This is more of a story than a question. I hope it helps some of you. Yesterday we took out the 97 XP. It was its first outing for the year. This is a pristeen XP with extremely low hours. Generally, she ran about 67 mph with my nearly 200 lb. son operating it. Of course the goal was to peak at 70. So all manner of tweaking the trim was experimented with. After about an hour of good running, the trim was tilted up and refused to lower. By the end of the second hour, the trim wouldn't cooperate in any direction, just a little relay click from somewhere in the back. Panic set in. The VTS is pretty expensive at most parts places.
SeaDoo Forum and PWCToday were the first choice of help. We've tried dealers before and it seems that it always takes more time, more money and generally more frustration when you're already frustrated about the problem you're having.
Long story short... pop the cover off the VTS motor in the rear compartment. You guessed it... full of water. Where did it come from? There wasn't any water in the rear compartment. Answer: it comes through the little rubber boot or bellows that fastens to the vts shaft and the opening where it protrudes through the rear if the ski. A quick check revealed dime-sized gaping holes in the rubber. (Not replacing the rubber boot promptly will ruin your machine.) An overnight drying in a warm space seemed to dry out the water in the motor area of the vts, but still just a mild click when the trim buttons were pressed... what to do? DON'T START TEARING STUFF APART YET! Now, look inside the nose of the front compartment. See the little rectangular black box on the left of the nose? Squeeze the clips and pull toward you. That's the fuse box. Count to the 4th fuse from the top, it's labeled 7.5. Pull it out and check it. Mine was blown. Replaced with a new one and amazingly the vts came back to life. Now, that only works if your vts system is in good shape. If the motor has suffered with water too long, the windings in the motor could be penetrated with water, short out, and its new motor time. If water has been in the area of the VTS for too long, it can actually seep into the little, sealed, black controller box and ruin it. The trick is to keep the water out of the VTS system. The little rubber boot is part number 271000459 in case you need one. Do yourself a favor and look at this website http://www.osdparts.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=4&products_id=13 It will explain a lot about the protector hose.
P.S. In our search, I found outboard after market controllers and aftermarket replacement motors. I like to check all the angles. This forum has a lot of people that can help you also.
SeaDoo Forum and PWCToday were the first choice of help. We've tried dealers before and it seems that it always takes more time, more money and generally more frustration when you're already frustrated about the problem you're having.
Long story short... pop the cover off the VTS motor in the rear compartment. You guessed it... full of water. Where did it come from? There wasn't any water in the rear compartment. Answer: it comes through the little rubber boot or bellows that fastens to the vts shaft and the opening where it protrudes through the rear if the ski. A quick check revealed dime-sized gaping holes in the rubber. (Not replacing the rubber boot promptly will ruin your machine.) An overnight drying in a warm space seemed to dry out the water in the motor area of the vts, but still just a mild click when the trim buttons were pressed... what to do? DON'T START TEARING STUFF APART YET! Now, look inside the nose of the front compartment. See the little rectangular black box on the left of the nose? Squeeze the clips and pull toward you. That's the fuse box. Count to the 4th fuse from the top, it's labeled 7.5. Pull it out and check it. Mine was blown. Replaced with a new one and amazingly the vts came back to life. Now, that only works if your vts system is in good shape. If the motor has suffered with water too long, the windings in the motor could be penetrated with water, short out, and its new motor time. If water has been in the area of the VTS for too long, it can actually seep into the little, sealed, black controller box and ruin it. The trick is to keep the water out of the VTS system. The little rubber boot is part number 271000459 in case you need one. Do yourself a favor and look at this website http://www.osdparts.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=4&products_id=13 It will explain a lot about the protector hose.
P.S. In our search, I found outboard after market controllers and aftermarket replacement motors. I like to check all the angles. This forum has a lot of people that can help you also.
