08 vector died suddenly, How do I pull codes?

[DoubleJ]

I have a 2008 RS Vector that I was riding last week that suddenly quit while on the trail. It was like someone hit the kill switch. Now when you turn the key it is dead to the world. I had just started it about 2 minutes before it died after taking a 15 minute break from riding. About an hour previous to this happening, I did snap a belt that created quite a mess i the engine bay. I was able to pick up the large parts of the belt that had shattered, but there was still quite a bit of the fibers and dust. I was unable to find any blown fuses.

The reason I am asking how to pull the codes is that there are a lot of threads mentioning the meanings of the codes but little mention of how to actually get them. I saw one thread make mention of holding down a select and reset button at the same time, but mine only has the reset button.

 

[Vectornut]

Check the main fuse next to the battery.

 

[Metallicat]

Or check the harness block next to battery for corrosion. Mine was corroded and would no longer run nor start.

 

[DoubleJ]

Thanks for the replies. It was indeed the main fuse. I am now going to keep extra fuses and a set of bent needle nose pliers in the trunk for this sort of thing.

Previous to this failure I had a similar failure to this except it was the "head" fuse popping. I brought it to a local dealer and they found a wire that rubbed through where my visor was soldered into the accessory wire. They fixed it and put in a fuse that was 5 amps higher than the original because they were out of the right one and "It really shouldn't matter."

So when the main fuse popped this time it was with that higher amperage fuse in the "head"spot. When I replaced the main fuse, I also replaced the "head" fuse with the appropriate amperage.

My plan is when I go out to where I store and ride my sled, I want to look at as much of the wiring I can to see if there is any other places that I could possibly have some worn spots and shorting.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues? I am going to look at the spot where the visor plug is spliced in, but i'd also like some recommendations of other spots to look in the wiring.

 

[DoubleJ]

Here's a quick update. This season, I have been intermittently blowing the ignition fuse. I replaced the 20 amp fuse with a 30 amp as a guy claiming to have a lot of experience with Yamahas that stopped along the trail during one of my many breakdowns said to do. The 30 amp made it run longer, then blow the fuse. So I limped it back to my buddy's place where we took off the covers and the airbox, and started looking at and moving around wires in an effort to find signs of damage.

After an hour or so of looking around, we found this harness with a plug against the frame with some worn insulation (but no copper showing) and some signs of arcing on the frame where it was touching. I put a piece of black duct tape on the frame where it appeared to be arcing and wrapped the bundle of wires with some black duct tape too.

See the pictures:

This is the harness in question:


You can see the harness in the center of the photo, zoomed out for reference:


And here you can see some of the marks on the frame from the arcing:


After the makeshift repair, we went out for ~30 mile ride, and the issue was gone! Today I went out for ~40 mile ride and at the very end of the ride, the ignition fuse popped again
When the fuse goes, it does not matter if I am turning, or going straight. It also goes when I am at both part and full throttle.

So, my questions are:

What does that harness do? Could its wear and possible arcing to ground cause that fuse to go? Is it even part of the ignition circuit?

Are there any common causes for ignition fuses to go like this?

Before the next time I plan to ride, I am going to peel off the duct tape on the wiring and wrap each individual wire with electrical tape. I was also thinking of placing a thicker insulator of the frame.

If I can't figure this out, does anyone know of a technician who specializes in snowmobile wiring, specifically Yamaha?

Thanks in advance for any advise that you have to offer!

 

[pat the rat]

hmmm,my buddy is having a similar issue with a 07 venture,he blew the fuse late last season and again not too long ago,he replaced it and will find out today as we are going on a trip

 

[steiner]

Have you checked the connector for the ign switch? It's the connection between the ign switch and the main harness of the sled. When you remove the top panel (to remove the headlight pod) its the connector you disconnect to put the panel aside. It has 4 wires, Red. Red/White, Brown, Brown/White
Have seen a few loose connections in there causing the connector itself to turn brown from arcing inside of it. This high resistance would cause a fuse to blow.
Taping up the individual ground wires at that ground block will not help. They all go to ground.
Did you check the other two ground blocks for corrosion?

 

[Irv]

Don't know if this will help, but put some dielectric grease between all the electrical connections you can get at.

Just be careful taking them apart as some are fragile and some are a bear to get separated.

 

[pistons]

What is under the black cap on the connector in question? Get the cap off and see if it is burnt up under the cap.

 

[DoubleJ]

Taping up the individual ground wires at that ground block will not help. They all go to ground.

Those wires are ground wires? They are all brown with yellow dots.

 

[steiner]

Taping up the individual ground wires at that ground block will not help. They all go to ground.

Those wires are ground wires? They are all brown with yellow dots.

Yes. Thats why they are called Ground Blocks

 

[Koenig]

Have a look at this thread.... It will describe the locations of possible electrical blocks going south.
There are other threads, but this has some good discussion and pics.
http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=

 

[DoubleJ]

I never really thought about high resistance causing fuses to go, I always thought it would be a lack of resistance that allows the electrons to move faster and causes the fuses to break. I will check the ignition switch wiring and all of the ground blocks that I can find.

Why do these things have ground blocks, and what do they do? doesn't it make more sense to simply bolt the negative wires right to the frame?

 

[DoubleJ]

Yesterday, I took all of the covers, headlight and air box and checked just about every connection that I could find. I also found 4 ground blocks. I pulled the bridges from everyone, inspected and put each back in. No signs of any burning, and minimal corrosion. After reassembly, I put in a 30 AMP fuse and rode the remainder of the day without issue. I am a bit perplexed. I am now going to carry a large bag of extra fuses and hope for the best. I don't know what else to do!

I think I'll bring it in to my local Yamaha Dealer (Gowanda Starcraft) in Spring and have them do all of the maintenance stuff and have them take a look at the wiring.

Thank you for all of the advise!

 

[DoubleJ]

I still haven't had a chance to take it to the dealer yet, but I have been doing a bit of reading. I found some info that lead me to think that there could be fuel pump or filter issue. From what I understand, the fuel pump is on the same fuse as the ignition system. If the fuel filter is plugged or a fuel pump is malfunctioning creating a higher resistance, I think it could feasably blow the IGN fuse. Has anyone else experieced this and had positive results by changing a fuel filter? I am growing frustrated with the constant fear of blowing fuses. I have had offers from friends to trailer up to Tug Hill and Canada, but I don't have a ton of faith in this thing on a trip of that caliber. I bought a Yamaha because they are known for reliability, and when it is running, it's great. But I just don't have much trust in it. It's weird, but my friends Doo's seem to be much more reliable. Part of me want to just trade it in on a new Indy 600.