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Warrior Overheating? Problem - Or Normal For Conditions?

VT_BluYamaha54

Lifetime Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
226
Location
Vermont
Country
USA
Snowmobile
2012 Vector LTX
2004 RX-! Warrior
1984 Phazer (Antique)
Has anyone had problems with the temperature warning coming on? My Warrior - not yet broken in - riding on a hard packed / partially plowed road for about 1.5mi at around 15-20mph when I noticed the indicator came on. It happened on the way back too so it was not a fluke. I have checked the coolant reservoir and it is at the COLD line when cold per the spec. The track is studded and there are no engine modifications. I know that my 600SXR would not have had a problem with cooling based on the same conditions. Is the lack of a rear exchanger that much of a problem for the Warrior?
It went out soon after I got off trail into some loose snow but I am concerned. I ride allot of trails in Canada that are very similar in snow conditions. My dealer maintains that this is a condition specific problem and there is nothing wrong with the sled. Anyone have any other experiences or suggestions?
 

My 03 RX1 Mountain overheats all the time. I was told that Yamaha was looking into the problem, but I won't hold my breath. I contacted the people at Mountain Performance and they sold me some high dollar "ice scratchers". You may look back at some old posts. Their is some that have added rear exchangers, and it seems like I read were someone made some better ice scratchers that mount on the skis.
 
That is the norm, mine comes on at same time as mach z s that i ride with, i added the rear exchanger from the viper and a temp guage, hopefully that will keep it about 10 degrees cooler.its less then a 100 bucks canadian and only takes about 2 hours to install
 
I installed a temperature gauge on my warrior and noticed in light snow conditions she gets hot pretty quickly (200+). I didn't notice it get that hot that quick on my RX-1 but I also didn't install my Temp gauge on it when it was brand new like on the warrior. I'm pretty confident it's probably running a little warmer because of break in. I never did get a light and at one point my gauge read 220. Actually, I have never gotten the light on either sled.
 
rear cooler

it's one of a sxviper mtn, not really a freebie but worth it for the peace of mind
 

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Overheating? Problem - Or Normal For Conditions

I would expect ANY engine to run hotter until broken in but being an engineer - and someone who has had allot of confidence in Yamaha over the years - I would also expect adequate design for worst case conditions. I for one am pretty disappointed to have a sled that cost almost $10K that gets hot "like all the other brands". I've had Yamahas since the early '80's and have had many "good will adjustments".
I have never had a Yamaha that had the light come on and know that the conditions we run here in the Northeast DO consist of hard packed trails / logging roads. We just don't ride anything else! This will be a big issue for many of us.
I for one will make it a point to address this right away with my dealer in hopes that enough "noise" will get attention from Yamaha.
The heat exchanger TUNDRA added makes the most sense and I doubt it would cost Yamaha much - compared to lost good will / customer satisfaction. I am going to wait and see where my complaints at the dealer level go. I will let everyone know. Maybe nothing but as the saying goes: "You don't get if you don't ask".
 
FYI -
Spoke to the service mgr at my dealer today and he had just gotten off the phone with another unhappy Warrior owner so he is going to discuss it with Yamaha. He says most owners he talks to have heard about the adding of the exchanger and seems to agree Yamaha should 'participate'.
I cannot understand how Yamaha thinks this engine will get adequate cooling here in the East with only the side exchangers. Anyone who looks at where the snow goes can see it is thrown up in back above + onto the snow flap.

The guy I ride with has a '02 Ski Doo 600 Legend. Of course it has a nice gauge (which Yamaha should think about) but his gauge never got near the upper end. (It also has a full tunnel length exchanger!)
 
Hey VT,
I have had the same problem the last few weekends but chalked it up to conditions. With all the waterbars we still have on the trails here I noticed that my sled had to work just to get down the trail but as long as I was moving at least 30 mph it cooled right off. It was kind of frustrating but at least I know the 3 minute idle auto shutoff works. Hopefully we will get some cold this week to start hardening the trail.
 
I'm going to pursue it since I've never experienced a problem with any other liquid cooled machine I've owned.
When you think about the conditions it has happened under, it really isn't that extreme. Think about Spring riding? What will happen then?
I still maintain that the design is faulty. It needs a rear exchanger for the times you are not playing n the powder!
 
I noticed the problem only after installing heel clickers , which has upped the engine operating range , The snow has blown off of my lake ,and is all hard packed now ,I guess I'll have to get a rear heat exchanger also.
 
VT_BluYahama54:

I just got back from a 620 mile trip in northern Wisconsin. The trails had limited snow towards the end of our trip. The Viper temp warning light came on about twice a day for three days, but not once on my 03 RX-1 shorty. With 2,500 miles on RX-1, the temp warning light has never come on.
 
The over heating situation seems to happen more with the longer track sleds, like the Warrior or the Mountain. If you look in the rear where the coolant tube goes from 1 side to the other in the rear, you will see that the Shorty track will through snow right on the tube. On the Warrior and the Mountain the track is long and the snow comming off the track won't come near the tube. I belive thats just enough to go over the edge and over heat.
 
I rode 350 miles on my Warrior with no temp light ever coming on. Mostly groomed trail but we did ride ride about 15 miles of road with limited cover. On the last day at a few degrees above freezing my buddies Viper temp light came on numerous times on a groomed trail but mine never came on.
 


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