Hello. I need some advice on our 96 Seadoo GTX?

[4mygrls]

Last summer we purchased a 1996 Seadoo Bombardier GTX. We took it with us on vacation and found out it has problems.When we started it and took off, the rpm's would jump up but wouldn't pick up much speed and it would jerk you too. My husband took apart the carburetor and cleaned it but that didn't work so we decided to take it to a mechanic to work on it. The mechanic serviced the carburetor, replaced the fuel pump diaphragms and impeller wear ring. It did fix the picking up speed issue but then it died in the water and wouldn't start. So back to the mechanic it went. We got a call from the mechanic saying that he believes the cdi box needs replacing at about $500. We are waiting for that to be done then hopefully we will have a good running jet ski. So that is my info on our jetski issue. I hope to be able to actually get some enjoyment out of it this summer. From what I have posted here, can anyone tell me if the mechanic is on the right track with what he's doing? This jetski experience has been so frustrating and we have yet to be able to enjoy riding it. I'm just about ready to throw in the towel except for the amount of money that we have already put in to it. I just don't know what to do or if the mechanic is taking us for a ride or not. Any input and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Kathi :facepalm:

 

[jimmaki]

Last summer we purchased a 1996 Seadoo Bombardier GTX. We took it with us on vacation and found out it has problems.When we started it and took off, the rpm's would jump up but wouldn't pick up much speed and it would jerk you too. My husband took apart the carburetor and cleaned it but that didn't work so we decided to take it to a mechanic to work on it. The mechanic serviced the carburetor, replaced the fuel pump diaphragms and impeller wear ring. It did fix the picking up speed issue but then it died in the water and wouldn't start. So back to the mechanic it went. We got a call from the mechanic saying that he believes the cdi box needs replacing at about $500. We are waiting for that to be done then hopefully we will have a good running jet ski. So that is my info on our jetski issue. I hope to be able to actually get some enjoyment out of it this summer. From what I have posted here, can anyone tell me if the mechanic is on the right track with what he's doing? This jetski experience has been so frustrating and we have yet to be able to enjoy riding it. I'm just about ready to throw in the towel except for the amount of money that we have already put in to it. I just don't know what to do or if the mechanic is taking us for a ride or not. Any input and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Kathi :facepalm:

Depends on what he tested and how long it took before deducing the CDI needed to be replaced. Did he actually replace it and that fixed the problem? Usually CDIs don't go bad by themselves unless they are subject to some other electrical stress or mechanical jarring like bad or loose ground connections, voltage spikes. etc. The multiple ground terminals on one bolt on the coil are a frequent suspect.

Ask the mechanic what he retails the CDI for and what the rest of the bill in labor entailed doing. Check all electrical connections? The fuses? Cut back the spark plug wires 1/4"? Ohm test the stator? Check the pin outs on the mpem? Does he know why the CDI failed? If not, what's the prevent the new one from failing? You get the idea. From his answers you'll be able to tell if he's taking you for a ride or not. Hard to second guess from here what he actually did. If he did no more than just guess the CDI was bad and replaced it, then that price needs to be justified depending on the retail price of the part and most importantly, it what he did fixed the problem. Any price is a ride if the problem isn't fixed.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Does the ski still have the "Grey Tempo" fuel lines?


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[4mygrls]

My Husband replaced the fuel lines. It no longer has the old fuel lines.

 

[mikidymac]

As others have said it is hard for us to tell what the mechanic is or isn't doing.

I feel bad for you and your family but we hear this same story all summer long about buying a used ski and it doesn't run and the people hate SeaDoos and are out money. These are 20 year old skis with honestly little to no maintenance and have issues. If you had come here first we could have helped you check all the things that go wrong and probably had you loving your ski.

At this point I think you have to trust the mechanic but make it very clear to him that you are not interested in throwing parts at this thing and if the CDI does not fix the issue you are not paying for parts and service that do not fix the problem. If he says it is the CDI then the CDI better fix it and not be one of those stories where he just keeps trying parts and charging you more and more until something works or you run out of money.

