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electrical gremlin

kidwoo

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I've been curled up in a ball sobbing the last few weeks. This problem required a helicopter ride after two visits to a dead sled in the field yielded nothing.

After sitting in my garage for 2 days the fvcker fired up 2nd pull.

I've got a wonderful condition that only manifests itself occasionally and so is about impossible to diagnose.

2016 proclimb 800 that absolutely will not start under certain conditions, usually after being run for a few hours which would indicate heat soaking something electrical.

I don't need a bunch of 'just add some gas to a cylinder' and 'check your compression' posts, all that's been done. And plugs, and everything else straightforward. I've already tried all the obvious shlt. For a year now.

What electronics are affected by heat and/or prolonged use? Electronics that will return to fully functional once 'rested?'

Voltage regulator? Stator? Harness?

I've already got a fuel pump coming so that's getting replaced regardless. But my sled won't start only once it's been run for a while meaning I won't know it's fixed until multiple outings. Just need some ideas on what I might be missing. Fuel pump and stator are my big candidates but what else?
 

Frostbite

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My 09 M8 had one of the wires that power the fuel injectors chafe down to a bare wire in one spot. When the engine got warm the exhaust heat shield by the Y pipe had chafed the fuel injection wire when it expanded from heat. Once the insulation had been worn off and the heat shield touched the bare spot on the wire my sled would die and would not start. After several hours, once the engine (and exhaust) cooled down the sled would start. This left me stranded.

On my 2015 M800, I have had it not start as well. Drives you bat sh!t crazy when everyone else in the group is ready to go and your sled won't start. I thought it was the Teth-air I installed but, it did it once I removed it as well. If I don't let it idle down before shutdown, sometimes it won't start. I think maybe the temp sensor is getting heat soaked? I even tried another ECU and it's better but, it still does it occasionally.

Sorry, that's about all I can come up with for you off the top of my head. I will be watching for the silver bullet to show up.
 
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High Voltage

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Tough one to diagnose, when it’s not repeating on regular basis. When my stator went bad it would act worse the more load that I applied. Good luck.
 

kidwoo

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Thanks guys, that's some good info.

I've checked injector wires and they seem fine. I haven't peeled back the wire looms to look but maybe I will.

I know even the c-tech motors won't start when heat soaked. But "it's just a cat thing" doesn't fly anymore when I don't get out of the woods until 8pm in December. I'm done with this crap and just want it fixed.

The whole time pulling during the day/night it died and the next day the lights were flickering and the gage was lighting up while pulling. So it's not a dead stator per se. I guess I need to open some connections and check voltages while pulling. Fuel pump connection, injector connection etc....
 

kiliki

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when you have a broken wire in the stator it will work cold as the wires will keep contact once they warm the wire will not keep contact until cool.
 

kidwoo

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when you have a broken wire in the stator it will work cold as the wires will keep contact once they warm the wire will not keep contact until cool.

That's a very logical explanation of what I've been experiencing. Thank you.

So are you talking about the coil itself or the connections around it? As you know stators come it two parts, both pretty expensive....


Of course I have the outlier instance of it not starting the next day after sitting out in the woods overnight. That was a first. Not sure that jives. Maybe too cold?
 
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kiliki

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the coil it's self. it can show OK on the meter but when it has to pass current it will not do to load of the current. remember when using the puller for the fly wheel only turn the bolts in 5 full turns. fyi. its only about a 45 min job or about 1.5 beers.
 

kidwoo

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the coil it's self. it can show OK on the meter but when it has to pass current it will not do to load of the current. remember when using the puller for the fly wheel only turn the bolts in 5 full turns. fyi. its only about a 45 min job or about 1.5 beers.

If it's a bad stator coil, you think you'd still see output when pulling? As in I was seeing the lights flicker and the gage lighting up when on the rope. It's putting out something......although maybe not enough to actually start.
 

kiliki

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stator fits 08 to 17 M8 and M1000. I might even have one in the shop to send you for a test dummy. or you can get one off ebay for about a 100.00
 

kidwoo

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I'll be pulling things apart this week. Need to get a puller first. I may take you up on that if you're serious.

Thanks for all the info and help man! Much appreciated.
 

Elkaholic4life

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If it's a bad stator coil, you think you'd still see output when pulling? As in I was seeing the lights flicker and the gage lighting up when on the rope. It's putting out something......although maybe not enough to actually start.
I do believe there are two different sets of coils. One for the lighting and the other for the rest in the stator



My brother had a 16 HRC that drove us nuts. If it was running all was good. About once out of every two trip he's turn it off and it would not start. No jokes involved with this. A poo towed him out a couple times. We figured out that the fuel pump wasn't pumping. We took a little square 9 volt battery. disconnected the fuel pump (right side, back of of the hood behind the bars, and under the hood) kind of a bitch to get too and you need tools to get to it. Hook the battery up to the fuel pump and run it backwards for just a second. You need a couple little pieces of wire to do this. It would start up and run fine for a couple of days. He bought the sled with like 120 miles on it, there was no warranty. After about 6 months it never had a problem again. He still always packed that battery and the wire tough
 
T
17 MC would do similar things after a couple drags out of the mountains and a ruined Canada trip I was finally able to snag an ECU off of a similar sled and try it out. It worked and Cat warrantied me a new one. Just in case your stator theory does not work out.
 

john6719

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I would lean towards stator as well. I had an intermittent issue on my ‘16 and the one coil still ohm’d out bad when cool. There are 3 main coils I believe. I think I posted somewhere on here all the ohm ranges and wires to test. It’s in the service manual that you can find on country cat. It’s quick and easy to check and will possibly lead you to the culprit.
 

boondocker97

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The 2009 M1000 we had chafed the injector wires and would run on one cylinder (easy fix), but it had an electrical problem that was intermittent and didn't matter if it was hot, cold, damp, or dry. Couple trips to the dealer and couple times being towed out and the sled was scheduled to go all the way back to cat for diagnosis. Ended up being a chaffed wire going to the power valve servo unit. When it would vibrate and get close enough to the bracket to touch it would kill the spark. Might be completely different wiring than the M8000s, but something to look for.
 

kidwoo

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17 MC would do similar things after a couple drags out of the mountains and a ruined Canada trip I was finally able to snag an ECU off of a similar sled and try it out. It worked and Cat warrantied me a new one. Just in case your stator theory does not work out.

Defintely not the ecu. I had the stock one reflashed and ran another unit entirely on it. Still happens.
 

kidwoo

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curious on the stator, why would it not stall while riding it?

Funny that.


Once last year riding in an absolute blizzard it did. I was going downhill on deep fresh road grade (not too hard on the throttle) and it just died. Just flat out cut off. It started back up after 3-4 pulls but that was the only time it did anything like that.

Last week when it wouldn't start a buddy was riding it and kept saying it was bogging the second half of the day. I've never had it bog but it sounds like that would be in line with a heating up stator that had an issue. So I can't be sure exactly what he was feeling (I think that was literally his first time ever riding an arctic cat), but that may have been the sign.
 
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