'96 Sea-Doo XP DEAD!

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hockeyjoe09

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I have a '96 XP, ran strong all summer, but one of the last times I was going to put it in, I filled it up with gas, and as I was leaving the gas station the gas gauge was acting weird. It still had the low fuel light lit up and as I drove the gauge slowly started to make its way up to full(took a few minutes one bar...minute later another...). Although it was running fine, that bothered me, it seemed like a "brains" problem...computer/electrical.... I drove about a half hour, stopped for a little bit, then went to turn it back on and got nothing. No trim movement, no cranking, no beeps. Almost like a dead batt., but charged and tested it and it took a charge and held it, so it wasnt the battery. Tried replacing the key post, nothing. Even with a different key I get no beeps, so it isnt the key. The electrical box is getting power (I tested the hot wire going into it) so maybe it is the computer or something inside the electrical box? Someone please help! If it is a bad computer...do they just go? Or did something else short it out? I don't want to replace the computer and have it short out again from the same problem. Thanks to whoever can help me!!
 
mpem

This does seem to be a problem with your mpem (multi purpose electronic module). They can "burn out" two different ways. Either there is a complete failure of the mpem and it goes bad, or someone has removed the proper fuse and replaced it with a higher amp fuse.
Pull off the cover to your electrical box that houses your mpem. This is where your fuse is. Check the fuse and see that it isn't blown. This is in place to protect your mpem from a power surge.......if it's not blown, then the possibility of the mpem going bad on it's own is completely possible for the year of your Doo. You've explained that you've already checked the other things that I'd advise you check......so, check your fuse to your mpem. On my 787, my electrical box houses several fuses. I don't have your manual sitting in front of me at the moment, so I don't know what your electrical layout looks like. But I know it's protected by a fuse.
Let me know what you find. Maybe I'll be able to look in my manual for further help.
O.K....I was able to look at your mpem....you should have, what looks like, two fuses and a spare box for housing a spare fuse. Reading more info on it. It does seem most likely that this is where your problem lies. It is either bad, or the fuse is blown.
 
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All the fuses are ok, that was the first thing I checked when I opened up the box. I replaced them anyway, still nothing. The fuse in the power going to the box is also fine. Seems like I will be replacing the computer.... Someone told me the VTS trim system could have shorted it out. Does that happen, or is that just another know-it-all giving me wrong info?? I just dont want to put in a new computer and to have it blow again.. Obviously I will make sure the fuses are right so it doesn't get too much juice and blow that way.
 
Vts?

I don't know about that, but looking at the electrical drawing, it doesn't seem that it could cause the mpem to blow. I did notice that there is a grounding wire to the mpem. Did you check it to make sure it's making a good ground.
There was three fuses for you mpem. One of them was for the VTS itself, so that tells me that even if your VTS module had a problem, it would still burn the fuse before damaging the mpem.
There's a really good mechanic who comes into the forum now and then. Be patient and he'll probably look at your post. He's not here everyday, but I'm pretty sure you'll be recieveing some advice from him as to what you can look for. His name is Don and his user name is "Waves and Wheels".
I hope you can find a solution to your problem and welcome to the forum.
 
I haven't touched anything under there in years, so I doubt the ground came loose. But I will wait for him to answer that question before replacing the mpem...
Any suggestions on what to use? I see that there is aftermarket/non-OEM modules, and the only difference is (I think) that it does not need to recognise the key, and I guess you can use any key on the post. The security of the key with a chip in it does not really bother me, I trailer it and lock it up anyway, in fact all the key has done is give me problems anyway. Is going with the cheaper/aftermarket mpem ok?
 
Premix?

Remove the oil pump and take out the plastic shaft. Then put the oil pump back on. You can pinch the supply hose going to the oil injection pump, or remove and plug it. The 2 small ones going to the carbs won't hurt anything to leave them on. Then, use a 50:1 premix in your tank. You have to leave the oil tank on to keep your rotary valve chamber lubricated.
On your ground wire... The ground wire can become corroded and lose its contact with your engine sorta like the powdery stuff you see on your car battery. Most people think the positive wire on a battery is the most important when in fact, the ground or negative side is. You must maintain a clean, solid ground wire for electricals to operate properly.
The mpem, I really don't know that much about the aftermarket versions. I've been fortunate so far as to not have to replace mine. But I do know that we have a PWC junkyard, so if I need a generic part, I might try them out at some point.
 
