PRO Dies On The Trail - Diagnosis Please?

[rugbynitro]

Hopefully you guys can come up with some idea what the problem is.

I'm running a stock 2012 Pro RMK 163 with 2500 kilometers. Running strong all morning at 6500 feet. Only difference today is that it was between -15c to -20 which is my coldest ride of the year. Running Chevron Supreme 94 octane since day one and using the non-ethanol plug.

Playing in the powder no problems at all for about two hours and around noon start riding to the cabin on the trail and the sled just died. Tried to pull it over a few times and nothing. Gave it five minutes and then it fired up for no more that 3-4 seconds and won't hold idle. 5 minutes later the same. Changed the plugs. Old ones look good (light grey) but dry.

It gets better! Start getting towed down the trail and pulling the recoil while moving and she fires up in the following seconds sequence 3, 8, 15, before dieing each time. While being towed again I try it a 4th time and it finally holds idle and runs strong up the trail for 25 minutes. When going up the trail she dies again just like the first time and we start it agin by towing it just like the first time. I head for the truck. Just before loading it on the trailer it can't be restarted until we keep trying for 20 minutes.

Clearly it's a fuel related problem, but it's fresh gas from the station I always get it from and never had problems before. Bummed that it happened on one of the best rides of the year. What could it be and what can I do? Thanks I really appreciate it.

Polaristar warranty is not much help with this problem.....sadly

 

[Jayxcr]

I have no idea if this is the problem, but last year on my 2012 pro I had a similar experience. We all thought it looked and acted like a fuel problem, once it was running it ran fine but if I shut it off it might start and it might not. Even the dealer thought it was bad injectors, but after he replaced them, no change. Turns out it was a diode in the wiring harness went bad. It is an internal part so the dealer had to change out the entire harness. Good Luck!

Btw It can be very frustrating, after being towed for 15+ miles in the mountains, when we reached the trailer I pulled the rope for the hell if it, and you guessed it. Started right up!

 

[n55w131]

Engines quits

First of all, did your check engine light flash, stay on or are there any spn codes displayed?

Fuel and safety shut down is the first things to look at. When the engine won't start, is it getting spark? If not its the ecm/safety circuit preventing it from starting. If thats good, next check the fuel pressure. It should be around 60psi. If you can get it to start for a second and watch the pressure guage, once shut off it should hold at 60psi or so, and not loose more than 1psi per minute. If both these check out, meaning your getting spark, and your getting fuel, the next checks are done with digial wrench looking at electrical voltages to the pump, injectors, and sensor signal voltages, plus anything else DW shows such as diagnostic codes related to runability.

Hope this helps,

Cheers

 

[trestlecreek]

Mine did the exact same thing. For me it was a short in the tether pull switch. Took it to the polaris shop twice, then they discovered the short. The tether of course is not stock, but if it was added, its very easy to unplug under the hood to bypass and check....

 

[tiberius71]

Chevron 94 gasoline is an oxygenated fuel. The only fuel around here that is non ethanol is Esso premium and Shell vpower. I don't know if it has any bearing on your problem, but you should be running on the ethanol setting using Chevron fuel. Just an FYI.


From the Chevron Canada website faq:

Oxygenates
Q. What oxygenates does Chevron use for oxygenated and reformulated gasoline?
A. Chevron only uses ethanol in its oxygenated gasolines.

 

[cokecrazed007]

Send me your email and I can send you a service manual.

Sent from my SGH-I717D using Tapatalk 2

 

[jhurkot]

I had problems like that last year. It was the stator.

 

[TRS]

Make sure the capacitor(6) is plugged in and not a loose connection. I zip tie mine, have had this problem.http://parts.polarisind.com/images/SNOW/ELECT/12800PRMK.gif

 

[cokecrazed007]

Cheque your fuel filter.

Sent from my SGH-I717D using Tapatalk 2

 

[rugbynitro]

Thanks guys for all of your feedback.

I should have added that every time the engine died it was like I had just hit the kill switch. There was no stumble or hesitation before the engine died.

Based on the way the engine shuts down and your suggestions, I'm starting to lean towards an electrical problem. Just thawed it out and going to have a look under the hood for anything obvious.

I will report back once my dealer or I track down the problem. Hopefully it will help someone else.

 

[BigK]

I have no idea if this is the problem, but last year on my 2012 pro I had a similar experience. We all thought it looked and acted like a fuel problem, once it was running it ran fine but if I shut it off it might start and it might not. Even the dealer thought it was bad injectors, but after he replaced them, no change. Turns out it was a diode in the wiring harness went bad. It is an internal part so the dealer had to change out the entire harness. Good Luck!

Btw It can be very frustrating, after being towed for 15+ miles in the mountains, when we reached the trailer I pulled the rope for the hell if it, and you guessed it. Started right up!

+2, just had the exact same problem with my buddy's 2013, with 50 miles. Would run for a few minutes then die. Let sit for 5-15 minutes' would start back up run for a few seconds to minutes. Then die again. It was accompanied with random multi function gage issues (no gage, warning light). Thought maybe an issue with the gage, or voltage reg. swapped out with parts from my sled, problem persisted. Took it to the dealer, they reported a damaged and shorting main wiring harness which was replaced under warranty. Seems to be fixed now, long ride planned for tomorrow, fingers crossed.

 

[Jeffdutch123]

Chevron 94 is not an oxygenated fuel! Says right on the pump contains no ethanol. Chevrons 87,89 and 91 fuel all contain ethanol but not 94!

 

[rugbynitro]

+2, just had the exact same problem with my buddy's 2013, with 50 miles. Would run for a few minutes then die. Let sit for 5-15 minutes' would start back up run for a few seconds to minutes. Then die again. It was accompanied with random multi function gage issues (no gage, warning light). Thought maybe an issue with the gage, or voltage reg. swapped out with parts from my sled, problem persisted. Took it to the dealer, they reported a damaged and shorting main wiring harness which was replaced under warranty. Seems to be fixed now, long ride planned for tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Good luck! Let us know how it turned out.

 

[BigK]

Good luck! Let us know how it turned out.

It's official, The new wiring harness totally fixed the problem. Super great ride today no problems whatsoever. Love the new Pro.

 

[rugbynitro]

Sled runs excellent now! Pounded the powder for 5 hours and didn't miss a beat.

Thanks to answers from the Back country Rebels site, traced it to moisture in the fuel. Running non ethanol fuel tends to draw moisture and because there is no alcohol in the fuel, the moisture freezes easily.

Fixed it with half a can of sea foam. I'll be using a little from now on.

Hope this helps someone else.