2011 Pro, dies Dealership cant figure out whats wrong

[littleredstroker]

buddies got a 11 pro eighthundo bought it used, 15xx miles on sled, 200 on new top end, first day out ran great. The second trip is where the problems started.. what happens is it will randomly bog out and die, not like the kill switch gets hit, It will idle but as soon as any throttle is given it will start to bogg out and will die if you dont let off, Temprature gauge goes CRAZY, like 140-58-132-100-150-75 all within a matter of seconds and will continue to do this, as well as a check engine light. If he shuts it down and waits 20 minutes it will start up with everything normal and he will go just fine, usually happens 1-2 times a day.. Ive noticed it seems to happen more often when we are puttering around in the trees vs being wfo open on hills or trail.

The dealership adjusted the tps, didnt fix it
next week they changed the tps, didnt fix it
next week they changed the exhaust sensor, didnt fix it
next week We had a mechanic at the lodge say it sounded like the coolant sensor, so we changed that and didnt fix it.
the next week dealership decides to put ANOTHER temp sensor in even tho they were told it was just changed...

My buddy is beginning to get very frustrated and discouraged, and I cant exactly blame him he went from a 90s cat that he was always screwing with and wanted something that he didnt have to worry about, this is his nightmare,

he took it back to the dealership AGAIN, I talked to one of thier mechanics and mentioned that maybe they should stop throwing parts at it and try to troubleshoot it since they arent working with him at all on costs, "as is no warranty" and all..

I have absoloutely zero faith in this place at this point, I am hoping someone else has had a similar experince or at least some insight... TIA

 

[green_denali]

VR

It could be your voltage regulator. Mine started to go out at the end of a ride. When I tried to restart it the display screen would do some f!$ked up chit, barely hold an idle & then die. I would start it up again after about 2-3 minutes and it would go for a while then die. Started it up a third time after about 2-3 minutes and was able to make it back to the parking lot almost wot the whole way. I put in a new VR & problem solved. IF it is the VR get it changed out or the ecm could get fried & that is expensive.

 

[littleredstroker]

It could be your voltage regulator. Mine started to go out at the end of a ride. When I tried to restart it the display screen would do some f!$ked up chit, barely hold an idle & then die. I would start it up again after about 2-3 minutes and it would go for a while then die. Started it up a third time after about 2-3 minutes and was able to make it back to the parking lot almost wot the whole way. I put in a new VR & problem solved. IF it is the VR get it changed out or the ecm could get fried & that is expensive.

I dont think thats it, Once it sits and you start it up everythings fine, and ir runs right, gauges and everything are golden.

The engine also sounds different when its fawked up, almost like its gone into limp mode/ de-rate... still runns off 2, but it just sounds different,

Do these sleds shut down themselves when they overheat? what temp does that happen at?

I wonder if its a Thermostat sticking or stuck.

 

[crashnbash]

Take it to a different dealer.

 

[mt.aero]

Weird electrical issues.... check the grounds.

 

[littleredstroker]

Weird electrical issues.... check the grounds.

Do you have to mess with any grounds to do the top end ? i wonder if something didnt get hooked up right.

It also idles at 2250-2350

 

[richracer1]

Weird electrical issues.... check the grounds.

In additions to checking the grounds, look the entire wire harness over. I do recall the '11s having some issues with wiring rubbing and creating a short. Check the throttle safety switch to ensure it isn't sticking, shorting, or got something causing it to kill the sled.

 

[mt.aero]

Do you have to mess with any grounds to do the top end ? i wonder if something didnt get hooked up right.

It also idles at 2250-2350

Yes. They likely pulled the front overstructure to get more room, at least I would have. the main grounds are hooked up at the over-structure/bumper mount on the left/pto side. The pro electrical system is known to suck and these can corrode. Also, a lot of the wires are aluminum and like to break if man-handled too much. Definitely something to check out.

 

[littleredstroker]

Yes. They likely pulled the front overstructure to get more room, at least I would have. the main grounds are hooked up at the over-structure/bumper mount on the left/pto side. The pro electrical system is known to suck and these can corrode. Also, a lot of the wires are aluminum and like to break if man-handled too much. Definitely something to check out.

Weeeeelll. i guess the dealer put in ANOTHER new TPS, and told him the rubber gasket under his can is wore out, letting too much snow it which is coolin off the sled too much ... That sounds like a load and a half of BS.

