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1998 Ski Doo Grand Touring 700 Electrical Issues

8K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  TheBearAk 
#1 ·
My 98 GT 700 runs great and then will just cut out. Sometimes while it's cutting out , I'll give it some gas and will come back to life. Sometimes will run for a little while and then will go dead. Try starting, no spark. I'll wait for about an hour and starts right up. Starting to think that it's some ignition ground. THinking about buying a CDI Regulator Rectifier. I've heard when they heat up , they cut out when they're bad. Any suggestions? Seems so simple but frustrating as hell !!
 
#3 ·
Question

Thanks for your reply. I just took it out for a ride for about 15 minutes and ran excellent , no issues. If it's a bad stator or CDI would it be just dead and not come back to life? Would you happen to know the most common areas of harness chafe under the motor? I inspected about 12 inches up from CDI and saw nothing. Also it appears thatt the harness was wrapped in wire loom per the recall I've heard about. Lastly is the ignition ground under the handle bars? Thanks.


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#4 ·
Hey, my 97 Touring 380 was having this exact same issue. It would sputter and die on the trail. Sometimes it would start back up but run like it was running out of gas. Then it just wouldn’t start. I found it had no spark intermittently. Checked all the electrical and everything tested out good. We put it away last year. Went to pull it out this year and it wouldn’t start. More testing and I figured it was the stator. Replaced that and still nothing. A bit more testing and I verified I had no voltage from the pickup coil. Turns out the gap was too large. I set it where it was when I took it apart which was .070 (previous owner had a crank seal replaced on the flywheel side) I ended up setting it at the recommended .010 after finding the proper spec and it started on the first pull. Has been starting with no problems ever since.

Just something else to look at.
 
#5 ·
I think you're on the right track. Sometimes a CDI will cut out when it gets hot.

My 95 Summit CDI was like that. I discovered it was all in the way it was mounted. It was right above the muffler and had no shielding. I made a heat shield out of aluminum and it lasted 2 more years until the CDI finally went completely out. New CDI and the shielding in place. Works perfectly and the CDI is cool to the touch all the time.
 
#6 ·
I have a 98 GT. 700 with the same exact issue. I have taken it to 2 different Ski Doo dealers and no one has and seems like they don't want to work on it because it's too old of a sled.I have checked the wiring harness no bare wires. I moved CSI box out from underneath the motor because of wire chafing issues. Which why recall was issued. I also had stator put in but didn't fix problem. Also found out from another CK3 owner that it's grounded through voltage regulator. He cleaned it up and his ran fine after that. I did the same thing but no success. Would a weak battery be an issue mine is 6 yrs old but charges. My next step is to change it but I do not feel this the problem. This has been a nightmare since it started doing this. It will start up on a good day will run all day long as long as don't stop and let it cool down. If this happens it will start up run for a little than die, start run some more than die. I have read a lot of issues with this problem with this chassis but I have not seen any answers really how this is fixed. This my Dad's sled he handed down to me and has a lot of sentimental value had is in mint condition except for this issue. I have been a Skidoo owner since my 1st sled and I don't want to give up on it yet. Helpless in the North Country! I know some out there has fixed this issue out there. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for help

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#8 ·
I have a 97 grand touring 700 se with no spark and tomorrow I will check and charge the battery and I will check and pretty sure it's because the battery is too low too. I have a second identical vehicle and I will change the parts until I find what's wrong https://documentclou...82-2f7e993332f0 I figured out how to share the shop manual for a 1997 Ski-Doo was with you guys. Cheers
 
#9 ·
Battery has nothing to do with spark. It only powers the Starter.
 
#11 ·
It's likely that you have more drawing from your battery getting charged because it is worn and you probably have acc running heaters and what not and you might not know it. You have 5 watts dc charging your battery and ac is 12 or something like that maybe it was q5; but it isn't enough if you are also not with great contacts of your feeding and you could test one connection at a time by cleaning both ends of each of your wires one at a time or make a double needle ended jump wire and check each wire one at a time and you may have two or more of bad ones too. I'm thinking of installing a car size battery that charges my starter battery and maybe a small automatic solar charger on the big one. A good way to wake up these batteries is to use a 30-240 amp booster charger and wake it up in short intervals that you should look up but these machines are advised to use with a perfect like new battery because of the drawing of currents that a one that keeps drawing and this likely becomes a sort of resistor and creates heat with your charge that you give it constantly. And maybe the fact that a certain rpm is ideal for maximum output of stator's production. So here is a link for the repair manuals for anything and I'm giving you the one for the 1997's.https://vdocuments.site/1997-skidoo-shop-manual-558455c715469.html?page=1
 
#12 ·
Just a clarification. 5 amps, not watts. The limiting factor is inside the voltage regulator are 4 diodes that can only handle a 5 amp current before they blow. 5 amps x 12 volt = 60 watts. This still is not very much considering a battery can draw up to 15 amps if it is discharged 50% or more.

You should check your battery level before you start it for the first time each winter. I usually put a trickle charger on my several machines in September.
 
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