2002 Virage Txi - TPS?? Couple weird issues here not starting and running rough

[calarco3]

By the way in case I wasn't clear the ski seems to be working properly and machine fires right up with good throttle response.

[K447]

... I'd like to proclaim SUCCESS!! Replaced c89 capacitor on the board with the radio shack model 10000uf 10v cap. This hopefully will last a while because it is a pain in the ass to get out.

For future reference and to try to pay it forward here's how I got this damn thing out...

... Anyone who wants to PM me for advice on getting this done or work out a less expensive deal for me take a stab at it (still would probably cost the same $600 for DFI to fix it) can do so.

Glad to hear your repair effort worked out. There are two additional tests, of course. The first is an initial water test to verify the EMM is now working as it should.

And the second test is for the EMM to stay working. Please report back towards the end of the season, and perhaps again next year.

I have some trepidation regarding the calibre of the capacitors sold by Radio Shack. Hopefully it provides a long life. I presume it was not rated for 105C temperature.

Regarding the offer to do this repair for others, where are you located?

[K447]

... Please stop trying to fix your EMM

there are about 10 repairs i do to the EMM to get them fix the cap is only one of the repairs.

I am receiving alot of EMM from people who try to fix there EMM and do more damage to it. DFI will not work on an EMM after you take it apart and I will work on it but no warranty after repair.

You guy dont understand when I take apart an EMM I basically break it worse 85 percent of the time getting it apart.
15 percent of the time I do no more damage to the EMM so the few people who repaired there emm and it still works been very lucky...

I will upload some photos of the emm from people who try to fix the EMM and failed. Then they tell me they sent to a repair center and they could not fix it haha

there only DFI and this EMM look like they used a torch to solder the board and a grinder to get the bolts off all for nothing because it had a bad power board..

My understanding is that DFI Technologies and now Chet's Marine Repair are the only two services that have a long history with repairing these Polaris Ficht EMM.

Until recently the information regarding what was actually inside these EMM was not widely known. As the information spreads there will be more people willing to try doing it themselves. As with anything else there will be some who are very comfortable doing this type of repair work and should generally have positive results.

And there will be repair attempts which are clumsy, liable to impair the EMM and risk generally poor results. These EMM circuit boards are laden with tiny and delicate surface mount electronic components. It is very easy to destroy the circuit board even before you get it out of the sticky gel.

There are two or three repair services which have only recently begun offering Polaris Ficht EMM repair. I presume some of the initial knowledge has been leveraged from the documentation offered in these forums. Additional information would be gleaned from reverse engineering the circuit boards and characterizing recurring failures across many incoming EMM.

My overall attitude with owning a Polaris PWC is that the more the owner can do themselves the better. Professional and qualified repair services on older watercraft can be expensive, which tends to discourage thorough maintenance. When the owner knows what to do and how to do it, then the watercraft should be better maintained and when issues arose they should be better equipped to diagnose and correct the problem(s).

Until recently I really did not expect many owners to feel qualified and attempt their own EMM internal repairs. A few people with electronics or technology backgrounds, of course. Obviously there is a real need to get these EMM repaired, possibly much larger demand than the number of people who actually post on here and discuss their particular case.

Unlike most other repairs on Polaris watercraft, the internal repair of a Ficht EMM is rather tricky. There are a bunch of ways you can cause damage just getting it open and apart. Some of the potential damage may not be repairable.

As Harris said, there are several components inside these EMM that are known to fail over time. Just replacing C89, for example, may or may not bring your particular EMM back to life. If it does not, then you have a new challenge since the professional repair services may not be willing or able to work on the unit.

[calarco3]

I'd say that as I said if you have no training in electronics then no definitely not a do it yourself type of repair. However if you do know what your doing then there is no reason not to attempt this repair. On a machine only worth around 1500 running spending $600 or even $400 is a little tough to swallow. If you had a car worth 1500 would you replace the motor for 500 or get your 600 from a scrap yard and find a new ride? I'm just a guy who had a little tech knowledge and some computer repair background trying not to break the bank to have some fun on the water. If it only runs for the season so be it.

Anyway I live in central New York the finger lakes region. Little town Auburn, N.Y.

Spend my summers on Cayuga and Owasco lakes occasionally dipping in the beautiful Skaneatles lake which is clean enough to drink. Fantastic area!

[calarco3]

So after a long fun summer I am back to give some results of my repair job. The computer I worked on worked perfectly for a couple months after which time the ski will still fire and run but bogs down especially after warming up. Not totally sure what is causing this yet but I assume is likely to the poorer quality of the cap from the shack. I tried for weeks to get a better quality part from a big electronics supply but the only couple I found would not send me anything or just couldn't match or send a small order. Anyway for $10 bucks and some time I got the machine to finish my season most of the time I stand around and drink beer anyway so with one machine that just gets from one place to the other I might not even bother with it anymore. Again thanks to all those who chimed in with help.

[Paynergator]

Any new updates? I'm having the same issue. Had two emm repaired with lakeside tech. They start and run great for a few minutes then any kind of bump or acceleration change they run terrible till you restart them.

[Myself]

Any new updates? I'm having the same issue. Had two emm repaired with lakeside tech. They start and run great for a few minutes then any kind of bump or acceleration change they run terrible till you restart them.

Have you replaced the big round fuel filter in the tank? They will act like that if the filter gets plugged up.