He has little mechanical ability, I do just not ever messed with sleds much, so I will check wiring on it.

Is ther just one main harness? or a bunch going here and there. does anyone have a link to a breakdown/ wiring schematic?

 

[wellfed777]

when he takes it to the dealer do they check the engine codes ?
what codes is it throwing?

check the throttle cable adjustment mine did some weird crap when it was
out of adjustment ( i think mine was too tight ) it idled high but when you gave it more throttle it would die i could keep it running but it was really wierd

like others have said to do a new top end there are quite a few wires that get unhooked or messed with so check those out
how many miles did he ride it before it started acting up ?

 

[LoudHandle]

Good Luck finding the fault. I hate troubleshooting mysterious intermittent electrical issues.

Just a note; I have an entire '11 electrical system available, the entire harness, ECU, VR, Stator, injectors, etc.

As I upgraded my '11 to run the newer ('13+) style stuff. PM me if the need develops.

 

[Kcjepperson]

I would check grounds (if you haven't already), and then plug in someone else's ecu that's sled is running.

 

[Perk]

my idle screw was mis-adjusted so it was idleing high, as soon as I would start to hit the throttle it would die, Adjusted the idle screw back down and everything was fine, Good luck to you

 

[littleredstroker]

Well, little update, the dealer spent all week tinkering and then riding and still havent found the issue.

They totally changed my opinion of them when they offered him a straight across trade on another similar pro, same year/ track, with awhole new motor instead. Up until this point i was certain they were gonna have him spend $1000 just to say they cant figure it out. kudos to them.

The "NEW" sled we took up yesterday and it ran great... for about 4 hours.

This one had an occasional bog when you hit the throttle but would eventually work fine, then it got to where it would do it all the time, leaving the sled dead in th water.

This sled is doing the following:

at idle, it idles anywhere from 1500-2500
dash flickers in and out, CEL, and battery light blinking.

with minimal throttle input ( 1%-3% guessing ) it revs to maybe 3k rpm for a second, then back to idle, then back to 3k, up and down until you let off.

at WFO it just just bleeeeee and will die if you dont let off.

Im guessing this is TPS/ throttle related, but the battery light/ dash flickering makes me wonder if it isnt voltage related ??

The good news is this one now does it all the time ( had to tow it back ) so it should be simple to track down.

We did swap the relay for the dash out with the one off of my sled, as well as putting his on mine, no change for either.

 

[jasona86]

Try swapping the voltage regulator super easy plug and play. Mine went out on my dragon and pro with similar symptoms you are explaining. Good luck

 

[gtwitch]

Had a similar issue with a 12 Pro 163 and our dealer said there was a Service notice that addressed water getting into the wiring Loom and causing corrosion issues, so they replaced the wiring loom after replacing and calibrating the TPS and the problem went away. This was early in the season and no problems yet so far this season. There was also a rubber wiring plug and a velcro wrap that was installed at the factory on the 13 and later machines and these were installed at my expence (tirvial amount) on both my 11 and my son's 12 PRO's. Thanks to a great dealer (Frontier) here in Laramie!!

gtwitch in wyoming

 

[snowmobiler]

trade for a 3rd one.

 

[CO Powder]

My buddy is beginning to get very frustrated and discouraged, and I cant exactly blame him he went from a 90s cat that he was always screwing with and wanted something that he didnt have to worry about, this is his nightmare,

The truth is, that is an unrealistic expectation from a snowmobile.

My new this season '14 has idle issues, been to the dealer twice recently, still not fixed. I had to re-start it three times yesterday from cold in the parking lot. It has new plugs and the dealer did the tps adjustment.

The good new on mine is that I will ride I until I am done this season then pester them until they get it right over the summer.

The 11's, as mentioned, had electrical issues. Check the grounds and then check the harness for signs of corrosion.

This thread is just another red flag when I consider buying a first year Polaris sled... 05 900 rmk, fail, 08 Dragon 800, fail, '11 Pro, better but...fail. Good luck to all of you who snowchecked '16s lol.

 

[skibreeze]

CO Powder, have the reeds been checked?

 

[CO Powder]

CO Powder, have the reeds been checked?

No, and I am not paying them another dime because I read it on the internet and had them check it out. That has cost me money the last two times in.

Unless we get some snow, I will only get a couple more rides anyway, then it gets replaced for next season. It still runs strong off idle, it out pulled my buddys '10 800 Cat on the hill the other day.