Safari 377 Problem - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

sentinal02 · 03-04-2005, 02:29 PM

Hey guys, I've got a problem with my 88 safari that's got me stumped. The other night i pulled it out to play around in the fields and it started out fine, but then it started to lose power. Almost like it was only firing on one cylinder. brought it back, checked and changed the plugs with BR9ES (which i've used since i bought the machine way back in 88) since the exhaust side looked wet. no dice, problem remains. today i checked the connections at the coil and the plug wires and all looks good, no corrosion to speak of. does anyone know how to test the coil?

what i noticed today though is that the problem comes and goes, though it's there more than it's not. one minute it'll be straining at full throttle and the next it will perk up and be fine for a little while. then it goes back to straining. the engine sits and idles just fine. up on the block with no load, the track spins fine, but i noticed that the low end has a bit of a hesitation to it, ie less than normal throttle response. also, the battery doesn't seem to be getting a charge, but that could be because i'm not running it very long. the engine will stall if you pull either of the plug wires off (doing so hurts BTW) so i know they're firing. carb was cleaned at the begining of the season and the gas is less than a month old. the way it just suddenly started doing this seems like a bad part somewhere. any ideas would be helpful at this point, cause I'm stumped. thanks!

**smallengineguy** · 03-04-2005, 02:44 PM

Do you have an inline spark tester for it? that's the best way to prove a CONSISTENT spark. Are the plugs still wet when removed?

sentinal02 · 03-05-2005, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smallengineguy
Do you have an inline spark tester for it? that's the best way to prove a CONSISTENT spark. Are the plugs still wet when removed?

nope, no inline tester unfortunately. and yes they're still wet. i switched sides with the plugs to make sure it wasn't one faulty plug and now they're both wet when i pull them. got me stumped on this one.

**smallengineguy** · 03-05-2005, 03:46 PM

Which side is the wet side? Probably the coil for that side.

sentinal02 · 03-05-2005, 04:26 PM

the fan side is the one that was wet to begin with. now they're both wet. sounding more and more like the coil. is there anyway to test it with a multi meter?

**smallengineguy** · 03-05-2005, 06:55 PM

An inline tester is the best way. Will it still run?

sentinal02 · 03-05-2005, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smallengineguy
An inline tester is the best way. Will it still run?

yeah, it still idles fine. it's just when i start putting some load on it that it lacks power. with the throttle wide open i can barely touch 20 km/h. on a block with no load on the track i can get it up to 80 km/h. and like i said, it comes and goes. it'll be bogging down one minute and then run fine for two minutes and then back to bogging down. very weird

sentinal02 · 03-05-2005, 09:00 PM

something i just thought of. is it possible that the generator is dying and now isn't putting enough power out to give a good spark? i've had problems in my jeep in the past where the belt went and the engine was mostly running off the battery. the symptoms were very similar, idled ok, but when i put load on the engine it had no power. anyway to test that?

**smallengineguy** · 03-06-2005, 06:55 AM

I was going to suggest that. The ignition system on that sled consists of the coil, CDI and stator. Don't know if you changed the coil, but try that first. It's cheap and more like to be faulty than the other 2. The CDI is either good or bad. The stator, which is under the flywheel, could be a problem, but I'd swap the coil first.

Snowskimmer · 03-06-2005, 10:21 AM

I had exactly the same problem, that came up half way through my 150 km ride this weekend. I did manage to limp it home, and was a good ride anyways.
I found that one of the small plastic rub blocks on the driven pulley that drives the track was missing causing an out of round situation on the pully causing it to vibrate like crazy, as well as binding and it could not adjust under load therefore it felt like it was stuck in one gear....... n my case, - similar to yours - low power and vibration.
Down hill and on the flats it worked better.
So check yo make sure you have all your slider blocks in place, and/or they are not binding.
Worked for me.