Maggot snowmobile thread

[Cruiser]

The 700 is a good reliable power plant. It's the 800 from that vintage you've gotta avoid.

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[nortonwhis]

We've had a pretty good run of -20C here and my sled wont turn over. It started just fine after summer storage second pull, loaded onto truck, unloaded and reloaded a couple of times, but never actually been proper braapped this year. Its 2015 skidoo 800 etec. All the undergrounds are still -10 and I dont have access to a heated garage atm. I tried a hairdryer blasted on the clutch side, but another friend thinks its more likely cold oil.
Anyone have any magic tips?

[teamdirt]

We've had a pretty good run of -20C here and my sled wont turn over. It started just fine after summer storage second pull, loaded onto truck, unloaded and reloaded a couple of times, but never actually been proper braapped this year. Its 2015 skidoo 800 etec. All the undergrounds are still -10 and I dont have access to a heated garage atm. I tried a hairdryer blasted on the clutch side, but another friend thinks its more likely cold oil.
Anyone have any magic tips?

If it’s electric start ur f’d

Shouldn’t be any issues pull starting- might take a few extra pulls but it will turn....that’s why u don’t go electric....shot starter is the future....

Tip to get it started- take battery out, let warm up at room temp for a day. Put back in- braap braap

Ps- a 14 doo sitting outside on my truck pulled at -25 last night. Finally unloaded it off the truck after 2 weeks of being -35....

[eldereldo]

We've had a pretty good run of -20C here and my sled wont turn over. It started just fine after summer storage second pull, loaded onto truck, unloaded and reloaded a couple of times, but never actually been proper braapped this year. Its 2015 skidoo 800 etec. All the undergrounds are still -10 and I dont have access to a heated garage atm. I tried a hairdryer blasted on the clutch side, but another friend thinks its more likely cold oil.
Anyone have any magic tips?

Try pulling it over a couple of times with the ignition off, full length pulls , you can do it slowly IE don’t need to yank it. Then turn the ignition on and try again get a full pull good speed this time.

[BCMtnHound]

We've had a pretty good run of -20C here and my sled wont turn over. It started just fine after summer storage second pull, loaded onto truck, unloaded and reloaded a couple of times, but never actually been proper braapped this year. Its 2015 skidoo 800 etec. All the undergrounds are still -10 and I dont have access to a heated garage atm. I tried a hairdryer blasted on the clutch side, but another friend thinks its more likely cold oil.
Anyone have any magic tips?

Fuel, air, or spark. That easy
With the temps, maybe a bit of water in the fuel line that froze (condensation in the tank from the wet coast?). Or maybe moisture in the electrical causing a short to the ignition. Does the battery have sufficient life for this cold weather - these temps are hard on an older battery, especially if it wasn't kept maintained over the summer, so check its health. Could be faulty plugs, but they usually start to fail when warm first, unless somehow they went out of alignment with the injection ports.

Edit: reading your post closer, you mean the engine won't crank at all, or just won't fire when pulled over? If you can't turn it over at all, then that's a whole other kettle of fish.

We've been -25 in the AM for a bit now, I won't even bother taking out the personal sled. Things break too easily near -30C. Supposed to warm up for the New Years weekend, hoping to finally get out with my new touring set-up. Will go for at least a sightseeing brraap, conditions are reported to be excellent.

[simple]

Been so good

[Foggy_Goggles]

Nice lookin' snow ponies dudes! I'm hoping to get out for the first time tomorrow.

[nortonwhis]

Thanks for all the responses. It turns but doesnt spark or start. Ill take a look at the battery. I was also thinking condensation in the fuel line.
edit: its just a pull start, no e start, so i guess no battery from what i can tell?
Edit #2: I forgot to mention the pull is really really stiff. Like shoulder dislocating stuff. First thing everyone said when they all tried to pull it was, damn thats stiff.

[adrenalated]

Thanks for all the responses. It turns but doesnt spark or start. Ill take a look at the battery. I was also thinking condensation in the fuel line.
edit: its just a pull start, no e start, so i guess no battery from what i can tell?
Edit #2: I forgot to mention the pull is really really stiff. Like shoulder dislocating stuff. First thing everyone said when they all tried to pull it was, damn thats stiff.

Have a buddy that had similar symptoms earlier this year (also on an XM), particularly the very hard pull. He replaced the pull start and says now it's buttery smooth and fires first pull every time.

[heckacali]

Pull the spark plugs and pull.
Should be really easy with no compression.
If not, more digging to find out why ( external like the pull mechanism or internal like scored pistons/cylinders)
Also check plug condition ( clean or replace) and for the presence of spark at that time.

