jaydaniels
TY 4 Stroke Junkie
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2008
- Messages
- 654
- Location
- Bedford NS Canada
- Country
- Canada
- Snowmobile
- 2017 Sidewinder RTX
We were at -30C or -22F and all 3 apex's would not stay running. All would start, run for about 5-10 seconds, start to stumble and then die. Once they died that was it. Had nothing to do with batter power or drag on engine or anything. It was like they were getting too much fuel. The only thing that worked for us was to warm the coolant slightly by pouring hot water over the coolant line and thermostat housing. I see some people are pouring hot water over the head. What ever it is, warming the engine a slight amout will get them going. What I found most troubling was that we were sitting right beside an MXZ 600, Polaris IQ 600, SRX 700, 3 Skidoo 1200's, a Cat 800 and an 08 Nytro. Apex was the only one that would not run. I also notice people are having trouble with the 2012's. Love my Apex but should not have to pour hot water on engine parts to get the sled to run in cold weather. I'd love to see a fix for this. Worries me taking the sled anywhere when cold temps are in the forecast.
Phatboyc
TY 4 Stroke Master
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2007
- Messages
- 1,038
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Country
- Canada
- Snowmobile
- 2022 Sidewinder
I just wanted to bump up this thread. Last weekend I fouled my Apex for the first time in the same area no less than the OP close to St. Zenon. We were 8 sleds and 3 snow coach (for the kids).
The day prior at home I let it idle for a while I was getting the trailer. Come back and it actually stopped by itself due to being only -1C outside so it was getting warm and engine protection kicked in. I find the Apex heats up fast. For comparison my wife's Vector was still idling right besides it and white fog was still coming out the pipes... I wanted especially the Apex to idle since it was the first time running of the year. I rode the Vector prior weekends to pull the kids sleigh on our land. Once we got to destination we unload from the trailer let it idle a bit but shut both off before the Apex stops by itself again...
Next morning we wake up to -23C. Start my wife's Vector with an overdue battery...no problem it starts. Then head over to my Apex and sleds cranks fast no problem (3rd season with my oversize YTX20-BS battery and love it). Engine starts no problem with the usual idling ruff at first. Instead of waiting beside it until it smooth out I go chat with my friend. Never had a reason not too before. Among all the sleds idling my buddy says "Your sled just died". Strange, I go back and found out its fouled. Never happened to me before and started it in colder temps the past 2 seasons.
Our group didn't have all the tools to get to the spark plugs and honestly I didn't feel like tackling this as a first option.
First I try to give it a 5 minute breaks. Engine sputters but no start. I must of left the starter on for what seems a very long time.
Second I try the max throttle trick while starting and it seems worst with less sputtering. (Can anyone confirm this actually closes the injectors on our Yamaha's and not just based on other 4 strokes like cars engines?)
Third I go back inside, crab a cell and get browsing our beloved site. First thing i read is the hair dryer trick in the air box. I must of done this for 10 minutes trying also to heat the engine and coolant thermostat and sensor. Point the drier back in the airbox while cranking sputtering no more or less than before that's it.
Fourth, my battery is not given up on me so I'm not given up on it yet. Go back inside to do more browsing on the cell. Find the post by jaydaniels, (thanks!) with the hot water over the coolant thermostat trick. Figure I have nothing to lose but have a block of ice in the sled to pull back in the trailer later. We'll what you know, engine sputters like crazy telling me its eager to start. I keep on the starter without pausing and it eventually starts! Now I had to hair drier on in the air box at the same time as I figured it couldn't hurt. But hot water to me is what saved the day! I just wanted to bump this thread to make it easier to find for someone else browsing this site with a tiny cell screen.
Only after getting home and searching this site again I found this other simple trick of disconnecting the fuel pump relay. So I copy it below from the other threads to put all tricks in one spot. So simple not sure why I didn't think of it. Especially as I have the red relay already making it easy to spot. I also have Amsoil 0w40 in it that helped the battery in case anyone wonders.
The day prior at home I let it idle for a while I was getting the trailer. Come back and it actually stopped by itself due to being only -1C outside so it was getting warm and engine protection kicked in. I find the Apex heats up fast. For comparison my wife's Vector was still idling right besides it and white fog was still coming out the pipes... I wanted especially the Apex to idle since it was the first time running of the year. I rode the Vector prior weekends to pull the kids sleigh on our land. Once we got to destination we unload from the trailer let it idle a bit but shut both off before the Apex stops by itself again...
Next morning we wake up to -23C. Start my wife's Vector with an overdue battery...no problem it starts. Then head over to my Apex and sleds cranks fast no problem (3rd season with my oversize YTX20-BS battery and love it). Engine starts no problem with the usual idling ruff at first. Instead of waiting beside it until it smooth out I go chat with my friend. Never had a reason not too before. Among all the sleds idling my buddy says "Your sled just died". Strange, I go back and found out its fouled. Never happened to me before and started it in colder temps the past 2 seasons.
Our group didn't have all the tools to get to the spark plugs and honestly I didn't feel like tackling this as a first option.
First I try to give it a 5 minute breaks. Engine sputters but no start. I must of left the starter on for what seems a very long time.
Second I try the max throttle trick while starting and it seems worst with less sputtering. (Can anyone confirm this actually closes the injectors on our Yamaha's and not just based on other 4 strokes like cars engines?)
Third I go back inside, crab a cell and get browsing our beloved site. First thing i read is the hair dryer trick in the air box. I must of done this for 10 minutes trying also to heat the engine and coolant thermostat and sensor. Point the drier back in the airbox while cranking sputtering no more or less than before that's it.
Fourth, my battery is not given up on me so I'm not given up on it yet. Go back inside to do more browsing on the cell. Find the post by jaydaniels, (thanks!) with the hot water over the coolant thermostat trick. Figure I have nothing to lose but have a block of ice in the sled to pull back in the trailer later. We'll what you know, engine sputters like crazy telling me its eager to start. I keep on the starter without pausing and it eventually starts! Now I had to hair drier on in the air box at the same time as I figured it couldn't hurt. But hot water to me is what saved the day! I just wanted to bump this thread to make it easier to find for someone else browsing this site with a tiny cell screen.
Only after getting home and searching this site again I found this other simple trick of disconnecting the fuel pump relay. So I copy it below from the other threads to put all tricks in one spot. So simple not sure why I didn't think of it. Especially as I have the red relay already making it easy to spot. I also have Amsoil 0w40 in it that helped the battery in case anyone wonders.
