This is my first new snowmobile and 03 Skidoo MXZ Adrenaline 600HO with reverse. I just did my first major trail riding this past sunday after some xmas snow here in southern maine (20+in). The trails were well ridden by sunday and had maybe but 5 miles total running around the backyard xmas night. Come Sunday I was ready to tackle the local trails. Put a total of 35 miles on in two hours or so. The engine had 0.2 miles when i picked it up at dealer. Little concerned with three problems I experienced this sunday.

1. I noticed both the speedo and tach fogging up from moisture that appears to be on the inside of gauge.

2. At about the end of my trip my overheat idiot light came on. I immediately stopped and killed the engine. Waithed sometime for it to cool and then proceeded home unsure of what was wrong. There was plenty of coolant in resivoir and no visible leaking anywhere. All cowl vents where open. SLed was fine for like 8 mins then as I pulled into yard hot coolant light came on again. Also tonight I went to load it on trailer and noticed my choke lever had either fallen of or been broken off. It was fine when i choked sled for sunday ride. Anyways tonight while loading sled the hot coolant light came on again. Sled maybe idled for couple mins road it around back yard to turn it aroun maybe 500 ft and as i was riding it up trailer wham hot coolant light. Is this typical of new liquid sleds?

3. Lastly as mentioned breifly in #2 I have my choke lever that is broken or fell off I hope this is not typical, it is in a shoddy location that my knee could have hit but I would think i would have noticed that.

My major concern is overheating when I questioned the dealer he led me to beleive there wasnt a problem with the sled. I need your professional opinions cause I need to get this worked out before a trip we got planned 1/10/03 and I dont want to get caught with my pants down in the middle of nowhere. Thanks guys.

i,d get in the dealer quick that light should not come on. if that light comes on it usually means its already to late u should install a heat and fuel guage.if i were u i dont trust i idiot light. :0: :0: :( :(

Extended idle times, slow speeds on hard packed trails, ice riding or road running with little or no lose snow coupled with this mild winter is a receipe for over heating. In these conditions constantly be on the lookout for powder. A brief 3 to 4 second trek through the powder will put you back to normal operating temperatures. Your sliders will thank you as well.

If your temp light comes on and you shutdown or get to the powder IMMEDEATELY you will not suffer any damage.

I'm with ZIPPARS02mxz800sp on the service thing. Have them calibrate or replace the temperature sensor. This is a reasonable request.

Even tho there is coolant in the resevoir it could still have an air lock this will bring the light on and as far as it's too late when the light comes on thats crap what's the point of having a warning device if it too late when it's activated case in point my light has been on a few times but I shut down right away and my 700 is still running strong with over 6000 kms on it. I don't have any ring probs or any other silly little things like that, it still kicks azzz :D

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have to wait until this Thursday to bring my sled into the dealer as they were closed today and tomorrow. I will see what they can do to calibrate or install a temp gauge. Could you recommend a good aftermarket gauge or supplier. The riding was 10 to 30mph on well packed hilly twisty trails so that could be it, I'll have to just head to the powder every now and again. For peace of mind I'll see if the dealer's tech can check the thermostat if there is such a thing on the sled. Since no one commented I guess the fogging gauges is really a minor deal. Also will the adding of an aftermarket temp gauge void any warranty?
Thanks again and this sled hums on open stretches. :D

On a brand new sled your questions should always be aimed at your dealer first. any questions, including the ones you don't think are a big deal such as fogging gauges and temp light coming on, taking care of concerns , is the difference between a good dealer and one not as good, they should never blow you off , they should sound as concerned as you to rectify any problems big or small. overheating is big and can damage things instantly, shutting it off should be your last option, alot of damage can occur during heat soak, try to cool it down by spining in snow or water puddles to get light out and if it does'nt go out shut it off. all the miles I've put on a sled I bet I haven't had the temp light come on 2 or 3 times

For ease of installation and warranty have a factory temp gauge inst. Plus they it will match your tach and speedo. The overheating problem itself was likely the hard pack trails, are you studded? If not that would further agrivate the situation on ice/hard pack.
Many sleds have the gauges fog up but it usually clears with the heat generated from the illumination bulbs.
You likely caught the choke lever with your knee, doesn't take much of a hit to break.

the heat generated by the gauges is what is causing the fogging...

the gauge gets warm inside, then show hitting the front of the gauge causes condensation (fog)

happens to all sleds, all gauges, the Viper was notorious for this... but not a big deal in any event.

you may just have a bad idiot light... but get it checked... SDs are usually pretty good in low snow conditions, so if it IS overheating it could be air in the lines, again an easy fix!

As mentioned previously a temp gauge will let you know the actual temp if it is faulty it is easier to tell but probably overkill…

if you dealer doesn’t respond, take your sled to another SD dealer. Any SD dealer can and will handle warranty claims. If they give you a hard time like "you didn’t buy it here...” than you know they suck anyway!, move on!

this is one time you need a reputable dealer!

where R U located? if in CNY I can recommend a couple reliable SD dealers!

My friend bought a leftover 02 MXZ 700 Heritage and broke the choke lever off in his first ride.

Ive had 3 zx MXZs and one time hit my choke lever with my knee on a big jump and lucky for me only pushed the assembly in and knocked the plastic nut off. I put nut back on and was fine. He has to buy Polaris choke part to fix his choke lever assembly or buy whole Ski Doo lever/cable kit.

As far as overheating either you were in crappy snow conditions or something your dealer needs to check out is up.

My wife has a 2003 adrenaline 500.It kept overheating also.I now leave the heated carbs on and the problem went away. :D

Your dealer should replace your gauges there fogging because there not sealed tight It is a coman problem with the 03's. I work at a dealer ship and thats what we are doing with them.

Dealer will replace the gauges for free?????I will have to look into that! :thumbsup:

Thanks for all the feedback guys!!! Sled went into the dealer today they say they are pretty busy but that new sled owners generally get priority so they will hopefully have me up and running by before my trip next friday. I'll let you know what the dealer says. Do you think they will fix that choke lever for nothing? I know i did not break it with my hand but it is possible that my knee hit it so I guess we will have to see what they say. Seems kinda shoddy to place it in an easily breakable place to me. Have any of you guys relocated it or do you just keep a supply of these things when you hit the trails. LOL
Anyways thanks for the feedback!