Hi everybody - I'm hoping to get some help on my waverunner...
A few months ago, my waverunner died on me while I was on the water, effectively stranding me in the middle of nowhere. Right before it turned off, the dash was acting strangely - while idling, the dash "dimmed." Once I hit the gas again, the dash came back up.
After a few more minutes, the engine turned off by itself and I could not restart it. Meanwhile, I'm 8 miles away from my truck...
Automatically, I figured hey, it's a battery problem. I just need to replace the battery! So, that's what I did once I got home...still nothing. ZERO electrical activity. In fact, even when I have a fresh battery and press the MODE button (to lock or unlock the starter), the dash displays zippo.
Next, I thought that the kill switch may be bad...these things do have a history of going bad. I pulled out the harness and connected my continuity meter to it. When the key is in, the circuit is open. When the key is out, the circuit is closed. Exactly how it should be. Even if this thing were intermittent, I should be getting at least some minimal power to the dash (in order to enter the unlock code)
Perhaps there is a problem with the PADLOC system? Maybe it's acting up? Well, I thought that now would be a good time to reset the code. So, I disconnected the blue harness as per the owner's manual. Still nothing. The light did not turn on, and there was nothing displayed on the dash.
Next up...the fuse. Still intact. Darn, I hoped this would be easy.
By now, I started to think that maybe the dash was somehow fried. I figured that if that didn't work, then it would never complete the start circuit...So, I disconnected the white square harness and applied 12V to the red and black wires. Lo and behold, the dash worked! Not much, but at least I got the display to come up.
So, luckily, the dash, fuse, and PADLOC system all seem to work fine. Next up, the electrical box.
I tore this thing apart and checked all the connections. Everything seeemd fine. Maybe the relay? I applied 12V to the relay...it clicked, but the starter did not crank.
The one thing I did notice was that on the square white harness (that attaches to the dash) the voltage output was ~1.8V instead of the 12 it should have been...hence why the dash was not working.
So, then I figured that maybe I had a bad ground connection between the battery and the engine body. I measured voltage from the + terminal on the battery and an engine bolt and I got 12.8V.
What this basically means is that somehow, I'm going from 12V to 2V within my electrical box. There are only two "black boxes" in there. One is the CDI unit and the second is the rectifier.
Since the rectifier doesn't really come into play until AFTER the engine has already turned over, this leads me to think that my CDI unit is somehow fried.
Does anybody have any experience with these things going bad?
Are my symptoms consistent with this unit failing?
Any other thoughts??!
Is my thought process reasonable?
HELP!
Thanks!!!
A few months ago, my waverunner died on me while I was on the water, effectively stranding me in the middle of nowhere. Right before it turned off, the dash was acting strangely - while idling, the dash "dimmed." Once I hit the gas again, the dash came back up.
After a few more minutes, the engine turned off by itself and I could not restart it. Meanwhile, I'm 8 miles away from my truck...
Automatically, I figured hey, it's a battery problem. I just need to replace the battery! So, that's what I did once I got home...still nothing. ZERO electrical activity. In fact, even when I have a fresh battery and press the MODE button (to lock or unlock the starter), the dash displays zippo.
Next, I thought that the kill switch may be bad...these things do have a history of going bad. I pulled out the harness and connected my continuity meter to it. When the key is in, the circuit is open. When the key is out, the circuit is closed. Exactly how it should be. Even if this thing were intermittent, I should be getting at least some minimal power to the dash (in order to enter the unlock code)
Perhaps there is a problem with the PADLOC system? Maybe it's acting up? Well, I thought that now would be a good time to reset the code. So, I disconnected the blue harness as per the owner's manual. Still nothing. The light did not turn on, and there was nothing displayed on the dash.
Next up...the fuse. Still intact. Darn, I hoped this would be easy.
By now, I started to think that maybe the dash was somehow fried. I figured that if that didn't work, then it would never complete the start circuit...So, I disconnected the white square harness and applied 12V to the red and black wires. Lo and behold, the dash worked! Not much, but at least I got the display to come up.
So, luckily, the dash, fuse, and PADLOC system all seem to work fine. Next up, the electrical box.
I tore this thing apart and checked all the connections. Everything seeemd fine. Maybe the relay? I applied 12V to the relay...it clicked, but the starter did not crank.
The one thing I did notice was that on the square white harness (that attaches to the dash) the voltage output was ~1.8V instead of the 12 it should have been...hence why the dash was not working.
So, then I figured that maybe I had a bad ground connection between the battery and the engine body. I measured voltage from the + terminal on the battery and an engine bolt and I got 12.8V.
What this basically means is that somehow, I'm going from 12V to 2V within my electrical box. There are only two "black boxes" in there. One is the CDI unit and the second is the rectifier.
Since the rectifier doesn't really come into play until AFTER the engine has already turned over, this leads me to think that my CDI unit is somehow fried.
Does anybody have any experience with these things going bad?
Are my symptoms consistent with this unit failing?
Any other thoughts??!
Is my thought process reasonable?
HELP!
Thanks!!!