Reverse Issues...Ideas Please

[Fanderson]

My reverse is nonfunctional and I've been trying to track down the issue since last season. I'm used to having to rock it, or pick up the back end to make it work, but now it's doing nothing (except beeping) and I can't hear the reverse servo work anymore when I initially push the reverse button. It seemed to have stopped working about the time I accidentally wired my battery partially wrong last year when I put those two extra ground leads (not the main ground lead, only the extra two) on the positive side. Not sure if it's related to that or not. Anyway, here's what I've done:

1. Checked the 4 amp reverse fuse (and all other fuses). Looked fine, but I swapped it anyway.
2. Removed and checked reverse servo motor operation. Seemed to work fine.
3. Checked the three reverse relays. They seemed to check out ok as well.

It seems like I'm not getting current to the reverse servo because I can't hear it move after pushing the button, although I haven't put a volt meter on it to know for sure.

Any ideas? Maybe a shorted wire somewhere? Seems like it would have blown a fuse first.

 

[budman 1000]

Phazer reverse, now that is a where do we even start question, if you suspect electrical you should confirm you have power going to reverse motor and also confirm the ground is working on that circuit also. There could have a broken wire as the wire gauge is very small on the Phazers and can break easily at connections, check for corrosion at connections and the ground circuit will have small square black boxes on the outside of wiring harness, they are just a cover to usually a 4 or 6 wire ground junction point in the harness, pop the square cover off and check for any signs of corrosion which often has a green tinge to it.
Another problem could be just a week servo motor and won't shift.
A common problem is your drive belt may not be adjusted proper and when your motor is running the primary clutch is pulling on the belt just enough that the pressure on your secondary clutch and drive shaft won't let your servo motor shift into reverse, a common sign is having to rock your sled to get it to shift; another cause of this is to high of rpm when at idle also and if you combine high idle with to tight a drive belt your sled will not #*$&@ in reverse.

its a big read and I hope this helps you out some.

 

[Fanderson]

Phazer reverse, now that is a where do we even start question, if you suspect electrical you should confirm you have power going to reverse motor and also confirm the ground is working on that circuit also. There could have a broken wire as the wire gauge is very small on the Phazers and can break easily at connections, check for corrosion at connections and the ground circuit will have small square black boxes on the outside of wiring harness, they are just a cover to usually a 4 or 6 wire ground junction point in the harness, pop the square cover off and check for any signs of corrosion which often has a green tinge to it.
Another problem could be just a week servo motor and won't shift.
A common problem is your drive belt may not be adjusted proper and when your motor is running the primary clutch is pulling on the belt just enough that the pressure on your secondary clutch and drive shaft won't let your servo motor shift into reverse, a common sign is having to rock your sled to get it to shift; another cause of this is to high of rpm when at idle also and if you combine high idle with to tight a drive belt your sled will not #*$&@ in reverse.

its a big read and I hope this helps you out some.

Budman, those are great suggestions, thanks! I wasn't aware of the black boxes on the wiring harness for ground connections. I'll have to look closer at them.

I'll have to check your clutch and idle suggestions as well. It definitely idles pretty high until it's really fully warmed up, which usually isn't until a few minutes into the ride. Haven't had problems getting off the trailer in the past (after warm up light is off), but it could be that I have a combination of a couple of things you suggest. Tracking this thing down is definitely .

 

[cannondale27]

Which belt are you running also?

 

[Fanderson]

It's a stock Yamaha belt as far as I know. I'll take a look when I get home to be sure. Does it make a difference?

 

[cannondale27]

Yes there were two different sizes later one was intended to help reverse engagement. Narrower and sits lower in secondary along with larger gap in primary.

 

[SnoNinja]

One easy way to test if it is a belt deflection issue is to pull the clutch side panel off, pull the belt off and start the sled. Push the reverse button, and it should shift. If it doesn't shift, rotate the secondary clutch clockwise a bit by hand. If it doesn't shift with the belt off and with a slight rotation of the secondary, it is most likely something a bit more complex. Not sure how experienced you are around sleds, so I will qualify by saying do not push the gas without belt on or you could over rev the machine causing damage. Also, be extremely careful working around primary clutch with sled running or serious injury could result.