[SwiftJonny]

I was cruising along on some logging roads up at the lake having a great old time until the timing became retarded. I stopped and hit the kill switch. When I started it up again it was retarded, then a knock and it died. It seized up on me and that was it, I had to get towed home by ol' faithful, the 93' Exciter. It was all too weird. It wasn't particularly warm out, it was about -10 C, the rad was clear and the heat exchanger felt a normal warm temp. I didn't get any warning lights and the digital dash quit working all together. I took it to my dealer today and they'll be checking it out first thing on Tuesday. What a bummer. Brand new sled, only 700 km on it and then this. Booo-uurns!

 

[snowdamit]

That sucks. Nothing worse than a new sled in the shop for a major issue early in the season. Hopefully the parts will be readily available and your dealer will get you back on the snow quick. Going to be watching the CFIs with interest this year. Hopefully these types of issues will be few. Good luck.

 

[ray j]

I have the same exact sled, so I am curious. Has the oil pump adjustment S-06-14AB ben done? Have you added any oil to the first tank of gas?

 

[Gettin2Old]

Swift,

How long were you riding it when this happened? Did you just fire it up shortly before the siezure? lets say less than 3 miles before it quit?

Please let me know.
Thanx

 

[pockets]

Were you folowing in the snow dust?

 

[Gettin2Old]

anyone else guessing this was a cold sieze besides me? if that is the cause, Hopefully your dealer will try to get it covered, or at least cut you a deal. the Dealer should have warned on how to avoid this situation when the sled was delivered. (Just guessing here, so don't go slamming me)

The way he said it "Started retarding the timing" was probably the beginning of the sieze, (still only speculation on my part from the vague description of the circumstances)

we saw this alot in the 04-05 season because some people figured since the sled is computer controlled, it is pull and go WFO. and the sled will adjust itself for optimum running conditions. You got to let these things warm up, gently.

To prevent this from ever happening, or at least lessening the chance of a cold sieze, let these engines come up to temp. At least to 120 degrees on the temp gauge, then be light on the throttle for the first few miles till everything is warm. better yet, do this on a stand so the belt & track can rotate to loosen up and last longer.
The most probable time for a cold sieze is when you are taking a lunch break in real cold weather, the coolant in the heat exchangers gets real cold fast. Then when that super-cooled coolant hits those cylinder walls quickly from hard throttle application, it cools the cylinder and shrinks it to a size smaller than the still-warm piston. badda-Bing! Siezure!

Let us know what the diagnosis is, and please post pictures for us to see. I hope your dealer gets this unfortunate failure fixed fast and at no cost to you.

Thanx, G2O (Gettin2Old)

 

[SwiftJonny]

I have the same exact sled, so I am curious. Has the oil pump adjustment S-06-14AB ben done? Have you added any oil to the first tank of gas?[/b]

I wasn't even aware of an oil pump adjustment issue. I did add oil to the first tank of gas.

 

[SwiftJonny]

Were you folowing in the snow dust?[/b]

I was leading so there was no snow dust and my filters were clear of snow.

anyone else guessing this was a cold sieze besides me? if that is the cause, Hopefully your dealer will try to get it covered, or at least cut you a deal. the Dealer should have warned on how to avoid this situation when the sled was delivered. (Just guessing here, so don't go slamming me)

The way he said it "Started retarding the timing" was probably the beginning of the sieze, (still only speculation on my part from the vague description of the circumstances)

we saw this alot in the 04-05 season because some people figured since the sled is computer controlled, it is pull and go WFO. and the sled will adjust itself for optimum running conditions. You got to let these things warm up, gently.

To prevent this from ever happening, or at least lessening the chance of a cold sieze, let these engines come up to temp. At least to 120 degrees on the temp gauge, then be light on the throttle for the first few miles till everything is warm. better yet, do this on a stand so the belt & track can rotate to loosen up and last longer.
The most probable time for a cold sieze is when you are taking a lunch break in real cold weather, the coolant in the heat exchangers gets real cold fast. Then when that super-cooled coolant hits those cylinder walls quickly from hard throttle application, it cools the cylinder and shrinks it to a size smaller than the still-warm piston. badda-Bing! Siezure!

Let us know what the diagnosis is, and please post pictures for us to see. I hope your dealer gets this unfortunate failure fixed fast and at no cost to you.

