how to install electric start

With each passing model year, electric start is becoming less and lessof a luxury item. But if you opted to forgo this option and now regret it,you can install an electric starter motor. A well-tuned or fuel-injectedsnowmobile will fire up with a quick turn of the key.

Electric start gets a bad rap from weight-conscience snowmobilers - itadds about 10 to 12 pounds with the battery - but unless you're blastingthrough a snocross course, the added weight shouldn't be a factor.

Most new snowmobiles come wired and equipped to receive an electric start,right down to the bracket that holds the starter, so installation is easy.

1. Remove the drive clutch and install the ring gear to the drivenclutch, if your kit comes with a ring gear. Then reinstall the drive clutch.

2. Before installing the starting motor, make sure that the pinionshaft spins freely. If it doesn't, contact your dealer.

3. Mount the starter unit in its bracket. Do not install the terminalends to the motor's leads, and do not over-tighten the nuts and bolts usedto hold the unit.

4. Make sure that the starter's drive/pinion shaft and gear restsflush underneath the ring gear. If the ring gear and the drive/pinion shaftare not flush, loosen one or both components, realign and tighten.

5. Before you install the battery pan and battery, make sure thatthe battery is properly charged.

6. Make sure the battery pan is free of rust or water. Clean ifdirty or rusty.

7. When you install the battery pan, make sure that it does notpinch any wires, or fuel or oil lines.

8. Install the battery using the recommended clamps. If installingan electric start unit to a fuel-injected snowmobile, such as the '96 andolder fuel-injected Arctic Cats, note that the battery used to run the injectionsystem lacks amperage to cue in the electronic control module (ECM) andspin the starter. In short, use the battery supplied in the kit, not theexisting one. Do not install the positive and negative connections at thistime.

9. Remove the old, two-way ignition switch and replace it withthe ignition switch supplied in the kit. This three-way switch will haveOff, On and Start positions.

10. Once installed, plug the new switch into the same wire junctionas the previous key switch.

11. Once the key switch, starter and battery are installed andmounted, secure the starter motor's terminal ends to the appropriate leads- positive and negative.

12. Route the starting motor's wires to the battery, avoidingany moving parts or junctions.

13. Place the battery's positive and negative leads to the appropriateterminal and tighten.

14. Rotate the key switch to the On position. Using a light testeror voltage meter, make sure that power is getting to the key switch. Ifnot, check the wire connections.

15. Secure all loose wires to other wires with wire ties.

16. Rotate the key switch to the Start position.

When installing an electric starter motor to a fuel-injected snowmobile(with the exception of Arctic's battery-less EFI system), make certain thatyou don't cross any wires when tying the ECM into the new, larger battery.Also, use a light tester to make sure that power is being supplied to theECM.

If you are installing electric start on an older snowmobile, clean theelectrical leads, unions and junctions with some electrical cleaner to makesure that all of the leads make a positive connection.

Lastly, remember that a snowmobile with electric start is like an automobile:if the key switch is left on, the battery will die. In other words, hittingthe little red kill button can do more than kill the motor. There is hopethough: the pull rope will bring the engine to life.

Many thanks to Tom Wilson of Wilson Arctic Cat, Idaho Falls, Idaho, wholet me install electric start on one of his EXTs.