Testing a stator: More helpful info - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

Blaine1 · 10-20-2011, 05:53 PM

Testing a stator…I was reminded of a piece of info that I was going to post at one time but forgot to. This pertains more to the 1990’s Cat stators and a little less to the newer style stators. Everyone knows when they look at their stator ohm specs that they give a range. For instance a stator that is supposed to measure 450 ohms the manual may give you a range of 380 to 500 or so depending on the temperature of the stator. When stators are warm after use they will give you a higher ohm measurement. The flip side of course is when a stator is cold it will give you a lower ohm reading henceforth the “range” a manual will give you which is perfectly fine. Here is an issue guys run into and don’t even know it sometimes. A stator’s ohms are based on the amount of wire on the coil..i.e. “X” amount of wire will give you “X” amount of ohms. This is pretty much based upon room temperature readings. When guys measure their stators when cold they may see something like 440 ohms or 435 ohms and think “It must be ok because it is in the range”. If at room temperature or cold if a stator ever measures MORE ohms than the recommended amount, in this instance 450, then it is bad. I posted that info last year but here is Pt.2 to this. I had a stator sent to me today off of a 1998 ZR600EFI sled. When I received it the stator had been in the mail box for a while at about 45 degrees or so outside. As soon as I brought it in I measured it. I measure all coils on all received stators before I work on them. All of the injector coils measured ok, fuel pump measured ok, lighting coils measured ok and the stator ignition coils measured 435 and 42 which according to the manual is ok plus neither coil was higher than the recommended 450 and 45 ohms. So, from experience I let it warm up to room temp in the basement…roughly 65 degrees or so and measured it again and it measured 45 ohms and 455 ohms. If you understand everything I wrote above then you understand that when the low speed coil measured 455 ohms that is more than the 450 ohms and the stator was at room temp so I know it was bad. Correlating it to what I said earlier, the ohms are based on the length/amount of wire on the coil so a coil doesn’t all of a sudden get more wire on it. Where I am going with this whole post is that guys ask us rewind guys all the time “How do I know it is bad?” and there are several answers that cover the spectrum from a coil being totally burned up and you can’t measure any ohms to a marginal stator that may even measure 440 ohms when at room temp. Other than measuring the AC voltage output from the ignition coils themselves sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint the stator as your problem. The number that it is hard to nail down as rewind guys in the minimum ohms you should see even when the coil is cold. I’ve seen coils measure 430ohms and are still good but in my example today I had a stator measure 435ohms when cold but when checked at room temp it ended up actually being bad. The same can be also said for the high ohm range..sometimes if the coil is shorting internally you can see very large/high ohm readings after the sled is run. The hardest stators to diagnose as bad are the marginal ones without checking actual AC voltage output from the stator which must be done using special measuring devices because a normal multimeter can’t measure it. I wrote everything above to basically say this: IF you have a no spark condition and the ohms aren’t real close even when the stator is cold, take the stator out and test it again at room temp and see if at room temp the stator actually shows its true ohm readings and reveals that one of the coils measures bad. If I wouldn’t have known to recheck the stator I received today after it was at room temp I would have thought that it was ok/in range or at least not showing any obvious signs of failure and sent it back to the guy….and I would have been wrong.

Blaine1 · 01-27-2012, 06:58 AM

I read the above post and even my head started to spin a little and I know what I was trying to say:

Long story short: A stator is bad if it measures higher than the ohm spec. If it is supposed to be 450 and it measures 455, it is bad. A cold stator will measure fewer ohms so if you check the stator in a sled outside it may measure 440 and you think it is ok but if you checked it again at 50, 60 or 70 degrees it may measure higher like 455 and only then does it show its true colors...that it is bad. Same goes for the high speed coil.

I've done a lot of stator testing and last year I thought that there was no way a stator that only measured a couple of ohms higher could be bad. So I headed out to the local lake with 6 stators that measured anywhere from 452 to 465 for the low speed coil. Well....every one of them was bad. A couple of them the sled wouldn't start, a couple it started but ran like crap and after I shut it off it wouldn't start again, and lastly there were a couple that ran for a while...30-45min but the sled didn't run real good and eventually after shutting it off it didn't start. So I can say without a doubt that a stator measuring higher than the OEM acceptable peak range (in this case 450) is bad.

csdwarf11 · 02-01-2012, 06:44 PM

I was about to make a post, and i still might but ive been having trouble with a bog on my snowmobile, 94 zr 700, low speed coil COLD is 140 ohms and up to temp I got a reading of 203 ohms.

low speed was 16 ohms cold and 22 ohms hot.

is this stator bad? how big of a change is allowed?

Blaine1 · 02-01-2012, 08:09 PM

That is about right for a difference in stator ohms when both cold and hot. As far as a bog, does it happen right away, does it do it only after it warms up? Have you bypassed the TSS/kill switch using the jumper wire for testing yet? When it bogs does it totally die? When it bogs what do the plugs look like? Are they wet or dry? Have you checked compression yet?

csdwarf11 · 02-01-2012, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

That is about right for a difference in stator ohms when both cold and hot. As far as a bog, does it happen right away, does it do it only after it warms up? Have you bypassed the TSS/kill switch using the jumper wire for testing yet? When it bogs does it totally die? When it bogs what do the plugs look like? Are they wet or dry? Have you checked compression yet?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

As far as a bog, does it happen right away, does it do it only after it warms up?

