sx viper lights went dim and tach went dead

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billo6663

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went for a ride with the viper tonight and my lights went dim and the tach was going crazy sometimes on and off, when i put the brakes on it goes even dimmer, anybody had this problem before
any help would be greatly appreciated
 
I've heard of many people having this problem.....could be stator, wire rub-through, etc. Personally, I would check the rub-through issue first, to save yourself from buying a new stator, and if there's nothing wrong, I would try a new stator.
 
I had a similar thing happen, except my sled ran perfect when i was using low beams but as soon as i turn on the highs the tach and lights go on and off constantly.
 
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I had a similar thing happen, except my sled ran perfect when i was using low beams but as soon as i turn on the highs the tach and lights go on and off constantly.
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and........................?
what was it?
 
Already played this game, searched all wiring under motor, handle bars, and under tank and seat. Tach resets when hitting brake, and high/low beam. Then hand warmers quit working, and when they're on the sled gets a bog in the mid-range (low voltage messing with cdi).

New stator fixed the problem.
 
staggs65 said:
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and........................?
what was it?
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haha, it still happens i hope it is a wire rub thru somehwere...what else could it be. doesn't seem like it could be the stator, when everything else works fine.
 
laxs1308 said:
haha, it still happens i hope it is a wire rub thru somehwere...what else could it be. doesn't seem like it could be the stator, when everything else works fine.
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Wrong. Broken stator will do exactly what he described. Unplug the headlights and turn the bar warmers off. Bet the problem goes away. It is most likely the stator. Search my old posts. I had one on this very problem and it details how to test the stator propoerly.
 
YamerDown said:
Wrong. Broken stator will do exactly what he described. Unplug the headlights and turn the bar warmers off. Bet the problem goes away. It is most likely the stator. Search my old posts. I had one on this very problem and it details how to test the stator properly.
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So I know this is an old thread, but I'm having a problem that is similar but not identical to these...I checked my harness under the engine and it seems fine (no obvious wear through signs of abrasion for shorting).

In short I have 3 issues I'm trying to solve all of a sudden:

1. I think something killed my battery (vs a battery just going - but I could be wrong). It was fine one night and completely dead the next morning.
2. My tach display is constantly resetting like it's shorted. Just goes off and on. Lights still work.
3. Every once and a while the TORS system is kicking in and limiteing RPMs to 3000.

All other lights seem ok though, and not dimming. Although I will try again.
 
Well seems like my problem was simple - just a dead battery. Ran great today with a new one. Seems these sleds if they have elec start, reverse, etc, may require the battery, vs it being optional. Not sure why they put a pull start on a sled that behaves so badly if the battery is junk...
 
steveg_nh said:
Well seems like my problem was simple - just a dead battery. Ran great today with a new one. Seems these sleds if they have elec start, reverse, etc, may require the battery, vs it being optional. Not sure why they put a pull start on a sled that behaves so badly if the battery is junk...
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the battery is required with the elec start models, as the battery is the smoothing condensor in the wiring. it will produce the symtoms of a flashing guage if the battery is defective.

The tors kicking on has nothing to do with the battery, your throttle cable is too tight, loosen it up via the adjuster on carb rack.

also a easy way to see if the stator is good is to put a digital voltmeter on the battery,check the voltage before starting it, be around 12.5-12.8 volts fully charged then start it up and check again if its under 12 volts, the stator is weak on output and using the battery to help run everything.

think about the pull start, if it wasnt on there and you were out in the woodes stranded with no battery power, would you want to be able to start it up and get home or worry about the guage flashing and walking home?
 
mrviper700 said:
the battery is required with the elec start models, as the battery is the smoothing condensor in the wiring. it will produce the symtoms of a flashing guage if the battery is defective.

The tors kicking on has nothing to do with the battery, your throttle cable is too tight, loosen it up via the adjuster on carb rack.

also a easy way to see if the stator is good is to put a digital voltmeter on the battery,check the voltage before starting it, be around 12.5-12.8 volts fully charged then start it up and check again if its under 12 volts, the stator is weak on output and using the battery to help run everything.

think about the pull start, if it wasnt on there and you were out in the woodes stranded with no battery power, would you want to be able to start it up and get home or worry about the guage flashing and walking home?
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Thanks a million for this. My TORS did kick in twice today. My guess is when the guy cleaned the carbs, like you said, it's just a little tight. Doesn't do it all the time. It's back in the garage after a really fun day sledding on the lake behind my house. She ran great. If it were the stator, I would think I'd have problems with the headlights, taillights and heated grips and stuff. That all worked fine.

So on adjusting that nut on the carb rack, anything special I should be aware of, or just back it off a hair?
 
steveg_nh said:
Thanks a million for this. My TORS did kick in twice today. My guess is when the guy cleaned the carbs, like you said, it's just a little tight. Doesn't do it all the time. It's back in the garage after a really fun day sledding on the lake behind my house. She ran great. If it were the stator, I would think I'd have problems with the headlights, taillights and heated grips and stuff. That all worked fine.

So on adjusting that nut on the carb rack, anything special I should be aware of, or just back it off a hair?
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loosen the jam nut then turn the adjuster down 1 full 360 degree turn, retighten jam nut.
 
By down, I assume you mean clockwise? I haven't looked at it, so I'm thinking what you said will be clear once I look at it. I just don't want to loosen too much. Thanks!
 
steveg_nh said:
By down, I assume you mean clockwise? I haven't looked at it, so I'm thinking what you said will be clear once I look at it. I just don't want to loosen too much. Thanks!
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you really cant make it too loose! it will still get full throttle, this is the mistake that a 100 people will make and wonder why the tors si kicking in. They make the trottle cable too tight,there has to be a genrous amount of slack in it for both tors switch to work properly, it will still go wide open throttle with all kinds of slack!
 
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Just adjusted it but can't try it out.

Cable was tight though. No play in cable at all at carbs. Didn't wiggle at all. I loosened up the jam nut and tightened until the rocker started moving then loosed just until it stopped. I then went two full turns more loosening. Slack now. Too much or ok? Rocker still rotates all the way when throttle pulled fully and with handlebars turned to both left and right stops the play in the cable at the carbs is still there.

Think it's good? Thanks
 
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