Please keep us updated and we will try to help you through this the best we can.

 

[jimini cricket]

If you don't know the mechanic really well...don't trust him!

If the GTX was revving up and no speed, that sounded like cavitation? So it makes sense that changing the wear ring would fix the problem.

Since it was throttling up fine, then i would think that the carbs were ok.

If the carbs were rebuild and it was running before perhaps your new carb settings are wrong to start with, so checking your carb settings again might be a good idea.

Also, did you get a manual for the GTX? You can get one here...or in the internet

Unless you are rich and floating in cash i suggest you hunker down and get ready to read and learn everything you can about your 96 GTX. I have the same craft and they are great, but you have to stay on top of them and understand them or you will get a hole in your pocket taking it to a mechanic every time.

Make sure you are using the right oil, fully synthetic with API-TC designation and not a TCW3 and ethanol free gas 87 or above if you can afford it, if not treat your gas with marine sta-bil every time you use regular gas.

I am not an expert and just a few months ago i didn't know jack about PWC, but you have got to read and play with it... and above all...patience!

For example, it is a good idea to disconnect the battery and then disconnect one by one every electrical connector and spray them with electrical cleaner, dry them and connect them back together.

Also, just a word of caution. Check your oil pump adjustment with a mirror...my friend took his jetski to a mechanic and when he got it back the oil pump adjustment was totally wrong and not aligned with the marks on the pump.

"A good mechanic is worth a million bucks, but a bad one will cost you the same"

:cheers:

 

[soccerdad]

I guess at this point a really detailed description of the problem will help us help you. $500 for a CDI is too much money. Is it the CDI or the MPEM that he wants to replace? We have a good group of people here that have good used parts that they will stand behind for reasonable prices. Hard to tell what your skills are. If you cleaned carbs and changed fuel lines yourself, then you can do most of what it needs to get it going I am sure. But your time and patience may not be plentiful. How did it die? What has been checked? A lot of times these can be just minor connection problems that keep them from running.

 

[jimini cricket]

Also, clean the gas/water separator filter up in the front of the jetski.
Did you use the same springs that were in the carburetors when you opened them or did you use the new ones that came with the kit?
Did you use original mikuni parts or kits?

 

[jimini cricket]

post deleted because it was a repeat

 

[Robj]

Busted pick-up sensor bracket. I'll bet the CDI is fine.

 

[4mygrls]

What is a pick-up sensor bracket?

 

[soccerdad]

it is the bracket that holds the sensor that fires the ignition. It is kind of common that this breaks on 96 skis. It is in the magneto housing. Kind of a pain to get in and look at. Gas tank end of the motor. Do yourself a favor and download a copy of the manual for the ski. You can google and find it on the web. Look up any 787 motor and you will find the ignition system and see the pickup coil.

 

[Robj]

The shop probably thinks it is CDI because you aren't getting spark. This is probably because the sensor bracket is broken and it is not sending a signal to fire the plug.

 

[Coastiejoe]

I would agree that the bracket is a great potential. It happens to many of them.

I "THINK" you can put a DVOM on the sensor leads and look to see if it produces A/C voltage. In this case, you would be looking for a very consistent reading. If it jumps all over, I would suspect the bracket.

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

Keep the old CDI, you can resell it on ebay for $200+ if it's not the problem. Or refuse to pay for it (if you can). I've seen skis that come back from mechanics and are all sorts of messed up. It's hard to find a good seadoo mechanic that knows what he's doing. Auto mechanics THINK they know how to fix these machines, but they often overlook critical aspects of 2 stroke operation or lack the special tools to do the job right.

 

[bigJake]

running great then just suddenly died - I would look for a simple loose wire before shelling out big buck. Same thing happened to me a couple years ago. My ski was running great then just suddenly stopped running, I knew it had to be an electrical issue so opened the rear E-box and sure enough there was a ground wire that somehow got knocked loose.