GTX no beep

[Mperk1824]

Hey guys, I’m a brand new jet ski owner and new to this forum (I apologize in advance if this is posted in the wrong area). I’ve owned and worked on tons of atvs and snowmobiles so I know a thing or two about 2 stroke machines, just not specifically jet skis. So I came across a pretty good deal for a 1996 gti and 1996 gtx. The gti runs good and is ready for the water. But the gtx I picked up will not beep when you put the tether on. No beep, no gauges and no starter button. I’ve been looking on here for answers but haven’t been able to figure it out. I have access to the same exact ski so I can parts swap but I’d like to check all I can first. All that the previous owner told me was that it hasn’t been in the water in 2 years due to lack of time but we’re still started regularly. Also that it just started this no beeping issue a few months ago. ive checked the fuses and cleaned the post and tethers, still nothing. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated along with any tips for a new jet skier! Thanks.

 

[JeremyD615]

What does it do it you hit the start button once without the lanyard on? It should wake the gauges up for 20-30 seconds if you have power to the MPEM.

 

[Mperk1824]

Sorry I was meaning to mention that it does not light anything up when I hit the start button with or without the lanyard on. So this would mean no power to the MPEM? Which is the electrical box located in the front of the ski correct?

 

[JeremyD615]

That would be the most likely problem. Check all of your cables from the battery, especially the ground cable... They can look good on the outside and be corroded all the way through on the inside.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Sorry I was meaning to mention that it does not light anything up when I hit the start button with or without the lanyard on. So this would mean no power to the MPEM? Which is the electrical box located in the front of the ski correct?

OK, so assuming you have a good battery installed and you have NO response from the ski while pressing the Start button and no lanyard....this means you have no power flowing from the back of the ski (battery area) to the front of the ski (main electric box in the nose, where the mpem is). First order of business then is to check the fuses. If all the fuses are good, then start checking the wiring and connections....wiggle, jiggle, open and close plugs, look for any corrosion in the plugs and pins, etc.....

 

[Ckrawiec]

That would be the most likely problem. Check all of your cables from the battery, especially the ground cable... They can look good on the outside and be corroded all the way through on the inside.

True, true....could be the problem...I once bought a truck that would not start, cables looked fine on the outside....they were POWDER on the inside....completely disintegrated...new cables and the truck started right up.

 

[Mperk1824]

Okay thanks guys, I’ll start checking over wires again. Is there any specific spots I could hit throughout the ski with a test light to see if there’s power? That way I have some sort of checkpoints lol. Also I was wondering if this ski has to have a specific lanyard that’s paired to the computer or if any lanyard would work. The guy gave me 3 lanyards between the two skis and never really told me which one goes to which. 2 of them work on the gti but the other doesn’t. Thanks again.

 

[JeremyD615]

The lanyards must be programmed to the MPEM in the ski. If you put the wrong lanyard on, it should beep once, and then will not start. You seem to have a power problem though...

 

[Mperk1824]

Yeah i didn’t think it was the problem but I was just curious about them.

 

[Mperk1824]

Well without cutting into the black coating that bunches the wires, I’ve really looked hard and haven’t found anything yet. Most all of the connections even had the electric grease in them. Is there anything else it could be? Or anything else I could do to test where I’m getting power and where I’m not? If no then I guess I’ll just keep going through wires and make sure I didn’t miss any.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Well without cutting into the black coating that bunches the wires, I’ve really looked hard and haven’t found anything yet. Most all of the connections even had the electric grease in them. Is there anything else it could be? Or anything else I could do to test where I’m getting power and where I’m not? If no then I guess I’ll just keep going through wires and make sure I didn’t miss any.

Unfortunately, electric gremlins in these older skis are the real bugaboo.....hard to pin down.....you may have to painstakingly trace each wire from start to finish to make sure you have continuity...at least that's free, doesn't cost anything but time and a little patience.

I'd focus on the RED & RED/purple wires...they are the primary power wires for the ski. Does your ski have the separate CDI module? If not, you may have to use the '97 wiring diagram (basically the same as the '96) but without the CDI module.

 

[Mperk1824]

Okay I’ll do some more tracing down, I do believe it has a separate CDI module from what I can tell.

