96 Sea Doo GTX - Dead Battery - Current draw with ignition off

[me]

I installed a new EXIDE battery in my 96 GTX last July and rode for 1
week while at the coast. Since my wife and I were in the process of
moving, we left the ski at the coast indoors at my in-laws house. I
went back in November, put in the fuel stabilizer, lubricant, fog spray
etc. What I did not do was disconnect the battery, install a battery
tender or remove the battery. This past weekend I tried to charge the
battery after removing it. The residual voltage was 335 volts prior to
charging. My 1.5A Schumacher charger (the black hockey puck sized unit
previously sold at Wal-Mart, now under a new name) and a Craftsman 2-6
A selectable charger would not even begin to charge the battery.

OK, so I should have charged it, removed it, disconnected it last year
but I didn't.

I took the battery that I previously removed in July, the original
Bombardier battery, charged it up and installed it to see if it was of
any value. Of course it had over 12 volts stand alone, but when the
start button was pressed it quickly dipped to 3 volts. I guess that is
why I had to replace it in the first place. Since the battery was
installed, I measured the current draw on the battery without having the
DSS lanyard attached. I did this by placing a Fluke 77 in series with
the negative leads and the battery. The current draw was 6.89mA. Is
this what would be expected? The draw was associated with the heavy
gage black wire only, the lead to the black box alone had no current
draw.

I measured the DC resistance between the red lead and the two black
leads together and found 1.414Mohms (megohms) with the Fluke 77. (I
made sure that I was not touching the leads with my hands)

I did not check the 15A fuse to see if it was blown. From looking at
the service manual it appears that this fuse being blown would only keep
the ski from charging the battery while running and would not cause the
battery to drain in storage.

Questions
1) Is the current draw, 6.89mA, normal and expected or do I have a
problem other than lack of battery maintenance?

2) Can I hook up my Schumacher 1.5A charger while the battery remains
electrically connected to the jet ski? (This would make it easy to
install a set of leads with an insulated connector to allow a quick
connect/disconnect of the charger)

3) Is there anything that I can do to get the EXIDE battery back to
life? The autoparts/marine store said it is finished and nothing will
bring it back to life.

4) Making the assumption that the battery needs replaced, should I go
with a stock type battery or a gel battery, any suggestions? (I guess
any well maintained battery should last)

Thanks in advance, please reply to made...@mindspring.com.

Regards,

Kip

[cu...@execpc.com]

>3) Is there anything that I can do to get the EXIDE battery back to
>life? The autoparts/marine store said it is finished and nothing will
>bring it back to life.

I've had luck bringing back auto batteries from complete 0v condition by just
leaving the charger on for an extended amount of time - a week or so - even if
they don't take a charge right away. After a few days they start taking a
charge and will often come back to life completely.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curtis V. Shambeau | cu...@execpc.com | http://www.execpc.com/~curt
Senior Vice President, ExecPC, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[VCramerR]

12 volt facts on Sea Doo: That GTX is NOTORIUS for batt drain probs, the GSX
is even worse. There was a warranty update to replace MPEM on those boats to
sovle prob, $385 if out of warranty. Every damn day I deal with dead batts on
these boats at work and its frustrating. When not in use for more that a week,
dissconnect batt. Reviving Batt??? The trick is to make sure batt has
full acid. If its been sitting for long periods dead then damage is hard to
reverse, especially YUSA. To charge 0 volt batt, most chargers will not even
charge, they sense nothing there. Trick is to jump over to another good car
batt for just a second to trick charger in starting its process. Intially if
you "hot boil"( 40 to 60 amp) a dead batt for 10 to 20 mins, then trickle for a
day, you will be much more successful in reving the dead. This procees will
blow off crap from plates and allow them to "accept a charge". Gel cell batts
will be much more tolerant to being "revived) multiple times, but still wont
solve your "drain" prob. Ya buy gas and oil all year, just plan on 1 new
batt a year. Thanks for listening to tech jumble, Cramer

[me]

Thanks for the info. It is definitely out of warranty and has always run the
battery down when connected. I used to ride a lot more and would disconnect and
charge between each use. Must have my priorities messed up now.

Is it ok to connect a 1.5A charger to the battery while connected to the wiring in
the PWC or should I disconnect then charge? Yep, I'm looking for the lazy way out
but I don't want to kill the multi purpose electronic module or anything else.

I guess a battery shutoff/disconnect switch would be an option. Is there such a
thing designed for PWC batteries? I have seen the terminal post mounted
disconnects for car batteries and the switches that are typically mounted on the
rear of drag cars. I don't really want a big ON /OFF lever on the back of my GTX.

I'll just shell out for another battery now. I'd hate to save $60 and get the
opportunity to bask in the savings in the middle of the lake all alone in the
silence of a dead battery.

Thanks for your reply.

Kip
made...@mindspring.com

[big...@hotmail.com]

I had this problem...couldnt find the draw anywhere. So I just bought
a switch that mounts to the battry post. When I use my ski I pop the
seat and turn it on......when Im finished for the weekend I pop the
seat and shut it off. I never charge the batt and it works for me.

[me]

Where did you get the switch for a PWC/jetski type battery post?

Thanks,

Kip