Hi Guys,

I saw a message on here where a fellow user was asking if people though his stator was bad. *Another user replied and described the symptoms of a bad stator. *I sent him a private message, but haven't gotten a reply yet, so I figured that I would post it for everybody (normally I have more patients, but my sled has been in the shop for over a week, and I can imagine the bill). *Here is what I wrote:

Basically, mine will start fine (idleing is a little inconsistant though, somtimes idles at 2k and others the needle bounces below 1k), but when I drive it and I "get onto it" it has a little bit of a skip. *When it skips it is normally at 3/4 to wide open throttle. * It can do it half way across a field at 60mph or it can do it when I am barely moving making a sharp corner. *To me it seems like it only does it around sharp corners, and bumps, but I may be wrong.

Anyway, all this season I have been fouling plugs. *It started out only fouling one plug at the begining of the ride, but the last ride we went on (only 40 miles), I fouled 5 plugs. *I believe that I fouled 3 in the center, and 2 in the clutch side cylinder. *The other times I have fouled them, they were also in the center or clutch side cylinders, but I do not remember how many times in each (maybe 1 in the clutch side, and 2 in the center). *I have not yet fouled a plug in the cylinder farthest away from the clutch. *Well, I took the sled to my mechanic and he has been playing with it for over a week. *He found that my "power valve" was sticking open on the clutch side cylinder, so that may explain why I was fouling plugs there. *He said that each time he had taken it out it fouled a plug in the center cylinder (must be 4 or 5 times now). *He is in the process of swapping the coils from the center cylinder and the cylinder that I have not fouled a plug in to see if it makes a difference. *That brings up my question...if it is indeed the stator, would it randomly foul plugs in all three cylinders, or would it stay consistent on one? *Like I said, I have only fouled plugs in two out of three cylinders, and the he found a power valve sticking open, so that may be part of my problem on one. *


Any ideas?

Thanks Guys.

-Josh

Josh; sorry I didn't get back to you earlier but I've been out sledding before we loose all of our snow. And of course I just burnt down my 740 twin racing on the lake tonight. Anyway, I haven't seen a stator randomly foul plugs but it is a possibility with these 98's. On my 97 it would start to foul and within 20 minutes the stator would be fried. The 98's are totally different with the DESS. I have one in the shop right now with no spark(again). Stator checked out as did everything else so replaced CDI and reprogramed the DESS. All back together, ran for thirty seconds, dead again. Stator still checked out as did everything else. Put stator and another CDI on and it runs fine. for how long I don't know. Have you tested your stator, trigger coil and DESS plug? Kill switches are also bad this year of Z. Having a stuck valve could be part of your problem also. I can send you the resistance values if you need them.

Hey Krusty,

No problem man. *I just thought some other guys may have some ideas while I waited for a response from you.

Sorry to hear about your sled by the way. *That would tick me off. *At least you can do your own work...lol. *I have to pay other people and trust that they know what they are doing.

Anyway, the Stator has not been tested. *I talked to the dealer about it and he said that he didn't think that is what it would be. *He was in the process of changing the coil when I called him(is that the same thing as the trigger coil that you are referring to?). *Also, my kill switch was just changed, and unfortunatly it didn't help. *Is there a way to test the DESS without buying a new one? *Could it cause the plugs to foul?

I talked to the dealer again last night and he said that the swapped the coil from the cylinder that I had never fouled a plug in, into the center cylinder. *He started it up and boom....fouled all three plugs. *He changed them and went out riding and fouled the center cylinder and clutch side plug again. *So I guess that eliminates his idea of it being a coil.

Before he left the shop yesterday he called an "expert" ski doo mechanic from another shop, and they are supposed to get together and work on it this morning. *I am going to call them this afternoon and see what the result is. *

Thanks for the help.

-Josh

with a stator going ive herd of 2 of my friends going and had no warning!!! both mach z 1 98 and 1 2000 both just dead on the trail!! *never to start again w/ that stator!!

So I see.....sounds like it probably isn't the stator then I guess since it has been running like that all winter. *Thanks for the help guys.

-Josh

piranhaZ28: Change the stator and make sure that the wiring harness below the recoil area has not wore a bare spot. I can't believe that a dealer would waste time on other things and over look the stator, they have been a trouble spot for four years. Dino http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

Dino,

Do you think that it could be the starter from the symptoms I described? *The sled still starts and runs....it has had the symptoms all Winter long. *I'm just a little bit confused because it sounds like once the stator decides to go it goes in a reletively short period of time.

