sunk my Apex sled

birddog

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Joined
Dec 9, 2010
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Age
66
Location
Madison WI
Need help. Over the weekend I broke thru the ice on my lake in 3 feet of water and once I got it out the electronics were working until I tried turning the key and than all eclectronics went dead. Does any body know what I can do to try to fix my sled? Did short out a fuse wreck anything to ther engine? etc..

Thanks
 

That really sucks. Electronics really don't like to get wet. I would remove the electronics and dry them out before adding power to them. Adding power to the electronics when wet is kind of hard on them and they may short out. Remove the sparkplugs and turn the motor over by hand. Change the engine oil and filter. Change the chain case oil as well. Empty the fuel tank and dry out any moisture caught in there. Gas line antifreeze will help take some moisture out of the system and tank.
I would also post this over on the fourstroke side under Apex General. May get more help and info there.
Best of luck
 
birddog said:
Need help. Over the weekend I broke thru the ice on my lake in 3 feet of water and once I got it out the electronics were working until I tried turning the key and than all eclectronics went dead. Does any body know what I can do to try to fix my sled? Did short out a fuse wreck anything to ther engine? etc..

Thanks
Put this over on the 4 stroke side (You'll have to create a profile over there to post) in the Apex section. There will be lot's of help.

But....

1. Get the water out of the engine. Pull the plug and crank her over and over until no more water comes out.

2. Get it into a heated garage/ building asap to get it drying out. Rust starts as soon as it's no longer submerged.

3. Hit all the grease zerts to get water out of any crevaces.

4. Figure out how to dry out the seat. This is tough. I knew a guy who said a hyperbaric chamber worked excellent. Or else hanging it suspended in front of a hot, hot woodstive for about 3 weeks. Over time it will dry by gravity. others remove it from the plastic and runit over on a board with a truck time several times.

5. Flush and change the oil like about 6 times. My buddy from above dunked his Nytro and it took 6 or 7 oil changes to get all of the milk out of the oil.

6. Flush and change the chaincase/ gear lube several times.

7. Take off the guage pod/ cpu off and put them in a bowl full of rice for a week. The rice will draw out all of the moisture.

8. Check all of the fuses. Some may have blown when the sled went down. That is prob what happened in your case.....

9. Flush out the engine/ crankcase with oil asap and get the sled running to burn off any residual water stuck inside the engine. Sunken motors need to be turned around and started asap.

Good luck.
 
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all of the above and, take apart the kill switch assembly and key and clen/dry them out. had similar problem with my rx and these where the cause. one was full of water/ice and the other had a broken plastic tab that was preventing contact.
 
Don't forget you also have 4 relays on the left side just above the footwell. There is also relays and fuses down near the battery. And the fuse box on the left side up above the chain case. Pull your plugs, check all connections. Make sure airbox drained, I'd definitely replace the engine oil and filter like mentioned above. It will take many times to remove all of the water. A friend put his ATV in a river and he changed oil a few times over.
 
snip

3. Hit all the grease zerts to get water out of any crevaces.

snip

Interestingly, I've only seen the term "zerts" used in snowmobile forums but if you're talking about grease fittings, the term is zerks as in Oscar Zerk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_fitting

From the link - you gotta love the name Lunkenheimer ;>):

The patent for the Zerk fitting was granted to Oscar Zerk in January 1929.[2] Prior to this point bearings were lubricated by devices such as a Lunkenheimer oiler.

I also don't support the idea that "lubed for life" is better than using zerks as the link suggests but I wipe my zerks before applying grease which is a rather large veriable.



Lastly and back on topic, I largely agree with Super Sled's comments except the part about drying the CPU. He suggests drying it out for a week in a bowl of rice but I think the CPU is kinda important as far getting the sled to light ASAP which IMO and as SS suggests is critical. I'd agree with SS's drying method for other components not needed to operate the engine.

It's only a guess, but I would think a dip in 3ft. of water isn't deep enough to allow water to enter most "sealed" electronics which I would consider the CPU to be. Relays would be another story of which I would buy new. I would also blow dry with shop air any/all connectors, fuse panel, switches, etc then spray the same with silicone spray, then blow them off again.

If the sled has been submerged for more than a few hours or deeper, then buying a new CPU would probably be a wiser move since again, getting the engine running ASAP should be your number one goal.

Just thinking out loud, but the best way to get the moisture out of the engine is with it's own heat. Tranny juice is more hydroscopic so maybe a half quart with fresh engine oil would speed up the process? Dunno, but running the sled at idle (keeping the load on bearings low) would be a good way of building heat provided you keep an eye on coolant temps perhaps doing multiple engine on/off cycles changing the oil a time or two in between.

I've never sunk a sled but have done a couple flood insurance claims on cars in my youth so take the suggestions above with that in mind.

Good luck.
 
snomofo said:
snip

3. Hit all the grease zerts to get water out of any crevaces.

snip

Interestingly, I've only seen the term "zerts" used in snowmobile forums but if you're talking about grease fittings, the term is zerks as in Oscar Zerk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_fitting

From the link - you gotta love the name Lunkenheimer ;>):

The patent for the Zerk fitting was granted to Oscar Zerk in January 1929.[2] Prior to this point bearings were lubricated by devices such as a Lunkenheimer oiler.

I also don't support the idea that "lubed for life" is better than using zerks as the link suggests but I wipe my zerks before applying grease which is a rather large veriable. fixed: variable
Good luck.


grammar nazi?! really guys, this isnt Doo Talk, who cares what he calls it? i completely understood what he was saying. there is no need to pull up a link just to prove a point.

i agree with SS, leave the CPU in rice for a while, and like you said snomofo, maybe 3feet of water isnt enough to wreck the CPU, and if it isnt going to wreck it, rice bath wouldnt hurt.
 
SX_SLAYER said:
grammar nazi?! really guys, this isnt Doo Talk, who cares what he calls it? i completely understood what he was saying. there is no need to pull up a link just to prove a point.

i agree with SS, leave the CPU in rice for a while, and like you said snomofo, maybe 3feet of water isnt enough to wreck the CPU, and if it isnt going to wreck it, rice bath wouldnt hurt.
lol..too funny!
 


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