No beep, No start

[jhanson50]

Hi all. I'm hoping to get some help with my 2003 Sea Doo GTI LE. I am trying to get it started up after winter but I am getting no beeps when the DESS key is put on and no attempts at it cranking. When the key is put on, I hear nothing. No solenoid or starter clicks or anything.

- The battery is putting off 12.6 volts sitting there. Though, I have not had it load tested.
- I have cleaned the key and the DESS post. No beeps.
- I have verified the ground cable from the battery to the engine block area. It seems secure and has continuity.
- I jumped the solenoid in the rear electrical box with a pliers without the key on. It arc'd/sparked and sounded like it wanted to turn over.

I haven't done any further diagnosing to check continuity at the dess port. Is the sparking/wanting to turn over when jumping the solenoid a good or bad sign?

 

[SIMPLEARKANSAN]

Checked your fuses?

 

[jhanson50]

Yep. The MPEM has a 15A and 5A up front. Tested those with volt meter and those are both good. In the rear electrical box, there is another 15A. That one also tests good.

 

[Ckrawiec]

My 2 cents...FWIW....first, don't assume the beeper works...they do quit over time. The beeper should be fixed first....I know it's a little thing and a PITA but it is useful as an audiological diagnostic tool as well as your warning buzzer (potentially) for other more serious problems - overheating.

I fixed mine on my '96, bought some cheap 12V buzzers on Amazon, and with a little creative cutting and fitting (they were NOT a direct replacement size) and some careful wiring (I prefer soldered connections), I had that sorted out fairly quickly....with the added bonus of recovering the front handlebar with some new vinyl. Once the buzzer was fixed it was on to the next thing...carbs, but I digress.

Next, after the buzzer is fixed, does the ski come to life if you press the Start button once - no DESS key installed? The guages should indicate some life (i.e. electric power is flowing from the battery to the console.)

After the buzzer is fixed, installing the DESS key, does the ski give you the double beep? If not, start looking at DESS post connections, electric continuity, etc.....wiring gremlins can be frustrating.....a tiny bit of corrosion can impede electric flow through the ski, so start wiggling wires, disconnecting/reconnecting electric plugs, etc.

Jumping the solenoid to kick over the starter is an indication that the ski has battery power and could start....so sort through the wiring....you'll get there eventually. A simple volt meter and some long alligator clip leads are really very helpful in these situation....you can test voltage through each piece of the wiring harnesses, one by one. Also, check that top connection to the electric box in the back, the plug sometimes gets buggered up with corrosion on the pins. ELECTRIC RULE: Clean, Bright and Tight....fine sandpaper, contact cleaner, etc....ALWAYS CHASE the FREE stuff first before assuming the worst.

 

[jhanson50]

Hi Ckrawiec,

Thanks for the response. The beeper itself seems to be fine.

The original solenoid when jumped would kick over the starter without the key connected or the start/stop button being pressed. Is that correct? I replaced it with a known good solenoid and jumping it no longer kicks over the starter. I have 12V power going to the bottom solenoid post, but no power going to the top solenoid post. Even when the key is on and the start/stop button is held in, no power makes it to the top solenoid post.

I did continuity checks on the DESS post and those seem fine from what I can see. I connected the multimeter, on continuity to the black and black/yellow wire with the key unattached. There was no continuity.

On ohm setting, when I probe the black and yellow/black wire with the DESS key on, the resistance is 0, so I think the DESS post appears fine.

I think I may have found a problem with the start/stop switch. There is a yellow/red and black wire for the start/stop switch. When I test these two for resistance/ohms, it's open circuit. I think it's suppose to close when the start/stop button is held, but I still didn't have 0 ohms when the button was depressed.

Could a bad stop/start button cause the ski to not beep when the dess key is attached? Could this cause the lack of 12v power to the top solenoid post on the known good solenoid?

 

[gazzaskirepair]

“

The original solenoid when jumped would kick over the starter without the key connected or the start/stop button being pressed. Is that correct? I replaced it with a known good solenoid and jumping it no longer kicks over the starter. “

there’s a problem here , it should turn the engine over if bridge out the two posts on starter solenoid
I think your battery is dead or a very bad battery connection or bad black wire ground connection on battery or engine connection
Get your battery load tested

 

[Ckrawiec]

Hi Ckrawiec,

Thanks for the response. The beeper itself seems to be fine.

PLEASE NOTE: My wiring references are from my '96 GTX....your wiring colors MAY be different, so it's best to get your ski's wiring diagram. I don't know if/how/when Seadoo may have changed the colors (if they have)....I don't have a 2003 GTI LE wiring diagram handy, at the moment.

