Well, I have had a gremlin on my 1998 GTI fuel system that has had me stumped for about 4 days now (electrical).

I did some troubloeshooting and found that the fuel sending unit baffle had a blown fuse on the internal circuit board.
This is a common problem on Sea-Doo's.
Another common problem I ruled out was the fuel float getting fuel in it making it not float, but it was o.k.

I was able to get access to a blueprint of the circuit board on the Sea-Doo fuel baffles and found there was a fuse that is on the circuit board to protect the board from surges.

A member from sea-doo.net & www.pwctoday.com sent it to me.

This repair saved me over 150.00

The repair of welding plastic can be done on almost anything with the right tip on the soldering iron and patience.
For this repair below, I used a plastic zip-tie to help seal the seam.

A white Zip-tie would have matched better, but this is what I had on hand.

For any of you that own sea-doo's and have the fuel guage stop reading, this is very common problem that occurs.

Top 3 problems are:
* fuel float full of fuel (very common)
* blown F1 fuse on circuit board (very common)
* bad connector on the sending unit plug (rare)
* bad guage (possible)

Once the repair was completed, I was able to obtain an OHM reading of 0.01 - 88.8 (empty-full).
The bar graph on my meter also showed the graduation chage from empty to full as I tipped the baffle from up/down to simulate a fuel level change.


First pic here, I used a Weller Soldering Iron to cut open a hole to get an internal view of the circuit board and the location of the F1 fuse near the top.



Found the fuse and removed it by unsoldering it from its location.



I then filled in the gap with solder where the F1 fuse use to be.



I then use a clamp and proceed to close the flap I opened and begin the solder process.



I begin to solder by using a Weller Soldering Iron with a plastic smearing/welding tip. This is included in all Weller Irons. I've this iron for over 15 years and this tip has come in handy several times for plastic repair.
I used the plastic of the tube to begin the fusing process. I added more plastic by using a Zip-Tie to add more material to help cloe in the seam. Zip-Ties are perfect for making plastic repair weld jobs. It melts at the right rate and is straight like a welding rod for laying in place as you smear it over the seam.



Here is the final job completed. I used 1 8" Zip Tie to complete this job.



Here is what the complete fuel supply assembly looks like.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RX951,

Great info Billie!

But now you don't have a fuse if it spikes again. Why didnt you use an F1 replacement? AAre they hard to get, find?

quote:

AAre they hard to get, find?

Yes they are. I could have hardwired a fuse inline and brought its location above the sending unit, but I chose not to.
I went to a local electronic supply and they said it is no longer available. I could have ordered a fuse with a rating compatible with the old one. But I chose not to.

Speaking to two different Sea-Doo mechanics at two different locations, they both said that I will be fine w/o it and the guage fuse in the MPEM box will protect it.

That circuit board was not made by Sea-Doo, it was made by an outside company and it was standard practice for them to provide a fuse on the circuit board even though Sea-Doo had one in their MPEM box.

i.e.) An example of this is in our automobiles, GM does not make the electronics in GM vehicles, a company called Dephi makes the electronics.

They both also mentioned as well as a sea-doo guru on pwctoday, that the fuse on the cirucuit board was too undersized for it application.

This was the problem that plagued many Sea-Doo sending unit baffles to fail so frequently. Dealerships made alot of money on these baffles.

I'm the guy that originally posted it on sea-doo.net

actually, the problem is not the fuse size, its the material it is made of. gasoline causes the fuse body to swell and stretch the metal part of the fuse. This stretching breaks the fuse.

The fuse should never pop, as there is negligible current flowing through the circuit.

This is really a design flaw, but thats why ALL doo fuel senders die an early death.

quote:

A member from www.sea-doo.net& www.pwctoday.com sent it to me.

Good remedy in fixing this MAC. This saved me alot of money.

quote:

actually, the problem is not the fuse size, its the material it is made of. gasoline causes the fuse body to swell and stretch the metal part of the fuse. This stretching breaks the fuse.

The fuse should never pop, as there is negligible current flowing through the circuit.

