Seadoo GTS electrical problem

[thataway61]

Seadoo GTS

New Battery
Was running fine
Out on water it went dead and would not turn over
Thought kids ran battery dead trying to restart
Took to West Marine and new battery showed full voltage and no problems
Rehooked battery - still nothing
Solenoid in ECM box clicks when starter button is pushed
Pulled ECM box and all is dry inside and fuses are good
Tapped on solenoid - still only clicks when starter button is pushed

Jumped from main battery terminal on solenoid to main starter terminal on solenoid with pair of pliers - very strange - no starter spin, no arcing at terminals, nothing hot

Put ECM box back together and checked battery terminals - all tight and all clean

Hot battery cable comes directly from battery to solenoid terminal in ECM box - I find it very odd that solenoid clicks (must have ground), but that jumping from terminal to terminal of main power cable terminals on solenoid will not arc or do anything.

First guess is that the battery really is not good.

I have been real good troubleshooting electrical problems with all kinds of machinery and I am baffled.

Help!

 

[thataway61]

Additional info?

If the solenoid clicks, it tells me that a ground is present.
Can the starter get to where there is no ground and be the culprit for no spark when jumping across solenoid? All of the other posts I have seen were to determine whether solenoid is bad. How do I test to see if it is the starter?

 

[JPX]

Remove the starter and test unloaded. It may have been overheated and jammed or it is corroded (review this thread->http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=5311)

 

[All Things Custom]

just because the silinoid is clicking does not mean it is good.... I would start there especially if you can jump across the two posts and get it to crank.

there are electrical contacts inside the silinoid that get coroded through time and so when you hear the click it is throwing the bar but due to corosion will not make contact...

 

[Dennis]

starting

If you jump the big terminals on the starter solenoid ( I'm assuming the battery is good and you have 12 volts at one of the solenoid terminals) and you get no reaction from the starter then ......
The positive cable going from the solenoid to the starter is bad or has bad connection or is not connected to starter.......
The starter has a internal open circuit.......
The engine and / or starter are not grounded to the battery(bad ground cable or connection at engine).
DAWG

 

[seadoosnipe]

The starter....

:agree: It's the starter. Do like JPX recommends. If you jumped across the solenoid and there was no spin, then the starter is probably shot. Do the bench test.:cheers:

That's not to say that you may have lost a ground or lose wire but from your description, it doesn't sound like your in-experienced. So, I'll assume you checked all that before posting.

Shout out to Orange Beach and Gulf Shores..............nice place to play!

 

[thataway61]

Thanks for the tips

Thanks for the tips guys. There is really no corrosion present on any of the terminal ends. None of the cables have bulges under insulation like there is corrosion present there. In fact after working on combines, cotton pickers, tractors, motorcycles, semi's over the years it really amazes me how little corrosion is present on the thing especially in a saltwater environment. I know there is lots of frustration in these threads but these things are really well built IMHO. I will try to pull the starter and go from there.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[thataway61]

Problem solved - well kind of!

Hi guys!
Thanks for your help. Here is the scoop to help others with the same problem in the future.

Finally got the GTS out of the water and back to the trailer.

Took volt meter and tested battery - good!
Took volt meter and put on hot post of starter and grounded to engine - same voltage at starter as on the battery when start button is pushed.

Took GTS to shade tree mechanic. He immediately pulled spark plugs and tried to turn PTO after removing shaft shield. Engine locked up. He went to front and removed the gear container and reached back to a water seperator. Removed water seperator bowl and water was present as well as a fair amount of pin trash. Heck, I didn't even know there was a water seperator up there. Totally a maintenance issue on my part - duh!

Shade tree stated that the water and trash, etc caused the engine to run richer and richer eventually burning pistons and locking up. He showed me some pistons that had done the same thing.

Diagnostic was that the engine needed to be pulled down and decision made as to whether to bore out and rebuild or get crate motor. He will get to it in a few weeks.

I asked him the value of the thing (94 GTS) - nothing as is, if we end up with crate motor and have to rebuild or repair carburator it would be worth about 2000. Total repair cost will be in 2000 range assuming crate motor and having to replace carb (worst case). In essence I can have 5 more years of fun for 2000 or spend 8000 for something newer that could end up giving the same problem and cost 4000 to repair.

He said that the hull and overall condition inside and outside the hull (barring the inside of the block) of the GTS was better than he had seen and strongly recommended the repair to continue having fun for the least cost.

I guess I am going to go ahead with the repair and buff out some scratches and replace the seat cover while at it.

I hope this helps someone in the future trying to solve their problems.

Lesson learned here - find the fuel / water seperator under behind the console storage box and check regularly - replace in line fuel filter regularly.

All in all this machine has been very trouble free and I hope I am making a wise repair decision - the alternative appears to be paying to dispose of the thing.

Thanks again for the help in troubleshooting this seemingly "electrical problem", or as the kids said the "battery just went dead".

Any comments?

P.S. This is from JPX's signature line - do this before you experience what I did - even though I did not notice it to be particularly sluggish - http://seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=5563

 

[robin savell lloyd]

This machine very well be froze up but without checking it out further you can not know that it has been ran too lean. Not richer and richer but leaner and leaner is what whill cause a engine to freeze up. I am sure that is what he meant. I have seen a few engines over the years that were froze up for other reasons and they were simple fixes so you have to do more than just try and turn crankshaft and look at the filter to come up with a sure diagnoses. I would pull starter first and see if bendix is stuck out and starter is froze up. when starter is out try and turn engine again. If it still does not turn over I would pull mag housing and see if somthing came apart in there. this will only help if you are very lucky so Good luck Robin. :cheers:

 

[thataway61]

Thanks Robin

Thanks for the tip Robin. I am in line for repairs. Have to make parts deposit before he orders anything, so definitely going to look before doing so. Frozen starter with bendix engaged makes sense as to keeping pto from turning.

I'll try to get back with final diagnosis.

Thanks again.