The original solenoid when jumped would kick over the starter without the key connected or the start/stop button being pressed. Is that correct? YES, if you connect both solenoid posts together...you are in effect sending battery power directly to the starter motor....the starter should try to do something (IF the battery is good and the starter are good). If nothing happens, then either the battery is dead or the starter is dead or the wiring between the two is bad.I replaced it with a known good solenoid and jumping it no longer kicks over the starter. I have 12V power going to the bottom solenoid post, but no power going to the top solenoid post. Even when the key is on and the start/stop button is held in, no power makes it to the top solenoid post. I am unfamiliar with a top and bottom post solenoid....a solenoid usually has two TOP posts side by side.....BOTH posts should have a heavy RED wire lead ...one directly to battery and the other directly to the starter....if the solenoid gets voltage from the battery through the Start button (via the Yellow/Red wire), the internal solenoid jumps and connects the two posts internally....the internal contacts of the solenoid posts could be burnt. The solenoid should be grounded back to the battery (often times through the bottom post on the ignition coil). Have you checked the fuses in the electrical box? Usually there is a 5 and a 15 amp fuse up in there.

I did continuity checks on the DESS post and those seem fine from what I can see. I connected the multimeter, on continuity to the black and black/yellow wire with the key unattached. There was no continuity.

On ohm setting, when I probe the black and yellow/black wire with the DESS key on, the resistance is 0, so I think the DESS post appears fine.

I think I may have found a problem with the start/stop switch. There is a yellow/red and black wire for the start/stop switch. When I test these two for resistance/ohms, it's open circuit. I think it's suppose to close when the start/stop button is held, but I still didn't have 0 ohms when the button was depressed. The Start/Stop switch is NORMALLY an OPEN circuit switch...pressing it closes the circuit. Black wire is ground, Yellow/Red is the signal wire...goes to the MPEM, then to the solenoid to bridge the posts and try to start the ski.

Could a bad stop/start button cause the ski to not beep when the dess key is attached? I don't believe so......attaching the DESS key and getting two beeps tells you 1) you have the right key 2) the ski has some voltage , at least enough to excite the buzzer. The DESS is NORMALLY OPEN circuit as well, so connecting the key simply closes that circuit. Could this cause the lack of 12v power to the top solenoid post on the known good solenoid? - Not likely

 

[gazzaskirepair]

Load test the battery

 

[jhanson50]

Okay, so I ended up just buying a new battery as that one was old and I wanted to rule that out completely.

With the new battery and new solenoid, I am now able to get the starter to try to crank when grounding out the 2 solenoid posts with a screw driver. It sparks and tries to crank.

I still get no beeps with the DESS key on. Pressing the start/stop button without key on doesn't do anything. The DESS key post seems to check out with continuity.

I do not get 12 volts at the yellow/red wire that plugs into the solenoid. I've rechecked fuses and all seems well. I've also replaced the oem MPEM with an aftermarket one...no change with anything.

The grounds seem secure and clean. Is there a way to check these with a volt meter?

I don't know if the MPEM is getting power to it, as I'm not sure what wires to check power for.

 

[GGuillot]

I think I may have found a problem with the start/stop switch. There is a yellow/red and black wire for the start/stop switch. When I test these two for resistance/ohms, it's open circuit. I think it's suppose to close when the start/stop button is held, but I still didn't have 0 ohms when the button was depressed.

Sounds like a couple issues going on. The start/stop button needs to close the circuit, if it doesn't, it's bad. The beeper sounds like it's not working, unplug and connect 12 volts directly to it to see if you can get it to beep.

Check them off the list once they're good so you can start narrowing it down, start/stop button ck, beeper ck, solenoid ck and so on.

 

[jhanson50]

Also, at the yellow/red wire at the solenoid, it does not get 12v even with the start/stop button is being pressed.

 

[jhanson50]

Thanks! Will try that!

 

[Ckrawiec]

Okay, so I ended up just buying a new battery as that one was old and I wanted to rule that out completely.

With the new battery and new solenoid, I am now able to get the starter to try to crank when grounding out the 2 solenoid posts with a screw driver. It sparks and tries to crank. >>I'd take the spark plugs out, jump the solenoid posts and let the starter crank....removing the spark plugs takes away the compressive load and should allow the starter to spin the flywheel more freely....does the engine crank over stronger with the spark plugs removed?<<

I still get no beeps with the DESS key on. Pressing the start/stop button without key on doesn't do anything. The DESS key post seems to check out with continuity.

