98 700 rmk ( i think) ISSUES - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

littleredstroke · 12-24-2012, 11:29 PM

ok so i am new to riding, my gf has got me into it in the last few years, She had a extra 02 rmk 700 i learned to ride on , and i spent a little time on a their dragon 800, well she found a old sled and got it for me for christmas, she said it was a 98 700 rmk ( body style of the older indys from what i can tell) . she had a mechanic tear apart and clean up the carb, said it was in good shape, it has two aftermarket pipes/cans on it, it has been regeared a little lower dont know how much, but has sat for 4 years. starts and runs good after 2-3 pulls, all vacum lines and fuel lines have been gone through as well.

I do not know a dang thing about these sleds. im not incompetent, I wrench on trucks all the time i just dont know where to start. when i started it the headlights didnt come on, or the spedo/tach. the grip warmers didnt come on either. there are two toggle switched on the right side below the choke and the top one they said was instead of a key, and i dont know what the bottom one is. are these stock? or any ideas what could cause the gauges/ lights not to work? any help will be appreciated

**BC_Dan** · 12-25-2012, 12:09 AM

First thing to check would be grounds. Then voltage regulator, then the lighting coil in the stator. All three can contribute to loss of lights. Ground and lighting coil are probably most common. Usually, if the regulator goes out, it blows all the bulbs, so if your bulbs are intact, you can probably rule that one out.

I had a 97 RMK with twin pipes on it. I re-geared it to about 80 mph and not much could beat me to that speed! It was a fun sled.

One of the toggle switches near the ignition and below the choke lever is for the high/off/low settings for the grip/thumb heaters. The sled came with an ignition switch and key, but someone must have lost the key once and decided a toggle switch was just as good. Just a guess there

Welcome to the forum!

littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 08:03 AM

thanks man, i am excited to learn about these things, the gf thought it would be a good first sled that i can trash around in untill i get better at riding. could you tell me where the regulator is? and is the light coil replaceable? or is it part of the stator

**RJ Gleason** · 12-25-2012, 10:20 AM

You will mot often find the regulator [square box with 2 to 4 wires] mounted just above and behind the chain case.

joshkidner · 12-25-2012, 11:13 AM

buy a replacment ignition key. polaris ones are about 25 dollars but you can get one almost just like it at any lawn and garden for bout 10. check all of your bulbs. are they blown? if so you prob. blew your regulator. another thing is to make sure your ground is tight and corrosion free. good luck!

**BC_Dan** · 12-25-2012, 12:46 PM

From looking at the Polaris parts diagrams, it looks like the lighting coil is not separate.

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littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 03:20 PM

I will have to check the bulbs tonight. What about the gauges not working?

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**BC_Dan** · 12-25-2012, 06:35 PM

The tach works off of the same part of the stator, so that would make sense that it's bad. The speedometer should be a mechanical cable drive and should work regardless of the electronics.

littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 09:21 PM

So worst case its a bad stator, what's the price on one of those ? And how hard to change

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meburdick · 12-25-2012, 09:27 PM

Sounds like you would benefit from knowing exactly what your sled "used to be" (and maybe still is). Check the sticker on the right side of the tunnel for a model number. Decoding that will tell you what the sled left the factory as and could help you out in finding proper parts for much of it if you need them.

**BC_Dan** · 12-25-2012, 10:25 PM

Babbitts has it for sale for less than $275

1998 Polaris 700 RMK (0980966) Magneto 700 Rmk & European 700 Rmk E980966 | Babbitts Polaris Parts House

littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 10:35 PM

ok. thanks. another newb question.. whats a reed?

joshkidner · 12-25-2012, 10:50 PM

speedometer like said above has nothing at all to do with electronics. there should be a cable that comes from under the driven clutch to the tach.

joshkidner · 12-25-2012, 10:52 PM

speedometer like said above has nothing at all to do with electronics. there should be a cable that comes from under the driven clutch to the tach. idk anything about reeds. check you bulbs! good luck!

**BC_Dan** · 12-25-2012, 11:04 PM

Because 2-strokes pressurize the crankcase on the downstroke, there has to be a mechanism to keep things from blowing back through the carbs. Some engines used piston porting to do that. Others used reed valves between the crankcase and the carburetors. The 700 has reeds.

To remove the stator requires removal of the exhaust, then removal of the recoil housing. Then the flywheel needs to come off. Polaris flywheels are notorious for being stubborn to remove, use a good flywheel puller or you will break stuff. The stator plate is under the flywheel.

littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 11:12 PM

Ok thanks. I know absolutely nothing about 2 strokes other than the basic concept. Also previous ow.er said he broke the oil tank and so he was just running 32:1 ratio mixed gas. He also put a xlt hold on it because the rmk one he had he broke ??

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littleredstroke · 12-25-2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littleredstroke

Ok thanks. I know absolutely nothing about 2 strokes other than the basic concept. Also previous ow.er said he broke the oil tank and so he was just running 32:1 ratio mixed gas. He also put a xlt hold on it because the rmk one he had he broke ??

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Hood

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**BC_Dan** · 12-26-2012, 01:59 AM

The "wedge" indys had a lot of interchangeable body parts. On a lot of 'em, the only difference was the decals.

I would find an oil tank and get the oil injection back up and running. There should be one line going to each crank end and one to the fuel pump on that sled. The extra lines to the crank ends help lubricate the outside bearings on the crankshaft. Sometimes premix doesn't lube those very well.

littleredstroke · 12-27-2012, 09:35 AM

Ok so bulbs are good. There is a light that comes on down to the right can't tell what its for, its an amber light, if the voltage regulator was out wouldn't this light be out too?

I think the wiring for the light is not hooked up, is there a fuse box or a junction box I could just run wires if need be?

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meburdick · 12-27-2012, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littleredstroke

Ok so bulbs are good. There is a light that comes on down to the right can't tell what its for, its an amber light, if the voltage regulator was out wouldn't this light be out too?

I think the wiring for the light is not hooked up, is there a fuse box or a junction box I could just run wires if need be?

Down to the right of what? Are you referring to the lower right of the instrument cluster? The lower right of the sled (which I would think would mean near the right footwell)? Something else... ?

The voltage regulator is in parallel with your accessories, not series. Disconnecting the regulator will not stop things from working. HOWEVER - if you have the regulator disconnected and you rev up the motor, you WILL damage some or all of the electronic items.

For example - you will almost certainly blow out all of the bulbs because the voltage will be too high for them.

Because I'm curious - how did you determine the bulbs are good? Continuity test with a meter?