This is really a design flaw, but thats why ALL doo fuel senders die an early death.

yUp, this was definitely a design flaw.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RIVA CREW,

Nice work Billy.

Now would be a good time to change the fuel lines too, you know them Doo got bad fuel lines People will say its just the 99's, but thats wrong, it got my 98 and a friends 2000.

quote:

Now would be a good time to change the fuel lines too, you know them Doo got bad fuel lines People will say its just the 99's, but thats wrong, it got my 98 and a friends 2000.

Jeff, thanks for the reminder bro. I will do that

quote:

Originally posted by RX951:

quote:

Now would be a good time to change the fuel lines too, you know them Doo got bad fuel lines People will say its just the 99's, but thats wrong, it got my 98 and a friends 2000.

Jeff, thanks for the reminder bro. I will do that

Happy Bday

I just completed this repair. Fuel guage works again, at least in the garage. Will have to see if it holds up to some wave crashing. Are you sure not having a fuse is safe?
Thanks

You'll be fine.

There is a fuse in the MPEM that will protect it. The sending unit was developed by an outside company for Bombardier and it was standard protocol for them to include a fuse in their circuitry.

Glad your repair went well

RX951 - can you look on the blueprint and identify the specifics on the fuse? I have not been able to locate a reference for F1 or FD1 on a fuse although similar terms are used on conputer circuit boards. Does the 1 stand for a 1 amp fuse possibly?

quote:

RX951 - can you look on the blueprint and identify the specifics on the fuse? I have not been able to locate a reference for F1 or FD1 on a fuse although similar terms are used on conputer circuit boards. Does the 1 stand for a 1 amp fuse possibly?

good question. Not sure what the F1 stands for. All I know it indicates that it is a "fuse" on the board.

this is a tough one for me. i like to save money but a fuse in the fuel tank seems so important that i am not sure it is woth the risk. are there any electronics guys out there who can weigh in on this issue?

quote:

this is a tough one for me. i like to save money but a fuse in the fuel tank seems so important that i am not sure it is woth the risk. are there any electronics guys out there who can weigh in on this issue?

Fix it for free and let your MPEM fuse in the box cover it. I've got 20 hours on the boat now and no issues. The same goes for those others who have fixed thiers too. Its too small of an issue for me to dwell on in my opinion.

or

Buy a New Fuel Sending Unit at over 100.00 which you stand a chance of it going out like the others commonly do.



Also, if you are going to fix it yourself, you need to do some things and figure out if it is the fuse blown on the cirbuit board, or if the float has a leak and is full of gas.

* Disonnect your battery & disconnect the sending unit wire harness.
* To remove the fuel sending unit from the ski. If if is a GTX/I model, remove the glove storage box and the sending unit is directly below.
* Mark all lines and loosen the band clamps
* Next take a Volt/Ohm meter and attach it to the two terminals on the sending unit. You may have to get soem small alligator clips to help hold the meters wires to the sending unit's connectors.
* Next put your meter on OHMS, and tilt the sending unit up and down and watch your meter. the ohms reading should go from 0 -> 88 ohms. 0 is emtpy, 88 is full.
* This will indicate if it is the fuse or not.

If this reads fine, then it must be the float.

* Now, disconnect the wires and pop the pickup screen off the bottom of the sending unit.
* Let the fuel float drop out in your hand and see if it feels full of fuel. If so, you need a new float. they sell them at the dealer and you can find them on Ebay.

Here are some used working fuel baffles on Ebay
fuel sending unit

fuel baffle

Newsendung unit


Parker Yamaha has the float for 7.99
New Float

Here are Brand New sending units from them.
New baffle units


If you want to save the money, and it is the fuse blown fuse and not the float and you don't feel you can fix it, send it to me, and I will fix it for free. Just pay for the Shipping.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: RX951,

just fixed the fuel sender on my RX, works a treat! cheers guys! next onto the speedo, any ideas?????

How about a fix for the VTS module.
Can it be cut open and a short fixed?

Speedo fix would be great too.

Why doesn't seaDoo make revisions to these common problems.