Going crazy trying to find electrical problem!

mod-it

mod-it

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
910
Age
51
Location
Lewiston, ID
My sled is shutting the gauge pod off when hitting the high/low beam, and also shuts it off and dims the headlights when the brake is used. Thought i had the typical harness rub through. Been through the harness under the motor twice now, untaped entire length and checked each wire inch by inch, nothing rubbed. Also untaped the one under the tank and checked all four wires, nothing there either. Also been through the upper end of the handle bars. I rode it this Sunday because already lost two weekends of riding because of working on this. It seemed to get worse Sunday, the hand/thumb warmers quit working and when the warmers are turned on it bogs BAD in the mid range. Turn warmers off, sled runs fine.

I'm thinking my next step is to pull the air box and carbs for room, and check down around the steering rod, MrViper suggested that in another post. Has to be wire(s) grounding out I would think. Anyone else found a rub other than under the motor or tank?
 

footwell where cdi box is mounted, sometimes on the left side, unbolt cdi box and inspect bottom of wires, they rub on footwell top, also harness can rub on left steering hoop support if its ridden hard.
 
MrViper- Thanks for the extra places to look.

sxlover- Thanks, that's the harness under the motor, been through it twice.
 
Had the same trouble on my 00 SRX, it turned out to be the stator
 
Have been watching several other posts of people having the same symptoms I'm having, even a few on other forums, all '03 Vipers. A couple have turned out to be the wiring harness, but most seem to be the stator. Beginning to look like six years is pretty common for the stator to fail. My uncle has an '02 that's still working fine, I'm thinking I'll compare ohms between his and mine, and already have his ok to swap them if necessary to test if it cures my problems. I've been through sooooo much wiring, all seems ok there, I'm really leaning towards the stator. Now just have to find the time/chance to test it. Thought I would unhook one headlight, trying to take some of the load off, and then see if the gauge still cuts out. This test worked for somebody at another forum. Since my hand/thumb warmers are now not working, and when they're on the engine bogs in the mid-range, the stator must not be able to handle the extra load. Read where MrViper said that the cdi is on the same circuit as the warmers, so that makes sense to me why it bogs when the warmers are on, too much load for the cdi to perform correctly.

I'm not brave enough to chance buying a used stator for less $$, it would probably conk out on the second ride, lol. Anybody know what I should expect to pay for a new stator?
 
New stator will be around $180 from powerpartsplus.com. Also, just for shits and grins check the taillight bulb and socket. Had a viper a couple years ago that I chase electrical problems on FOREVER before finding that the taillight socket was shorting out and drawing all the power from the sled. It wouldn't even run. Simple thing for you to check. If I remember right the taillight pigtail could just be unplugged under the seat to see if that is the problem. It will run fine when unplugged if that is the problem.
 
I had a similar problem this year with my 2000 SRX. Pulled the engine. Wires under the engine were good. Cleaned and retaped them. Put a new stator in and everything was fine for 50 miles, then the same problem. Lost electical power, but engine was still running, but rough. Enough power to get home. Checked the wires at the CDI box at the left foot well. Wires weren't wore through, but I decided to untape them and inspect them anyways. Three wires were melted together. The largest of the wires was melted the worst. Taped up and sheilded the 3 wires separately. Ran like a dream for 120 miles yesterday.

I am assuming the melted wires is just a symptom of another problem. Does anybody have any ideas? Thanks.

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top