Thanx, G2O (Gettin2Old)[/b]

I have heard of cold seizure but I don't believe that was the problem. My brother and I had been riding for a couple of hours only stopping for a minute or two to chat. Could it happen that quickly? I guess I'm new to the modern high performance sleds. I'm used to riding old Phazers and Exciters which are much lower performance and very reliable. Are there any other common problems or issues with these sleds I should be aware of? I'll let you all know what went wrong as soon as I know. Thanks.

 

[braaap11889]

what did the digital temp gauge read when you shut it down. How high were the RPMs when you hit the kill switch? Anything else possible electronics not working speedo wack, mis firing? backfiring? Did you do a long run before it?

 

[SwiftJonny]

I stopped by the dealership today to see what was up. They had my sled apart and it was a ring failure. It flew apart real good. The head is trashed, the cylinder walls are scored, and the piston is cooked. They mechanic was even a little unsure of the crank bearings. They still aren't sure what could have caused this other than just random catastrophic failure. I really should have taken my camera so I could have documented the damage. I'll try to pop by there tommorrow.

 

[braaap11889]

Wow I hope this isn't a common thing. I am going to canada in a week from tommorow and we plan to ride around 1000 miles in 4 days but if we get caught up in some nice riding or off trail excursions it is no problem for us to just turn around at any point or make a loop. Hopefully they have snow and my sled runs mint like it has so far for the 250 miles I have put on. Good luck hope the dealer treats you well.

 

[whetstonetwo]

That sucks. Nothing worse than a new sled in the shop for a major issue early in the season. Hopefully the parts will be readily available and your dealer will get you back on the snow quick. Going to be watching the CFIs with interest this year. Hopefully these types of issues will be few. Good luck.[/b]

Hey Ray J. I've got a new switchback also. You made mention of an oil pump adjustment. Is that a recall from Polaris. I snowchecked mine and haven't ridden more than two miles so far. I've not gotten anything from Polaris on it as far as anything needing attention.
Thanks

 

[ontflatlander]

I stopped by the dealership today to see what was up. They had my sled apart and it was a ring failure. It flew apart real good. The head is trashed, the cylinder walls are scored, and the piston is cooked. They mechanic was even a little unsure of the crank bearings. They still aren't sure what could have caused this other than just random catastrophic failure. I really should have taken my camera so I could have documented the damage. I'll try to pop by there tommorrow.[/b]

SwiftJonny,
Any updates??? I know things happen , but 700 miles !!! SAD !!! I hope your dealer can locate the problem . A good wrench should be able to come up with some answers. It's a motor not "Rocket Science".
I had a motor go down on an XLT and the dealer took an engine out of one on the showroom floor for me. I was impressed.
Anyway, good luck with it .
ontflatlander

 

[ray j]

Hey Ray J. I've got a new switchback also. You made mention of an oil pump adjustment. Is that a recall from Polaris. I snowchecked mine and haven't ridden more than two miles so far. I've not gotten anything from Polaris on it as far as anything needing attention.
Thanks[/b]

You should have received a recall from your dealer. Bulleton #S-06-14AB is a mandatory oil pump check/adjustment. See page 4 of this post "Oil Pump Adjustment" and ExcursionPSD gives a link to the complete bulleton. My 600 CFI was off by three full turns.

 

[ExcursionPSD]

You should have received a recall from your dealer. Bulleton #S-06-14AB is a mandatory oil pump check/adjustment. See page 4 of this post "Oil Pump Adjustment" and ExcursionPSD gives a link to the complete bulleton. My 600 CFI was off by three full turns.[/b]

Ray J,

Glad this information was helpful. As i said in the post, every 600 CFI I have seen checked, needed adjustment. And then, Digital Wrench diagnostic software to verify sensor settings.

 

[SwiftJonny]

The oil pump adjustment was done before I ever picked up the sled, which is great. The dealer is still waiting for parts right now, but it should get back together this week. I can't wait. I'm getting really antsy. I haven't been on a ride for almost 2 weeks and it's driving me nuts!

 

[ontflatlander]

so... any feedback on the cause ???
ontflatlander

 

[SwiftJonny]

A ring failed. Poorly manufactured I'm guessing. It was probably made in China. There's no real cause for a ring to disintegrate that I know of. It just happens and I was the lucky guy it happened to. They are replacing the head, the cylinder, the crank, and the piston. I really hope I have no more problems with this sled because I really really like it. If I do, I will sell it when the warranty is up and buy a yamaha.