battery installation

[jdelvalle]

I just purchased a 1996 and 1998 gtx. I also bought two new batteries.

On one, I installed the negative and positive cables but there is a third black cable. Should I attach it with the other black cable?

On the other jet ski, the black cable is closer to the positive post and does not easily reach the negative post. The red cable can reach both posts easily.

Thanks for the help.

 

[robin savell lloyd]

It does sound like black wire needs to be bolted to the negative side of the battery. The second ski may have the battery in backwards or a wrong type of battery with the terminals in the wrong place. [reversed] good luck :cheers:

 

[kustomkarl]

Welcome to the seadoo forum jdelvalle. What I would do is follow the wire in question and see where it goes. I have seen other members purchase used seadoo's and find that that the previous owner replaced the wiring with the wrong color. I would want to be sure it is a ground if really is. If you mixed up polarity on the battery you could cause a electrical problem. Just double check the wire before you go hooking it up to the battery. If it turns out to be a HOT + wire connection I would change the wire to the correct color(red) or at least use a red tape and wrap it so it won't get confused in the future.
Let us know if we can help any further.

Karl