Brand new VK Pro is overheating

[YukonMP]

I brought it home yesterday and let it run 15 minutes when I unloaded. That is as per the break in procedure in the manual. Our temperatures are just below freezing. No issues.

Took it out this afternoon and only got 4-5 kms and the warning light came on. I dipped off trail and the light stayed on so I didn't push it ... parked and opened up the hood. Started out seriously getting in the loose stuff whenever I could and the light soon came back on. Turned around to head home and it was behaving so I played off trail in an open area. Thought it might have straightened itself out but no, the light came on again. Limped home and had to pull over one more time.

I never heard the fan run and I would expect to but am completely unfamiliar with the machine so not sure. Checked the fuse, I looked ok but I will swap it out tomorrow. I'm going to put a piece of tape on the fan to see if it moves. I wonder if it could have air in the system. How do I get the air out if that is the trouble. And I have to admit to not buying water wetter for the new sled but there is more to this than that I think.

On the other hand I have to report this thing blew my mind. I couldn't believe how it maneuvered around the trees and up hill and cross hill. I know many of you are quite familiar with this models capabilities but I had no idea. I was looking for a bit more deep snow capability than my MP but this thing is in another league. The engine and clutches are so smooth and responsive. I have never been a high performance guy but I had the skis off the ground today.

Thanks for your time guys, best of the season.

 

[paradise]

Sounds like the thermostat is sticking and won’t open up.

 

[74Nitro]

The first thing I would do is check for air, although in all my years of PDI'ing Yamaha's I've never seen it happen.
Should be a bleed screw at back of sled somewhere.

 

[YukonMP]

Thanks guys, I hope to get on to this this afternoon. The thermostat was one of my thoughts but it felt as if all the hoses were hot. I'll check again since it is easy to miss things when stuck on the side of the trail and "under pressure".

Regards the bleed screw, not sure where Yamaha is likely to have hidden that. The heat exchangers in the front of the tunnel are about the rearmost part of the system but they are of course low so I'm not sure. I see my VIP membership has lapsed so I'll fix that and request a manual.

Thanks again, will keep you posted.

 

[BACK COUNTRY YAMAHA]

If it’s like the older pros, which the chassis is. The bleeder screw is located in the under seat storage area on the right side under a rubber plug. Good to hear you are pleased on how the sled handles, alway said the pro was a underrated sled compared to what is out there in it’s class! Cheers!

 

[74Nitro]

Yes, pull up a parts diagram. #55
https://www.cyclepartsnation.com/oemparts/a/yam/594845f987a8661238ac67e1/frame

 

[YukonMP]

You guys are amazing, thanks a lot. I'm on to it right after lunch.

 

[YukonMP]

As I charged out the door to check for an air lock it struck me that I have no idea what I'm doing. From what I have gathered in other threads I want to get the sled on a slope, rear end high. I'll locate the plug and loosen, start the sled and see if it burps. I guess I may as well run it right up to temp since it may take a while for the air to move around. All the while I have to make sure that as the air leaves and it draws from the overflow I don't let that go empty and let more air in.

Is that about it?

 

[YukonMP]

So here is the progress report. Swapped 15A fuses, fan for ignition and scotch taped a fan blade to the fan housing. Went for a short ride and the temp warning light came on. The fan is not coming on. It looks like the relays are under the air box so I'll pull it into the shop and dig in.

For a while I was really thinking air lock because what I had not mentioned was that I had a inline coolant heater installed.

 

[74Nitro]

So here is the progress report. Swapped 15A fuses, fan for ignition and scotch taped a fan blade to the fan housing. Went for a short ride and the temp warning light came on. The fan is not coming on. It looks like the relays are under the air box so I'll pull it into the shop and dig in.

For a while I was really thinking air lock because what I had not mentioned was that I had a inline coolant heater installed.

Any chance something got unplugged while the in line heater was getting installed.
Also, given that an inline heater was installed, that is more reason to suspect an airlock especially if coolant was drained while installing.
Air in the system could cause a false reading to the sensor that trips the fan to come on.

 

[YukonMP]

Good info 74Nitro, the fire is lit in the shop and I hope to get out there tonight.

 

[YukonMP]

If it’s like the older pros, which the chassis is. The bleeder screw is located in the under seat storage area on the right side under a rubber plug. Good to hear you are pleased on how the sled handles, alway said the pro was a underrated sled compared to what is out there in it’s class! Cheers!

No rubber plug at that location, if it was that easy it would be done by now. It looks like they have decided to fuse or glue a cover over the access hole after they have used it. I will probably cut it open tomorrow but I need to borrow a Dremel or something to cut it out. The spot is a couple inches into the forward section of the box, not directly under the seat but in the tunnel that goes forward under the dash so I don't have vertical clearance.
It would be nice to do a neat job so I could get a plug later but I'll do what I have to now and run with duct tape for a while.

 

[YukonMP]

I cut the hole out today and there is no longer a bleed bolt in that location. On the bright side, I now have a drain hole in my under seat storage box.
Fired it up with the front end raised WAY up and got some air out but not enough that I had to add, the fan never came on and the temp warning came on.

Following up on another suggestion that something was unplugged I traced the fan and found it is unplugged. Still looking for the other end but I should be able to find it. Worst case, I enlist someone with younger eyes and smaller hands.

 

[YukonMP]

Just reporting that it looks like my problem has been solved. Took the sled out for an hour and no issues. Thanks everyone for the advice. In the end it was pretty simple but I'm no mechanic by a long ways.

 

[Dropjapan]

As I charged out the door to check for an air lock it struck me that I have no idea what I'm doing. From what I have gathered in other threads I want to get the sled on a slope, rear end high. I'll locate the plug and loosen, start the sled and see if it burps. I guess I may as well run it right up to temp since it may take a while for the air to move around. All the while I have to make sure that as the air leaves and it draws from the overflow I don't let that go empty and let more air in.

Is that about it?

For what its worth , this may or may not help
I had a similar problem; same machine / same conditions - right out of the box !
The machine was originally delivered by a Yamaha dealer
Checked everything i could think of and then finally double checked the sump oil levels;
They were below "low", even though the sled was new
I topped them up to proper levels and had no repeat of the warning lights

None of this would be very interesting, except i just had another major service done ( different dealer and 18 mths later)
After delivery this time, the exact same thing happened;
So i checked the oil levels and found they were down
Topped up again yesterday to correct level and now it sounds better and no warning lights any more

Something seems wrong with the dealer specs for oil volumes - and this is in Japan (?)