 

[Mperk1824]

So here’s what I’ve found today. The way I would “check” the wires from front to back was I’d set my ohm meter to the continuity test and touch the two ends of the red/purple, white, yellow/red, ect. This is the wire bunch that runs from the box by the battery (with the solenoid in it) all the way to the MPEM. All of those checked out so then I checked for continuity from the one side of the MPEM to the other. All of the wires was giving me the proper reading (going through the computer and coming back out) except for the yellow/red wire which is the starter button main wire. This was with pressing the starter button and without. I then checked for continuity through just the switch and that worked properly (no continuity without pressing the starter button but continuity when pressing the button). So I know this is some weird testing methods or that I may have not have made any sense whatsoever but if you did understand what I did, should I have gotten juice through the computer with the starter wire? let me know what any of you are thinking or put me in my place if I don’t know what I’m doing lol. Thanks

 

[GGuillot]

So here’s what I’ve found today. The way I would “check” the wires from front to back was I’d set my ohm meter to the continuity test and touch the two ends of the red/purple, white, yellow/red, ect. This is the wire bunch that runs from the box by the battery (with the solenoid in it) all the way to the MPEM. All of those checked out so then I checked for continuity from the one side of the MPEM to the other. All of the wires was giving me the proper reading (going through the computer and coming back out) except for the yellow/red wire which is the starter button main wire. This was with pressing the starter button and without. I then checked for continuity through just the switch and that worked properly (no continuity without pressing the starter button but continuity when pressing the button). So I know this is some weird testing methods or that I may have not have made any sense whatsoever but if you did understand what I did, should I have gotten juice through the computer with the starter wire? let me know what any of you are thinking or put me in my place if I don’t know what I’m doing lol. Thanks

Run the ground down on the plug that goes into the Mag housing, front of the engine. If this ground on this plug is not routing through the engine back to the battery nothing will occur. With it unplugged, tap the ground pin at the housing (it's wired to the stator inside), touch the other lead at the battery negative. If you don't get the continuity beep you've got a ground problem in that housing. The stator bolts the housing, the housing bolts to the engine, etc. Not uncommon for a corrosion problem in this area if it sits a while.

 

[Mperk1824]

Run the ground down on the plug that goes into the Mag housing, front of the engine. If this ground on this plug is not routing through the engine back to the battery nothing will occur. With it unplugged, tap the ground pin at the housing (it's wired to the stator inside), touch the other lead at the battery negative. If you don't get the continuity beep you've got a ground problem in that housing. The stator bolts the housing, the housing bolts to the engine, etc. Not uncommon for a corrosion problem in this area if it sits a while.

So you’re talking about the ground wire that runs off the battery and goes directly to the engine correct? If so then unfortunately I have checked and tested that and seems fine.

 

[GGuillot]

So you’re talking about the ground wire that runs off the battery and goes directly to the engine correct? If so then unfortunately I have checked and tested that and seems fine.

No, find the plug that goes to the mag housing on the front of the engine, should be a 6 pin or something. Find the ground on that plug, it'll be either a blk/yel or a blk that grounds to the stator inside the housing and continuity ck the path back to the battery negative which passes through the engine. You'll get absolutely nothing to happen on the ski if that ground loop is broke.

 

[Mperk1824]

I checked that this morning. The ground prong sticking out of the mag housing to the negative terminal on the battery and it did have continuity. Thanks for the suggestion tho!

 

[Mperk1824]

So I may have found the issue. The previous owner mentioned that he replaced the solenoid on it thinking it was an issue. I happened too look at it again and I think he put the smaller red wire (that runs to the fuse then becomes the red/purple wire) on the wrong side of the solenoid. Does that sound like it’d be the problem? I now get lights when I press the button and it beeped twice with the lanyard on it but won’t really turn over, sounds like it doesn’t have enough juice or something. I just want to make sure I didn’t hot wire something to get it to run and fry my system. If this is likely the issue I was having, you think I have a bad battery now or starter? The guy said he put a new battery on it but who knows

 

[mikidymac]

Sounds correct now. Battery good?

 

[Mperk1824]

Battery tester says it’s 12 volts and good so I’m thinking the starter was bad. What I’m hoping is that previous owner had issues with it turning over with a new battery, assumed it may be solenoid (also easier and cheaper to replace over starter) so he replaced solenoid but put the wire I was talking about on the wrong side losing all power to the front end of the ski. He told me he didn’t wanna put any more time into it and sold it as is, so hopefully I’ve solved the problem. How hard is it to change the starter on these machines???

 

[mikidymac]

Do not buy an aftermarket starter, period. Either put new brushes in yours if it’s OEM or get a good used OEM. Those are your only two options, or new OEM $$$$.

 

[Mperk1824]

Just to update everyone and close out the thread, my sole issue with it really ended up just being the wire on the wrong side of the solenoid. I switched that over and bought a brand new battery today with some more cranking amps and it actually fired right up and rode it around. Now I just gotta do some cleaning up and I’ll be good to go! Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[B.matt]

Nice to see someone actually post the answer to the problem.