97 RMK 700 Electrical Issues

[sleddin pete]

Co worker picked up a 97 RMK 700.Needed some love,only 2100 miles if you believe the odometer(compression was good)

Oiler cable was broken,fixed that.
New belt and plugs,still needs carbides and Hifax soon.
Lights didn't work traced that to a bad hand warmer that shorted all the bulbs out I think.Haven't replaced bulbs yet.
Tach also doesn't work,anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,Pete

 

[sled_guy]

Voltage regulator is shot. That's why the handwarmer was toast and all the bulbs are friend and the tach doesn't work.

sled_guy

 

[sleddin pete]

Voltage regulator is shot. That's why the handwarmer was toast and all the bulbs are friend and the tach doesn't work.

sled_guy

So whats a voltage regulator going to cost him.Replaced mine on my 99 but can't remember what it cost($20-$40?).What will he have to do to make the tach work again?
Pete

 

[retiredpop]

If he gets an aftermarket one it will be about $20. If he goes to Polaris it will be about $75 because they upgraded it or at least upgraded the price.
To check if the tach works unplug the voltage regulator which is on the back side of the right foot well and start the sled. Don't rev it up. It is possible that the hand warmer was sucking down the voltage so much that the tach didn't detect the AC pulses from the stator. Just in case you didn't know; everything electrical on the sled works off the same coils (called lighting coils because that was their only function at first) in the stator except for the ignition. It has it's own coils and circuit. The lighting coil output is not allowed to go above 15VAC because of the voltage regulator but at idle it is okay to unplug it because the voltage is only around 13 or 14 volts.
If the tach doesn't work with the regulator unplugged then you probably need a new one but it is possible you have a broken wire. Any lights working on speedometer or tachometer?

 

[sled_guy]

Don't buy the Polaris one... as retiredpop says, the price has been upgraded but unfortunately the quality hasn't. I use the Cat basic regulator. It has 2 wires, one for power and one for ground. Costs a fraction of what the Polaris one does and is much more durable.

I've never seen a tach get fried by the regulator failing... typically once you replace the regulator the tach starts working again correctly.

sled_guy

 

[sleddin pete]

retiredpop and sled-guy thanks for the info.We'll take a look at the voltage regulator today.
Pete