Coil Troubles??

Skidooslayer687

Skidooslayer687

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
711
Age
39
Location
Almonte Ontario Canada
Hey guys.... Im Trying to diagnose this problem im having. Ive replaced plug caps, old ones were out of spec. But that didnt cure the problem. Im leaning towards a bad coil. It will only do it sometimes though, on first starting it up it will run off 2, then it can take as long as 20 min to fire off all 3. Now it did this last time when i started it so i opened the hood and started pulling plug caps off to see what cylinder it was. It was the middle cylinder that seems to be missing. I have also found that this is not affected by temperature either, Originally I thought it would only do it when it was cold out but I went for a ride on the weekend where it was decently warm and it did it again to me. This is a pain in the @ss

Basically I guess what I wanna know is

#1 How many of you guys have had problems with coils?
#2 What are some symptoms of a coil biting the dust?
#3 Could a bad coil set the Dcs system off?

Thanks for any help in advance
 
sounds like a bad needle and seat .... does it happend only first time u start the sled during the day
 
Skidooslayer687 said:
Hey guys.... Now it did this last time when i started it so i opened the hood and started pulling plug caps off to see what cylinder it was. It was the middle cylinder that seems to be missing.

#1 How many of you guys have had problems with coils?
#2 What are some symptoms of a coil biting the dust?
#3 Could a bad coil set the Dcs system off?

Thanks for any help in advance
Click to expand...

I'm affraid I don't have an answer to all your questions but would caution pulling plug wires while the engine is running. This alone can cause problems with a coil. By pulling the plug wire you eliminate the ground path so the 20-30k voltage needs to go somewhere. It will find a path eventually sometimes burning through insulation within the coil or opening the windings which won't give you a visual.

For future reference,I would suggest using another spark plug on the suspect cylinder and let it lay on a head bolt then start the engine to identify the miss. Not as quick and easy and to be honest, I've done the same thing you did without issue but I don't like to tempt fait. Another way would be to use a test light grounded to a head bolt and pierce the plug boot with the test light probe. I don't like to do this for obvious reasons, but it works.

I've only replaced one coil on a sled (ZR-800) out of the hundreds I've worked on.

Sounds like your symptoms match an intermittent open or shorted coil but also other components as well. The only way I know to identify a suspect coil when it's intermittent is to swap it out.

All over the road vehicles sold in the US are required to have miss-fire detection software in the ECU (measures crankshaft speed between each cylinder firing - OBD-II). Which would make things easier but I'm not aware of any such software used on sleds - even injected sleds.

Have you checked for shorts on the under engine harness?

You're right, sometimes a real PITA!! Good luck.
 
modsrx said:
sounds like a bad needle and seat .... does it happend only first time u start the sled during the day
Click to expand...

I think Modsrx is on to somthing here. This is what happen to me last weekend with the SRX. I was having the same problem as you but not as bad, when i first started the sled for that day it would not rev as high as it used to and sounded like it was only running on 2 give is gas and it was ok. Once i took it for a spin it was ok. I haven't drove it much this year, but last Friday i broke a suspesion piece in my 4-stroke so i had to fire up the SRX. On my way home the TORS kicked in and would not move. I tried lowering the idle made sure everything was connected all was good so i towed it home the next day i had a buddy look at my sled and the middle slide had fallen. I was lucky the allen screws were not sucked in and it was an easy fix. Slayer since you ported yours like mine, so i know you have been in the carbs. Pull your cap off the top of the 2nd carb and take a peek and make sure the allen screws are tight
 
Okay heres the report.... Carbs check out, Had them all apart, clean as a whistle, need and seat work properly with the float, seals good. Middle cylinder temp is down compared to outside 2, compression good on all 3, and all 3 are really close together. Problem to me has to be an electrical issue somewhere, I guess the next step would be to swap coils and see if the problem follows the one coil. Its just really funny because its intermittent, it does not always do this, and it always will come back and run on all 3 after a short time. Wiring harness is good, I had it out and checked it all last year when the motor was out. This doesnt sound like the typical wiring harness problem though. Not saying that its impossible for this to happen from a rub through I just dont see it being the case here.

So Im wondering is it a coil? or is it a stator? Or what. Definately a PITA
 
if u want some coil let me know my friend just buy some thinking it was is problem but problem not solved .....
 
2000 and up got 1 wire eatch coil coming from cdi make sure no resistance in it ...
 
Well I got the coils off, found out that the one I ordered is backordered until march 19th. lol sucks but oh well. Anyways I tested the coils both primary and secondary just as the book shows. Resistance is off on all of them compared to that of the book. All show a little more resistance but all are relatively close together. Maybe this isnt the problem? But the thing is it only does it sometimes so it may be something shorting out inside? Ugh this is a PITA, if it wasnt intermittent it would be a lot easier to find lol. I know it was the middle cylinder missing. But does this mean that it is that coil for sure or not?

The book calls for 0.36-0.48 ohms in the primary coil, All mine measured out at 0.6.

It also calls for a secondary coil resistance of 5.4-7.4 Kilo Ohms resistance and 2 of mine measured out at 11.3 K ohms and the other one measured out at 10.7 K ohms. Now It does say to measure them at 20 degrees celsius and It was that temperature inside, roughly about 22. Its not the plug caps because they are all new. Tested them before I put them on and they all tested good within the books specifications.

Another quick question. I was going through my service manual doing electrical tests on the coils. I wanna test the startor and such on mine but my service manual shows the test using 2 plugs that arent the same on my sled. Now the service manual may be meant for a 1998-99 srx. I know it does not cover any dcs material at all. So I guess the questions are:

1. How do I test the stator on mine, does anyone have the procedure?
2. The dcs sensor... Is it located in the water rail right behind the middle cylinder on top? This is just a general question, doesnt have to do with the electrical question.

Thanks a lot
 
Last edited:
did you start out with brand new plugs?... also.... did you move the old ones around to see if problem follows?

this might seem backwards in the troubleshooting scheme of things but I don't recall you mentioning spark plugs... tj
 
TJ500, Plugs are all new, Tried moving them around and it will still do it. I didnt mention it in my previous posts so sorry for any confusion. Im just at a loss as to what the hell would be causing this. And the real PITA is its intermittent. Makes it 100 times harder to figure it out.
 
my friend got similar problem ..i'm supose to take off my stator and let him try this week
 
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