Mr. Ted
New member
Hey guys, hope all are well.
Ran into my first ever problem with the Viper. 2002, all stock, 7,500 kms, always use 89 or 91 octane and synth oil.
Cold day today, some snowfall, riding along at 3/4 throttle, pinned it on the straight and the motor bogged. Let off the gas, cleanly accelerated, pinned the throttle again and the motor bogged briefly again - felt like it wasn't making full power, that it was struggling somewhat.
Pulled over, opened the hood, nothing looked amiss, took off again and rode another 50 kms with no problems. It felt normal for the most part but just a little rougher, just a little slower.
Close to home looked down to see the (!) caution light illuminated. Stopped the motor, restarted it and the (!) light blinked as well as the engine icon. Shut it down and restarted it a few times and each time the (!) light blinked once, as well as the engine icon light once each time. That's it.
Any ideas what commonly causes this? I'm thinking the bog has to be related to it. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Mr. Ted
Ran into my first ever problem with the Viper. 2002, all stock, 7,500 kms, always use 89 or 91 octane and synth oil.
Cold day today, some snowfall, riding along at 3/4 throttle, pinned it on the straight and the motor bogged. Let off the gas, cleanly accelerated, pinned the throttle again and the motor bogged briefly again - felt like it wasn't making full power, that it was struggling somewhat.
Pulled over, opened the hood, nothing looked amiss, took off again and rode another 50 kms with no problems. It felt normal for the most part but just a little rougher, just a little slower.
Close to home looked down to see the (!) caution light illuminated. Stopped the motor, restarted it and the (!) light blinked as well as the engine icon. Shut it down and restarted it a few times and each time the (!) light blinked once, as well as the engine icon light once each time. That's it.
Any ideas what commonly causes this? I'm thinking the bog has to be related to it. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Mr. Ted
sounds like a pull though on a powervalve or stuck powervalve to me. pull them and clean them at the very least if it hasnt been done recently.
mr.viper or someone else will chime in but they will probably tell you to clean them at the very least.
mr.viper or someone else will chime in but they will probably tell you to clean them at the very least.
Mr. Ted
New member
I'll check powervalves.
Anyone else? Other ideas what commonly causes this?
Mr. Ted
Anyone else? Other ideas what commonly causes this?
Mr. Ted
Mr. Ted
New member
Anyone?
yamaholic22
Active member
Yup i agree powervalves are most likely. It is probably blinking a code at you though, depending on the sequence that the warning icon is blinking. The diagnostic system will tell you what is wrong.
maybe spark plug cap
Mr. Ted
New member
The diagnostic system? This is something the Yammie dealer has to plug into to determine correct?
Because currently it's just giving me one blink of the (!) light, and at the same time one blink of the engine light. That's it. Each time I start it, that's all I get.
The manual is completely nonsensical around how to determine what that means.
I assume Yamaha has an actual diagnostic tool?
Mr. Ted
Because currently it's just giving me one blink of the (!) light, and at the same time one blink of the engine light. That's it. Each time I start it, that's all I get.
The manual is completely nonsensical around how to determine what that means.
I assume Yamaha has an actual diagnostic tool?
Mr. Ted
It is supposed to blink every time you start it. If the blinking persists then the onboard diagnostic system is trying to give you a code that you can look up in your manual. I guess I don't know how to explain the manual any better than it already is.
I suggest reading it carefully, and take your time.
I suggest reading it carefully, and take your time.
Sheermadness03
New member
Sounds like it's working the way it was designed to. When you start the engine the (!) light will flash once as well as the engine indicator lamp, thats normal. If you were riding and these lights came on that means that an electrical connector has come loose or is malfunctioning. If and when this happens it will be blinking a code that you can find here . When this has happened to me it was the resistor for my thumb warmer had packed full of snow and was malfunctioning. I cleaned all the snow off of the back side (under the hood) and all was o.k. -Ed
Mr. Ted
New member
A clarification around the blinking lights.
I agree it is normal for the caution(!) light to blink once on startup. I've noticed that since I rode it for the first time.
However, since it bogged on me twice, it now flashes both the caution(!) light AS WELL AS the engine icon once upon startup. There is no code - there is no sequence, there is no pattern. Just the caution(!) light and the self-diagnosis engine icon. Each light up once upon start-up and that's it.
The manual is nonsensical for this. It has the schematics(thanks for providing the link above) and I've reviewed those but those only apply to longer repeated patterns of blinks.
So I'm confused why the manual doesn't address one blink only upon start up.
Mr. Ted
I agree it is normal for the caution(!) light to blink once on startup. I've noticed that since I rode it for the first time.
However, since it bogged on me twice, it now flashes both the caution(!) light AS WELL AS the engine icon once upon startup. There is no code - there is no sequence, there is no pattern. Just the caution(!) light and the self-diagnosis engine icon. Each light up once upon start-up and that's it.
The manual is nonsensical for this. It has the schematics(thanks for providing the link above) and I've reviewed those but those only apply to longer repeated patterns of blinks.