[BCMtnHound]

And find a shop to work in. Any automotive work below 0C sucks and can confound diagnosis. Luckily I know a few guys locally that love to have a disassembled sled to enjoy beers/ganja over in their mac'n shop, as I have no garage myself.
Curious about the hard turning over bit. Does it start easy then get harder? Or hard to pull from the get-go? I would think if it starts pulling easy and gets harder, the increased compression is due to fuel/oil getting into the cylinder but not fully clearing, basically fouling the chambers? At least you'd know fuel delivery is not the issue. And I wouldn't think a dying pull mechanism would prevent the system from firing up, but I'm no ace sled mechanic.

Oh, and your 2015 doo definitely has a battery, even with no electric starter. EFI, command module and all that, and if the battery isn't up to snuff the engine will run poorly if at all. So get that checked out at minimum.

Best of luck with getting it back in order.

[teamdirt]

If it doesn’t have electric start it has no battery. Stator creates all current. My guess is frozen condensation based on the wet coast climate and the fact u store outside Created an ice block Within the engine hence the tough pull. Get it inside or throw aN insulated tarp over it with some heat. Should start up once thawed. Good luck. Let us know the results.

Substitute anything that will trap heat if u can’t get an insulated tarp. Ie- carpet etc....

Once u get it going let it run, thaw and dry out

[nortonwhis]

And find a shop to work in. Any automotive work below 0C sucks and can confound diagnosis. Luckily I know a few guys locally that love to have a disassembled sled to enjoy beers/ganja over in their mac'n shop, as I have no garage myself.
Curious about the hard turning over bit. Does it start easy then get harder? Or hard to pull from the get-go? I would think if it starts pulling easy and gets harder, the increased compression is due to fuel/oil getting into the cylinder but not fully clearing, basically fouling the chambers? At least you'd know fuel delivery is not the issue. And I wouldn't think a dying pull mechanism would prevent the system from firing up, but I'm no ace sled mechanic.

Oh, and your 2015 doo definitely has a battery, even with no electric starter. EFI, command module and all that, and if the battery isn't up to snuff the engine will run poorly if at all. So get that checked out at minimum.


Best of luck with getting it back in order.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Still no luck. I tried the slow pull with ignition off, no luck.
Can't really get in to the spark plugs in this temp outside so back to the waiting game of warming up and underground garages.
Today was the last real day in the forecast that looks like i'll be sledding anyway for the next little bit.

[shafty85]

If it doesn’t have electric start it has no battery. Stator creates all current. My guess is frozen condensation based on the wet coast climate and the fact u store outside Created an ice block Within the engine hence the tough pull. Get it inside or throw aN insulated tarp over it with some heat. Should start up once thawed. Good luck. Let us know the results.

Substitute anything that will trap heat if u can’t get an insulated tarp. Ie- carpet etc....

Once u get it going let it run, thaw and dry out

I believe team-dirt is correct regarding the battery. I have e-start and pull-start on my xm and the only battery on the machine only operates the e-start.

I had a pull-start on an XP go bad - thing became super difficult to pull and even when pulled it would not do so fast enough to turn the engine over. It's an easy swap, should a replacement part be available for you. Even better if a buddy has an XM and you can swap it out to confirm before purchasing (don't know if the G4 or XP pull-starts were the same or not, sorry).

[simple]

Would love to help but didn't scroll back what the symptoms are. Sounds like it lives outside anyway. Poor snowmobile. Take off all the plastics and exhaust you can. You need access to the plugs, plug wires and recoil for sure.

[BCMtnHound]

Interesting about the stator putting out enough juice for all the electronics. Our 2016 summit at work has a battery, but it originally came with both electric and pull start, but the starter went, was removed and never replaced, but the battery remains, dunno why the shop kept the battery in there if so. My bad on the assumption.

[Cruiser]

Just here to say that I love digging out my suck sleds. Know why? Cuz that means it's DEEP! I got no turbo and even less technique so I dig. A lot.

[Cruiser]

Filling in

[Buzzworthy]

That looks like a lot of fun! Lovely shot.

[nortonwhis]

Got it started. little half pull and she went once it warmed up. Frustrating but happy to know nothing serious

[teamdirt]

Got it started. little half pull and she went once it warmed up. Frustrating but happy to know nothing serious

Braap Braap!

[heckacali]

Great it's running, but unless you plan only to ride in "warmer" conditions, you should really figure out why the cold start is so difficult Or what you can do quickly to get it to fire when it's that cold.
an extension cord and a heat gun under the hood for a couple of hours? Etc...

[crashidy]

If you know it is going to be cold add some gas line antifreeze and run it for 10 min before shutting off. Another thing to check is the fuel tank gas filter on that sled.

[Sluff]

Or use starting fluid. Do a few rounds of initial start attempts with fresh starting fluid down each cylinder. Spray down each cylinder. Pull until it fires or semi fires. Repeat….Works for me.

[Cruiser]

Hero snow in the central sawatch right now. One of the kids rode up to me and said, dad it feels like I'm floating.