I don't know much about this stuff....that's why I ask. *Thanks again.

-Josh

Is this a Ski-Doo dealer you have your sled at? Seems he should be able to diagnose it in about an hour. Easy to check resitance with a multimeter and manual. The trigger coil is mounted in the case above the flywheel. It can be tested as well as the DESS switch.(if you know how) http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

No, Unfortunatly he isn't a Ski-Doo dealer. *The only Skidoo dealer in my area that I trust was booked until the end of february. *However, the dealer that I took it to is good friends with the other dealerships top mechanic so I figured it couldn't hurt to take it to him. *

I couldn't imagine just sitting and waiting until March to even get the thing looked at. *

Know what I mean?

Thanks again.

-Josh

PiranhaZ28: Change the stator and I bet your problems are gone, I doubt it would be the trigger coil. Also make sure that the wiring harness below the recoil area is ok. Dino http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

Agreed

Thanks guys....It's my fault for not bringing the sled to a Ski Doo dealer anyway. *I guess that's what you get when you want to save time and money.

Krusty, do you have those resistance values on hand? *If it isn't too difficult for you could you send them my way? *If it is at all a hassle don't worry about it.

I'm getting really frustrated with all of the dealers in this area. *I talked to my father last night and he had called the best Ski doo dealer in our area a couple of weeks ago to ask them if they had any ideas as to what the problem might be. *He said that he had a sled that was doing the same thing as mine and it ended up being the DESS system. *My father asked how we could check it and the dealer said "The only way to check it is to buy new parts and try them". *From *what you guys are saying, this isn't true.

Note that I said that this is referred to as "The Best" dealer in our area when it comes to service and repairs. *Unfortunatly I don't have the knowledge it takes to fix my own sled, and apparently I don't have the knowledge it takes to help others fix my sled. *I am getting to the point where I dread winter, and dread riding my sled because of all of the problems and aggravation. *

I have taken my sled to 4 different places and as of now I have had problems with each one of them (2 of them being skidoo dealers).

I guess running a big, highly tuned sled is not a wise choice for me because I can't repair it myself, and the places around here can't either. * http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

I'm sorry to rant and rave, but I just needed to vent. *It's been kind of a crappy winter anyway, and the little amount of time that I have spent riding I have had problems. *

Luckily there are great people on these forums that love to help, and I thank everyone for their advice. *I think that the knowledge of the people on here are what keep my hopes up. *Thank you all.

-Josh

PiranhaZ28: *Where in VT are you? *I am the central VT area and know some guys around here that can get your sled back on the trail. *We work on all our own stuff and have been thinking about working on other in the evening, but that would require giving up riding time! *There is also a dealer in Newport that is good. *The ski-doo near me is worthless, I have given up on them! *I would be happy to help out if I can.

MXZ21,

I live in St.Albans (about 30 miles North of Burlington, just off the interstate). *Where are you located?

What is the name of the dealer in Newport? *I went to school there at North Country. *I'm having trouble remembering the dealers there though. *

I've had it with the places around here. *The guy that has the sled right now is a heck of a nice guy, and he did great clutch work on it earlier this season, so I like giving him the business. *Maybe I should leave the tuning to the Ski doo guys though.

Thanks.

-Josh

Trigger coil- WH/YL and BL/YL *190-300 Ohms
(2 pin connector coming out of case)

Stator- WH and RD *25-56 Ohms
* * * * * WH and BK/RD * 3.5-8.1 Ohms
* * * * * BK to engine *00.0-00.5 Ohms
(four pin suare connector from case)

DESS- BK/GN and BK/WH -O.L *(no resistance) with cap off
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *-00.0-00.5 with cap on
(three pin flat connector above fuel tank)

Quote;
I guess running a big, highly tuned sled is not a wise choice for me because I can't repair it myself, and the places around here can't either. * *

You shouldn't be having these problems. IMO the 98 Z is the biggest piece of #### Bombardier has built. I wouldn't take one if you gave it to me. Go ahead and bash me.

Good luck with your sled http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Thanks Krusty....

I have a funny feeling my Z will be hitting the road shortly. *Any recommendations on what to get?

I'm looking at the MXZ 700's. *

Also talking to a guy about a MXZX 440.