So I'm confused why the manual doesn't address one blink only upon start up.
Mr. Ted
Mr. Ted
New member
Update - stopped by the local "helpful" Yamaha snowmobile dealer and their service desk is always manned by an incredibly unhelpful female. I asked to speak to someone familiar with servicing Vipers and she said she was.
I described the problem to her and she had absolutely no clue - no clue as to how long they would take to diagnose and repair, no idea of an estimate, where to start looking, what the problem might be....nothing.
Looked for bad connections, broken wires, nothing obvious as of yet. My problem is my technical limitations. Not sure where else to go.
I think I'll do powervalves and plugs and see if that helps...
Mr. Ted
I described the problem to her and she had absolutely no clue - no clue as to how long they would take to diagnose and repair, no idea of an estimate, where to start looking, what the problem might be....nothing.
Looked for bad connections, broken wires, nothing obvious as of yet. My problem is my technical limitations. Not sure where else to go.
I think I'll do powervalves and plugs and see if that helps...
Mr. Ted
02 Viper
New member
If it was very cold my question to you is are you adding any gas line anti-freeze containing isopropyl , especially if it's stored in any heated area . This has been a problem for me in the past , fuel isn't what it used to be ....... 
Sheermadness03
New member
Mr. Ted said:
Mine does the same thing at start up and has since day #1, I just went out and started it up to confirm it. It's the way it was designed to operate, if the lights continue to flash or stay lit after the sled has idled for 10-15 sec. then you have a problem and it will be flashing a code. No flashing code = No problem. I believe you may have had an intermitten problem (maybe the T.O.R. system??) that set the light off and caused the slight bog but has since fixed itself. I have had the light come on before while riding and it went out after shuting the engine down and waiting for a few minutes, it turned out to be ice in the back side of the thumb warmer resistor. Another time it came on was because I had installed a 3" bar riser and the hand warmers had come disconnected, pluged them back in and the lights went out. I believe your sled is operating correctly and has no electrical problems (trouble codes) based on your latest information.
-Ed
Skidooslayer687
Member
Powervalves are more then likely the cause for the bog, all lights will flash once upon starting the motor..... all mine do on my srx anyways. Take your powervalves out, clean them and adjust them and try it.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Mr. Ted
New member
So now I'm curious - for all you Viper owners - what does your dash do on startup?
Please be as specific as possible - after reading these replies I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I'm remembering what it used to do.
Does anyone's Viper upon startup do a full sweep of the tach, then a flashing caution light(!) and that's it?
Again, what I'm seeing and assuming is a problem is a full tach sweep, flashing caution light(!) once, and a flashing engine icon once. That's it - no pattern, no repeats.
What does everyone else' Viper do when starting?
Mr. Ted
Please be as specific as possible - after reading these replies I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I'm remembering what it used to do.
Does anyone's Viper upon startup do a full sweep of the tach, then a flashing caution light(!) and that's it?
Again, what I'm seeing and assuming is a problem is a full tach sweep, flashing caution light(!) once, and a flashing engine icon once. That's it - no pattern, no repeats.
What does everyone else' Viper do when starting?
Mr. Ted
nick8687
New member
Yep, my 02 viper does a full tach sweep and then flashes the caution light and then the engine icon, always has. The only thing that I freaked out about once was the caution light came on and had no idea why, turns out I was just low on gas (duhhh), another thing I noticed was that if I let it sit and idle, if it is warm out, it will idle down real low and the digital display will go out and the tach will go to zero, once I hit the gas, the tach does another full sweep and the caution and engine light will flash again, and all is well. Hope you can figure out your problem (if you even have one) cause winter is short!!!!
Only time my (!) light has come on is when I'm low on fuel. I'm sure you've checked that. Mine sometimes comes on when I still have 2 bars left on the fuel gage.
VIPDHEMI
New member
Mr. Ted said:
When I first start my Viper up my tach does a full sweep the (!) and the engine light flashes Once and thats it.
Mr. Ted
New member
Huh - now you guys have got me thinking. The bog definitely happened twice, the motor seemed to be a bit rougher and slower - that wasn't my imagination.
The caution(!) light when I was finished the ride could've been because I was also running low on gas near the end.
Now however, I'm wondering if the (!) light and the engine icon have always flashed once upon startup and I just never noticed it.
Now I'm not sure at all. For all of you with Vipers, let me know what yours does on startup if you haven't already - I'd love to know!
Mr. Ted
The caution(!) light when I was finished the ride could've been because I was also running low on gas near the end.
Now however, I'm wondering if the (!) light and the engine icon have always flashed once upon startup and I just never noticed it.
Now I'm not sure at all. For all of you with Vipers, let me know what yours does on startup if you haven't already - I'd love to know!
Mr. Ted
red devil
New member
I don't know how long it took you to realize problem but maybe vacuum line is disconnected from air box? It's a stab in the dark but could be possible!!! It wouldn't give you any codes but it could be low on gas at the same time also.Let us know if it is figured out and what the problem was.