At first I thought it was better when cold, but first thing today I went out and started it, tried to move it up over a tiny snowbank i had it parked on and it was bogging.

So i would say it is boggy all the time in general..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

Have you bypassed the TSS/kill switch using the jumper wire for testing yet?

I have used a jumper tire to connect the outside wires in the 3 prong connector on the handle bars ( used a ohm meter to test that it was the throttle switch)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

When it bogs does it totally die?

It does not totally die, as in engine dies, but it loses all horsepower, it will not even have enough power to smoke the belt, it smokes a lot when you pin it ( oiler full) but even if you try all throttle positions it will not come out if it. When it bogs, you have to get the sled up to speed and get the engine up to speed before it takes off again.

When you get "past" the bog the sled takes off like a rocket ship and spins the track right from underneath me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

Are they wet or dry? Have you checked compression yet?

Honestly have not checked plugs after it bogs, what to you reccomend? i get it to bog? hit the kill switch while still on the throttle? and check them?

Compression is good, about 135 in each cylinder, about on par with my 550 and 580.

If i got it right, this should be fairly easy to read and a answered each question.

thanks a lot!

Blaine1 · 02-02-2012, 08:34 AM

If you have bright blue spark when cold and when warm it is probably not spark related. Maybe a stuck choke, are the carbs in sync, when it is bogging shut it off and see if the plugs are wet or dry. It could be getting too much gas oreven not enough. When they wre too lean they bog bad too.

csdwarf11 · 02-02-2012, 08:59 AM

Alright, Im kind of also thinking that now, thanks

hunterrider · 11-28-2012, 05:12 PM

Here a great tutorial on how to test a Yamaha Warrior Stator I found while searching for some instructions on my Arctic Cat. The same principles for testing apply for testing an Arctic Cat Stator. Here the link to the YouTube video

How to test a Yamaha Warrior stator - YouTube

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stevegoetsch · 02-07-2013, 05:30 PM

Anyone tried a stator from POWERMAX USA? Ordered from ebay new $50.00 includes shipping, and 1 year warranty for my 97 ZR 580. Cat wanted $700.00. Received it in 3 days and I am installing it. First observation is seems to look like good quality, I will keep posted on how it works. For $50.00 it's worth a try, Arctic Cat can keep there high priced inventory!

Blaine1 · 02-07-2013, 05:34 PM

Most guys are not happy with aftermarket stators...OEM or OEM rewind is usually the way to go.

Arcticcatjf94 · 03-12-2013, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaine1

If you have bright blue spark when cold and when warm it is probably not spark related. Maybe a stuck choke, are the carbs in sync, when it is bogging shut it off and see if the plugs are wet or dry. It could be getting too much gas oreven not enough. When they wre too lean they bog bad too.

Hi, I'm new to forums but been reading a lot about spark problems lately since I'm trying to find a problem with my arctic cat ZR700 1994. I recently traded the sled so I'm not even sure if the engine is original or so but it says 700 on the heads and paper work says 94.

Anyways here is the problem and what I've done to try to solve. Sled was running good for first 30 minutes of season, pulling my hands of handlebars. Suddenly started to bog, had a hard time to bring it back home (5 minutes at hardly 20miles/ hour).
Cleaned both carbs, then realized spark was very weak yellow/orange (not good from what I read). Unplugged wire from stator to handlebars and jumped it, still boggy, no better results. Forgot to mention, always clutch side plug very wet and not much sign of firing. Other side better, drier and show color of a bit better firing.
Swapped, the spark plugs wiring, same, no difference. So now I'm thinking CDI box or stator from reading the blogs. But, from what I read, my stator should be with 4 sprung connectors and its got triangular one. So what are the specs for this stator? Could it be wrong stator?? Also, there is a pulser on it with 2 cut wires but it ran good as I said for 30 minutes and this pulser wasn't connected at the time either??? Plus I can't find any cut/loose wires that could connect to it.
And last, CDI box is loosely attached to airbox, permitting to vibrate a lot.

I've spent lots of time looking to solve this thing, I'm getting discouraged as snow is melting fast! Please help! Lol!

Blaine1 · 03-12-2013, 09:39 PM

EFI or carb?

Arcticcatjf94 · 03-12-2013, 10:00 PM

Carb. No TSS no wires on carbs

Blaine1 · 03-13-2013, 11:38 AM

Specs for the stator and how to test:

Arctic Cat 1994 ZR 580 Stator Test - YouTube

Arcticcatjf94 · 03-13-2013, 02:25 PM

Thank you very much. Will try that this Saturday when I get to country house and will get back with results.
Btw, it's the first video I hear talking about ZR700 carb model stator which is why I was confused on what specs to use. But it seems after reading so much about it that although Arctic Cat has many models, those years only come with either the 450 ohms +45 ohms or the 160 ohms+17 ohms coils in them.

Blaine1 · 03-13-2013, 02:35 PM

Yes...pretty much those are the 2 options.