The 670 H.O.'s are nice, but I'd like something in the ZX chassis.

Thanks again.

-Josh

PiranhaZ28: *I am located in East Montpelier. *The dealer in Newport that seems to be on top of it is called Walt's Sales and Service. *I am not sure how long they have sold ski-doo's but they are very nice and the tech there is into sleds and seems to know his stuff, unlike the tech's at many dealerships around here. *Most of them down here treat it as 'just their job', hence the reason I do all my own work. *When something get done on any of my machines, I want to know that it was done right! *Let me know if I can help, or try giving the guys at Walt's a shot.

I think that you are right to go with the ZX chassis. *What should determine the machine is the type of riding you do. *If where you ride it tight and you rarely see top end, the 440 would be alot of fun. *I ride a mxz600 and my brother has a mzx 700, both are good machines and a bit more versatile than the 440.

Yup, I've heard of Walts. *I was (note I say was) friends with one of his Mechanics (who no longer works there). *I took my old Mach 1 to him and he said he'd fix it all up. *It was just changing some bushings, and my sliders, and track clips, and carb cleaning so I figured that I might as well have him do it to save a few bucks. *Well he charged me $300 for it.....That wouldn't bother me so much if he had actually done a good job, but I ended up having to have everything he did, redone.

When he put one of the track clips on the edge was bent out a little bit and it just chewed up one of the sliders. *Also he didn't put the track on right and I threw off a bunch of clips on my first ride (guess cause it he put a wrong part in that was too short and it caused the track to bow in...not sure what the part was though). *The thing started really hard and wouldn't idle so I took it up to another guy who was closer to my place and he asked me when the last time I had my carbs cleaned was. *I said "about a week ago". *He took pointed out that it didn't look like the carbs had even been touched. *

Let me point out that he didn't work at Walts then. *I just felt like venting a little bit more *http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

I have such great luck with sleds.

How have your MXZ's been running?

Thanks.

-Josh

Stories like that are exactly why I do all my own stuff! *The MXZ's are great. *I clean the rave valves and clutches every 500 miles or so, keep everything greesed, stay on top of wear items and that's about it. *I really like the machines, but I am leaning toward the Rev for next year.

I wish you could put a 670 in a ZX frame. IMO the 670 was the last good motor Ski-Doo built. *http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

I had a stator go on me 00700 and it just died and never to start again. I cheked all the resistance values and they were within spec. Replaced stator after I swaped mpem from another sled and it has been fine for last 5000mi. I suppose it could be *a weak stator not generating enough voltage and causing fouling. You should be able to measure voltage output, but without a service manual I cant help you.

DITTO KRUSTY! I TOTALLY AGREE ABOUT THE 670. THAT IS ONE AWESOME MOTOR.

All,

Just an update.

The guy seemed to think he solved the problem. *

Here is the story. *He called my dad Friday afternoon (my father lives closer to him than I do), and he said that he found some bare wires underneath the recoil, and then he got looking at the wiring harness the runs underneath the engine. *I guess after looking at a bunch of different angles he finally saw a spark plug wedged underneath right against the wires. *He couldn't get it out without loosening the front of the engine up. *He took the plug out and put heat shrink on all of the wires that were damaged. *He started it up and took it for a ride....didn't foul any plugs (he fouled at least 1 plug every time he took it out before that). *So he put it back in his shop and told my father he could pick it up the next morning (when my dad was coming back through from work). *

When my father got there they were just getting back from another test drive. *The mechanic that drove it said "there is still a bit of a skip" so the shop owner said to take it for another ride and hold down the DESS teather to see if it helps. *Well he no more than got out of the shop and it just died. *So when my dad called me that morning I was a little dissapointed and worried that it was something really serious. *

Well the dealer called him back that afternoon and said "you aren't going to believe this" (at this point I believe anything), anyway, he pulled the motor again and found another spark plug down here wedged against some wires underneath the clutch. *Obviously after he found the first plug he figured that was it so he didn't keep looking. *Anyway, he left the sled as it was until my dad got down there to look at it. *I guess the wires were totally mangled. *He said that he was going to fix them up last night. *

So right now I'm just waiting on the call from my father to see if he has heard anything else. *Hopefully this is the problem.

Also, on a side note...the plugs that were found under the motor were not from me. *They were Br10ES and I have run 9's since I have owned the sled. *

Thanks for all the help guys. *I will keep you posted.

-Josh