sea doo beeps without lanyard

witchy woman

Cadet
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
20
2006 GTX with a mysterious problem. It was sitting in the driveway the other day, beeping all by itself. I checked the battery and it was about half dead so I charged it up. Beeping continued so I disconnected the battery positive cable. I tested the DESS post like this:

To test the post, unplug it and remove it to your bench it's easier to probe everything that way.
You should have continuity from the solid black wire to the metal ring on the outside shoulder of
the post all the time. You should also have continuity from the white w/grey trace wire to the small
contact on the very top center of the post all the time.

With the key off the post, you should have no continuity between the black and black w/yellow wires,
with the key placed on the post that should complete the circuit and show continuity between them with
little to no resistance.


It tests OK. I also checked for continuity between the black and white wires to see if the switch was stuck closed, but that was OK too. But when I touch the positive cable to the battery, the fuel pump comes on and I think I feel the TOPS solenoid kick on. With the wiring harness for the DESS disconnected, touching the battery cable to the battery does nothing. With DESS connected and battery connected, all I have to do is lightly place the lanyard key on the DESS post and I get the startup beeps and the display comes on. When I say lightly, I mean just enough to contact the outer ring on the post and NOT the button on top. Both regular and novice key do the same thing.

If it's not the DESS post, what is it?
 

witchy woman

Cadet
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
20
A little more information. I hooked the battery back up today and saw on the display the letter F followed by a degree sign, as in degrees Fahrenheit. It quickly changed to the letters FT. Does that mean anything to anyone?
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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May 24, 2011
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49,038
Might sound silly, but are you using the lanyard to shut the ski off?
 

witchy woman

Cadet
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
20
Yes to using the lanyard to shut off. And it is in the sun in the morning, shade in the hottest part of the day. When I hooked up the battery yesterday, I got the startup beeps without the lanyard attached.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
Are you turning the key off after pulling the lanyard?
 

witchy woman

Cadet
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
20
Well, it turned out the be the DESS after all so the diagnostic I used was not all-encompassing. It missed something. I replaced the DESS and problem disappeared.
 
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