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Your correct about the negative ground wire being very important.
Have you renewed this wire.
Reason being they corrode and go green inside the plastic or dont put enough power out.
Ive used an old car jump lead on ski's before as a temp fix.


Also you changed the post and get no beeps on the starter button.
Maybe putting the old post back on might sort this out till you find the start of your problem.

But I would also clean all wire connections with wd 40 or something.
A bad earth/negative would knock lots of things off.

Hope you get it sorted.

David.:)
 
Thats what Ive been told also but unsure of the fact to be honest.

Thats why I sugested he reinstall the old post and go from there.

He should also get one short bleep + one long from pressing the starter button 5 times without lanyard attached.
This should confirm theres power getting to the electrics.
 
Post?

No....you can replace the post on the boat without doing a program change. The mpem holds the code in it's memory for your lanyard key. The lanyard has a chip in it that the mpem is programmed to. You can buy and program up to 6 lanyards to the mpem. The post holds no programming itself. It's just a mechanical means of attaching the DESS lanyard to.
 
Looks like most of the "look at first" trouble areas have been already covered here. I did notice that you said the first problem you noticed was the fuel gauge acting up just before everything went bad. There is a chance you have a shorted fuel sending board in the fuel baffle. There is a circuit board with a magnetic float inside the fuel baffle. I have seen these boards cause some strange things to go on. Most of the time, you will have a system fuse go if it shorts completely out. Try disconnecting the plug from the baffle (coming off the top of the fuel tank) and see what happens. You can test the sending unit with an Ohm meter also. I don't have the specs in front of me, but will post them for you tomorrow. The resistance should vary as the float moves along the circuit board. If the board is shorted out, it is possible that it could have taken out the MPEM also. Don't see this much, but it is possible.
 
Here's something I can't figure out.... When I take the fuse out from the wire that brings power to the electrical box with the mpem in it, put the key on the post, then put the fuse back in the wire (basically reseting the electric box, no power, then power, key on) the engine cranks!! This tells me it isn't the ground because the mpem is telling the engine to crank....very weird....can anybody figure that one out?? Does this mean the mpem is still good or something, problem somewhere else??? Or maybe it is the ground, my engine mounts are shot, is it grounded to one of those mounts of no?
 
Engine Ground

Your engine ground is from the negative side of the post to the block of the engine where your starter is.
 
Got me?

No, like you, I'm totally at a loss for a solution on that one. Everything you describe seems like a reverse polarity issue but for the life of me, I don't see how that could be possible on the PWC. I wondered if at some point you had one type motor and electrical set up and someone switched something out that didn't belong.....but that would be speculation.
Without actually being there, I'm at a total loss......Sorry.
 
ModuleTest

I've been told that there is no absolute way to test one of these modules.
Now, let me see if I've got this right..........if you unplug the fuse from the rear electrical box (the one thats on the red wire thats coming off the starter solenoid and going to the front electrical box) and reinstall it the ski will then crank and start? I assume that if you shut it off it won't start again unless you repeat this proccess?
Dennis
 
yea thats right, taking the fuse out to sort of "reset" the computer will cause it to crank...Until the battery died.... this doesn't help me diagnose the problem, actually makes it even harder to figure out! let me know what you think....

Aftermarket vs. seadoo mpem...whats the difference, besides the fact that seadoo works with the computerized key (which has always been problematic anyway)/ Is the cheaper/aftermarket part okay? I trailer the ski and keep in the garage so the security feature of computerized key means very little to me, and to tell you the truth would like to actually not have it anymore.
 
Figured it out...

It was the start button, was corroded and stuck in the on position, causing the mpem to get confused when the key went on and didn't let me start, or do anything at all!
 
Electrical problems can be tricky sometimes especially if you can't look and diagnose the problem first hand. Glad you got it figured out, so you can have some fun in the water. Thanks for the update. I'm sure the other members involved will be happy to see this post too.
Karl
 
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