I do not get 12 volts at the yellow/red wire that plugs into the solenoid. I've rechecked fuses and all seems well. I've also replaced the oem MPEM with an aftermarket one...no change with anything. << AM mpems are supposedly notoriously unreliable<<

I'm looking at the 2003 GTI LE wiring diagram.....there is a CUT-OFF relay in the rear electric box....there should be a wire on the battery side of the solenoid post that passes through a 15 amp fuse and then a Red/purple wire to pin 1-26 of your mpem AND a Black/purple wire that runs to your DESS post. The Yellow/red wire comes from pin 1-2 from the mpem and signals the solenoid to "jump" to bridge the posts.

The grounds seem secure and clean. Is there a way to check these with a volt meter?

I don't know if the MPEM is getting power to it, as I'm not sure what wires to check power for. >>I'd look at the Red/purple wire going to pin 1-26 on the mpem<<

PS...your buzzer is pins 1-18 (Purple/tan) and pin 1-20 (Tan/black) from the mpem. So disconnect the buzzer and put 12 volts to the Purple/tan wire and ground the Tan/black. If you get nothing....bad buzzer!

 

[jhanson50]

Okay.

The engine cranks a lot stronger with the spark plugs removed. A lot of air puffing out of the holes when jumping the solenoid/cranking.

I have both the oem (old but original) MPEM and the cheapo aftermarket knock off one. I'm getting the same result with both right now.

On the battery side of the solenoid, I see the red/purple wire. I found this at 1-26 pin at the mpem connector/harness. With the harness/connector disconnected from the mpem, I used a paper clip on my red volt meter probe (the probes were too large to go in as is) to get into that hole. Black on volt meter to battery ground. Checking for 12V but I only got a .03 - .06 reading (fluctuated). Does this mean I am not getting power to the MPEM? If so, how do I proceed from there?

Will test buzzer with 12v power shortly to see if I get any beep out of it.

 

[GGuillot]

On the battery side of the solenoid, I see the red/purple wire. I found this at 1-26 pin at the mpem connector/harness. With the harness/connector disconnected from the mpem, I used a paper clip on my red volt meter probe (the probes were too large to go in as is) to get into that hole. Black on volt meter to battery ground. Checking for 12V but I only got a .03 - .06 reading (fluctuated). Does this mean I am not getting power to the MPEM? If so, how do I proceed from there?

Recheck it. Start at the solenoid pole (battery side) where the little red/pur wire is tied in. If hot, proceed to the each side of the fuse holder before it goes to the front MPEM plug. Then go back to the front, basically jump point to point when checking, there could be a break somewhere and you're trying to nail it down where does it exist.

 

[Ckrawiec]

Okay.

The engine cranks a lot stronger with the spark plugs removed. A lot of air puffing out of the holes when jumping the solenoid/cranking.

I have both the oem (old but original) MPEM and the cheapo aftermarket knock off one. I'm getting the same result with both right now.

On the battery side of the solenoid, I see the red/purple wire. I found this at 1-26 pin at the mpem connector/harness. With the harness/connector disconnected from the mpem, I used a paper clip on my red volt meter probe (the probes were too large to go in as is) to get into that hole. Black on volt meter to battery ground. Checking for 12V but I only got a .03 - .06 reading (fluctuated). Does this mean I am not getting power to the MPEM? If so, how do I proceed from there?

Will test buzzer with 12v power shortly to see if I get any beep out of it.

You are on the hunt now.....electric gremlins are a real PITA! BUT totally do-able....just be patient and grind it out....piece by piece.....you'll get there eventually!

 

[Muskoka King]

I am having the same problem with my 2008 RTX.
It died on me last year while touring with my wife. Suddenly no electrical. Had to be towed back and I was suddenly able to start it again. I cleaned battery terminals thinking that might be an obvious fix but it did it again the next day and started a couple of days later and worked fine for a couple of rides. I can't get anything out of it again this spring. the battery is fine. No beeps no gauges no start.
Please let me know if you resolve your problem. I fear a bad ECU

 

[Uncle_Tone]

Had a similar problem with my 2001 GTXDI. Randomly get power and then nothing. Changed the MPEM and boom!!! It work flawless now.....

 

[Muskoka King]

I don't think mine has an MPEM but thanks for the tip.
I just checked all the fuses again and pulled the relay and put it back and it started. Maybe the relay? I have always had weird problems with them in my sleds. I will pick up a new one just in case.