SRV Electrical Problem. HELP!!

srxr700

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Aug 2, 2010
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Age
40
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cedar springs, mi
Ok,

so my old man has a 1989 Srv 540 that he bought brand new!!!Its pretty much been the best sled we have ever owned and i still love taking it out, laughing the whole way. But lately there is an electrical demon thats been giving us problems. I trailered it home today and here is what i know....

-2 years ago it started having a bogging issue after it was warmed up and we ended up finding a grounded out wire under the motor. Fixed that and it ran great for another year.


-1 year ago the same type of symptom showed up but happened more when it was cold. Ended up playing with the heated grips switch and found that when they were on it was causing the bog, so we disconnected it and it ran great again!


-Now this year another bogging issue, the worst so far! Checked carbs..good, motor was just rebuilt and compression is fantastic. Replaced the kill switch with a brand new one...good. Pulled the hi/low switch connection apart and BAM!! Sled ran like a top! Ran it down the road, ripping on it, racing my brother on his srx...i lost. lol. It ran great for about an hour and then I hit some rough back woods, came down through some rooted areas....and it started again. This time the sled wont rev over 2k...When i plugged the hi/low switch back in for a second, and then unplugged it the sled would run again for about 20 to 30 seconds....We let it cool for about 30 minutes and it fired up and we were able to get it back to the cabin....


So where to go from here. My intincts tell me its in the stator, but after looking at the parts diagram a new stator set up is 450 bucks!!! Im hopeing someone else has had this issue and can help me!!!
 

that stator should still have the individual replacable coils. no need really for a complete assembly, just a soldering iron.

what are your lights doing when the sled acts up? bright or dim?

just for fun make yourself a jumper wire from the engine to the frame to act as a new ground. at least a 12 gauge if not a 10. just crimp an eye on either end. the mount screw for the coil is a good engine spot and theres oodles of frame to catch. scuff a little paint. from there your searching for a short in the wiring. under the seat is a popular spot once the plywood gets bad. unfortunately it could be just about anywhere.
 
I do remember the tail light being dim...and of course the lights were off because i had that disconnected. Seems like it could be in the lighting coil. I will have to get into the stator tomorrow to get a good look at it. I didnt look to close at it, but close enough to have the feeling that in order to get a puller on the flywheel im going to have to pull the motor? At lease loosen it out of the mounts and chain fall it up some?


We checked under the seat last year after reading up on the wiring rub there, so we can def. rule that out. Also already ran a jumper wire out exactly as you suggested. Seem to help last year, but whatever it is has finally let go.
 
it can be done with the engine in, but for no more than what it takes to pull it the job becomes much easier. downside to pulling is the need to realign the clutches and set center to center.
 
Do what Snowdad suggested with the ground wire. What you are describing is a ground problem. The ignition and lighting coils are separate. A coil problem in either system should not affect the other system. The thing that is the same in both systems is the ground circuit.
 
Okay, for starters there already was a grounded wire from the engine to the frame before this happened.

Now,
I finally got the stator out! What a treat that was...I was hopeing that something would pop out in my face and scream "im the problem", but thats not the case. Im half tempted to go through and replace the entire electrical system, as my old man is paying and wouldnt mind all new wiring. I just went through the entire harness and all the wiring looks good, no rub throughs anywhere. Could this possibly be an issue in the voltage regulator or cdi?
 
ohm test the coils. then start checking continuity on the wires. if your coils check out, you have a definate short elsewhere.

in my opinion, your running/not running is more a coincidence with a wire or wires grounding or rubbing one another. had a similar issue on a exciter II, ended up being wires in a sub harness behind the clutch.
 
while the lighting and ignition are separate systems they are joined by a common ground check the tail light wires what you are explaining sounds like power feeding into the grounds check all of the wiring and switches
 
Ive got the stator warming up on the counter top right now...any one know the ohm specs for it? I didnt find anything on here or on the net.
 
those ran a few different coils over the years, but the lighting coil remained constant. you should see .19 ohms between the yellow wire and the black wire.

while your testing, see what you get between the white/red to black along with the brown to black and post up your results. 68*F is your key temp, but dont be afraid to heat the coils higher with a heat gun or hair dryer to see if it has a high temp failure.

i am still going with a dead short, hope you find something easier.
 
As Nutz said, two different systems with common ground. That ground goes back to the stator. Sounds like that ground is not working properly and the lighting system is hunting back through the system looking for ground. Stuff like this can be intermittent with changing symptoms. Check all connections, grounds, harness for breaks, etc.

opsled
 


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