terminals are fine. Thanks.
 
I use an Advance Auto powersport battery that has a spec of 19Ahr which is the GTX spec. They seem to last about 2.5 years keeping them charged during off season. Are you only cranking the engine for a few seconds for a few times and then giving the starter a chance to cool? Also have you been doing a lot of cranking on the new battery? Since your ski is not running there is nothing charging the battery back up. Try charging the battery back up and monitor the battery voltage the 1st few times you try to crank. Only crank for 3 to 5 seconds. Try that 2-3 times and then let the starter cool and the battery recover for a minute or 2. If the battery voltage holds up after trying that a few times then there's probably something else that's keeping you're ski from starting like maybe no spark.
 
Battery voltage when cranking will tell you what you need to know.

If it drops below 12 it’s no bueno.
 
So I have given the starter time to cool between tries and I know not to hold it down for too long, not trying to cost myself any more money burning a starter up lol. But yeah I checked the voltage of the battery after trying to crank and its still 12.7 strong but when I’m pressing the start button to crank it the voltage drops to 7-8. And this is on the new battery. Would there be something else thats drawing power besides the starter? I’m not trying to sound uneducated but what else would be drawing that much power from the battery.
 
Probably the best thing to do is bring your battery back to be load tested since it is new and warranted. I like to check the manufacturing code on the battery to check that the new one is not too old. There is usually a sticker with a letter followed by a number. The letter is the month code and the digit is the last digit of the year (ex. C1 means March 2021). I don't think there is anything that draws that much power except for the starter.
 
You could have a bad ground or ground wire. Also the positive wire could be bad (voltage drop test). And yes a bad starter When You tightened the postive lead onto the starter did the bottom NUT TURN at all? If it did turn, the brush connection can contact the starter housing internally. Check that out.

That is a big voltage drop you are having. I've had skis start just fine with voltage measured at the battery in the 11.5V range. You're on the right track and you could well have a bad battery. I had a brand new one that made me think the engine had too much compression. LOL I connected a 1000 CCA battery to the NEW battery with jumper cables and the ski would turn over for a second then wouldn't turn the engine over at all. Then I stuck an old batter in there for some reason and the ski spun great. Sneaky Sneaky devices these skis are. Stay with it. Good Luck !!
 
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Agreed with previous posts, after market starters just won't work. Did you load test the battery?
 
So just for kicks I borrowed my buddies battery from his ski and tried it and the same thing happened. It tries to turn but its like theres too much compression or not enough power. I did put new terminals on because one of the wires was kinda corroded. Also the starter pulled the voltage down to about 9-8. So now I really have no clue what to do haha. The nut doesn’t turn or any of that. Could it be too much compression? Im just throwin it out there. My old man thinks its not getting gas but to me that doesnt explain why its not continuing to turn over. Thanks
 
Do you have the same issue if you turn the motor over with the plugs out?

Don’t for get to ground the plug wires to avoid damage.
 
No it spins freely without the plugs and I wasn’t aware that was necessary lol. But yeah the motor isn’t locked up.
 
You mentioned you replaced the terminals cause the wires were corroded? Did you replace the wires as well? It just sounds like you are getting to much resistance and smoking the battery.
 
So I have replaced the starter ground wire and I replaced a terminal going to the starter relay because it looked a little corroded. The other terminals look fine. I tested the battery again while cranking but I did it without the plugs in first and it only dropped a bit to 11.5v I also tested with the pos on the input and output of the relay as well as the pos of starter (something I read on another thread) and they all read about the same 11.5. I go to put the plugs back in and test the battery and it was fine, then when I test the input of the relay the motor "locks up" and the readings drop to like 8v. Nothing is actually locked up its just the motor trying to start over but seems to be met with resistance or the battery doesn't have power. This is the third battery I have tried and this one has a lot more cca at 350 then the previous.
 
It's hard to tell from your description when you say after you put the plugs back in and the battery is fine but you measure only 8 V at the relay terminals. Does that mean the battery voltage stays near 12 V while you crank with the plugs in? That would mean your dropping t he voltage across the red wire that runs from the battery to the relay or across the contacts of the relay itself. Both would be due to internal corrosion (resistance) that can not be seen. The resistance would be more of a problem when the plugs are in because the current draw would be higher to turn the motor over. You can successively Measure the voltage drop at the input of the starter relay where the battery connects, the output of the starter relay where the starter connects and finally right at the positive terminal on the starter. Replace the red wire or relay where you see the voltage drop. Always put the ground connection for your meter on the battery negative.
 
So your saying with plugs in see where the resistance starts? Meaning go down the line and see if the battery drops to 8 or each post. And sorry about the description still new to all the wording lol

edit I will say its doing this with more than one battery so in that case it could be a wire since the starter is known to be good and the relay being new
 
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Yes. This assumes you are measuring close to 12V directly across the battery while cranking with the plugs in. If you only see 8V at the input side of the relay where the red wire from the battery connects, replace that section of red wire. That is the most probable issue from your description. But if that is not where you see the voltage drop move to the other side of the relay and then to the starter to tell which sections are causing voltage drops.
 
Just thinking here with the bad batteries I’ve had before (even brand new) if the battery reads 8v when the motor gets “locked up” it’s means I’ve yet again bought a bad battery?
 
A good battery should not drop that far. Did you bring the new battery you bought back for load testing?
 
I did load test the last battery I brought back and they said it had a dead cell. Just tested the voltage on this one and it dropped to 8. Now I’m wondering what is cause all these batteries to go bad.
 
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