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The SHOT capacitor box is an assembly with a number of capacitors coupled together. In the morning, the capacitor box would be discharged, so the rider would have to pull-start the engine. This is not a big problem, because with the E-TEC’s direct injection, the engine usually starts on the first pull. It takes about two minutes for the idling engine to fully charge the capacitor pack. After that, if you turn the sled off, you can start the engine again with a single push of the SHOT button. As soon as the engine is running again, the capacitor will recharge fully after only 20 seconds. Full bleed-down time is approximately 30 minutes, so if you stop for lunch at your favorite pit stop, you may have to pull the rope again.
So far, this little inconvenience has not bothered mountain riders who will happily trade it for the 20 lbs. of weight savings at high altitude. For regular trail riders used to the convenience of just pushing a starter button at any time, the extra 20 lbs. may be an acceptable price to pay for the convenience of electric start. For that reason, Ski-Doo only introduced the SHOT system on mountain machines. All other models get the new redesigned and proven battery starter system.
Retrofitting available?
Can you upgrade to a SHOT system on your 2017 model? Unfortunately, no. The SHOT system requires some fancy programming of the ECM in order to coordinate the E-TEC and SHOT to start the engine. Not only does this require a new ECM program, but it also requires an “Absolute Position Sensor” to tell the ECM how and when to discharge its pulses of energy. This cannot be done by ignition pick-ups; a more linear signal is needed. The Absolute Position Sensor is therefore a separate Hall effect sensor. It runs off a signal generator located on the water pump shaft for a more accurate input signal. This technology is not interchangeable on the regular 2017 models, so an upgrade is not possible. If you want SHOT, then your only option is to order it on a 2018 Summit.
Will it be possible to get SHOT technology in the future without the disadvantage of the capacitor bleeding down? This will obviously depend on capacitor design, but maybe a technology will be developed where a 6-lb. battery could be coupled in series with the capacitor, keeping it charged so the sled always starts on the first push of the button. Time will tell, but Ski-Doo’s new, larger-capacity charging system has opened doors to added technology!
We probably won’t see this “SHOT” system copied by other brands anytime soon, as the complete system would have to be redesigned and enlarged to match higher-capacity demand.