tommyking
L1 Scorpion - The Great Snowmobile
Posts: 11
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Post by tommyking on Dec 23, 2012 10:48:01 GMT -5
Hi there - I'm a new owner of a 1975 Scorpion Whip 440. I'm just getting into this. I bought it for $200 off Craigslist. It's in excellent condition with only 900+ miles on it. It runs with some idle troubles but I think some carb adjustments will do the trick. It has an electric start and when I went to buy it, we tested it just using a battery charger/jumper. The starter turns but doesn't engage the engine. The previous owner stated that there wasn't enough "juice" to engage the engine. I took his word for it and figured I'd get a new battery and mess with it myself. So, my questions are, what kind of battery do I need for this sled? And does anyone have experience with electric starts on this year/make/model for me to trouble shoot it? Does it sound like "not enough juice" is the problem? And operating the electric start from the ignition doesn't work - so we just used a screwdriver across the leads on the solenoid to test it. I'm going to install a push button toggle as a work around - assuming that will work fine? Or can anyone suggest an inexpensive ignition switch option? Thanks! TK Uploaded with ImageShack.us
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scorplover
L3 The Proven Snowmobile that never lets you down
Posts: 136
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Post by scorplover on Dec 23, 2012 18:44:32 GMT -5
Sounds like the the little gear on the starter (pinion gear) that engages the flywheel gear is stuck. May have to take the starter off and spray the pinion and gear with some good penetrating oil to get it loosened up, Not to much you don't want to get oil in the motor. You may also want to try and hook up a 12 volt battery to it first and give it a try. None of mine have electric starts so I'm afraid I don't know what type battery it would take. I'm sure someone here will have that info and probably the starter switch you're looking for as well. Hope this helps, Good luck! Nice sled for $200.00 by the way.
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tommyking
L1 Scorpion - The Great Snowmobile
Posts: 11
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Post by tommyking on Dec 26, 2012 20:52:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback!
I got a push button toggle switch and that helps bypass the ignition. The starter works and engages the engine with the plugs out and jumper cables on the battery terminals. With the plugs in, the jumper or battery isn't strong enough to crank the engine. I guess this battery doesn't have enough cranking amps. So I'll have to buy a stronger battery, right? Are all these sleds 12v?
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crosscut
L2 Scorpion - Above All
Posts: 88
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Post by crosscut on Dec 27, 2012 15:40:35 GMT -5
Does the starter motor get hot after you have been cranking for a bit? My guess is that you either have bad connections at the battery/starter, or your starter motor is weak. If it's not spinning like crazy with a fresh battery and jumper cables, it's the starter motor. If you have access to an "amps clamp" put it over the wire that goes to the starter motor, while cranking you should not see a high reading, 40-60 amps is normal, If you are over 100 the motor is on it's way out. These are rebuildable, but it is probably cheaper to buy a reman or used one. Good Luck!!
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tommyking
L1 Scorpion - The Great Snowmobile
Posts: 11
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Post by tommyking on Dec 28, 2012 22:06:49 GMT -5
New battery did the trick. Got the biggest one I could fit and she cranked right up starting the engine like a breeze. Now I'm trying to narrow down an electrical issue. My headlight, taillight and tach doesn't work. I'm wondering if its something to do with the ignition switch or lighting coil? I troubleshot the lighting wiring and bulbs by direct wiring to the battery. All good. So it's something else. Any thoughts?
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Post by admin on Dec 28, 2012 22:26:51 GMT -5
I had a starter problem with a probably not so common fix. The starter would spin but not engage the flywheel. My problem was the negative wire from the battery was pulled out of its connector where it bolted to the engine for starter ground. I see you have a fix now but keep in mind a bad connection for future reference. Here's a thread where I was working on my older model and found the wire pulled from the ground lug on the engine, scorpionsleds.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=117
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Post by admin on Dec 28, 2012 22:40:21 GMT -5
tommy, I cannot find your wiring diagram that would be handy for this, but here's your parts manual, www.vintagesnow.com/Scorpion_files/1975.pdfI understand your headlight, taillight, and tach do not work and you cannot start the sled with the key. This might sound like a dumb question, but please describe what you connected the two wires from your new starter switch to. Along with the two large studs on the solenoid for battery and starter positive, there is a small terminal with a wire on it that is used to trigger the solenoid from your key switch. Does this small terminal require a negative or positive connection to make that solenoid activate? If you are not sure, try this test: Remove the little wire from the small terminal on the solenoid and temporarily connect a jumper wire from the negative post on your battery to the small terminal on the solenoid and see if that engages the solenoid. If not, remove that temporary jumper and then temporarily jump a wire from the positive post on your battery to the small terminal on the solenoid and see if that engages the solenoid. Please report back and we'll go from there! All of your problems (headlight, taillight, and tach do not work and you cannot start the sled with the key) may have a common cause, like a broken ground or hot wire somewhere.
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tommyking
L1 Scorpion - The Great Snowmobile
Posts: 11
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Post by tommyking on Jan 6, 2013 10:22:39 GMT -5
Hi there, I wanted to report back on this. Turns out the ignition switch was bad. I replaced it with a 4 position ignition from Auto Zone which required me to eliminate the fact that the key won't turn off the engine (since the stock ignition was a 5 position). So, I have to rely solely on kill switch to turn off the engine. But it solved some issues and now starts with the key. (I was using a temporary push button toggle switch to activate the electric start)
There was a ground issue. It was the ground under the seat for the taillight. I propped up the seat a bit and Dremeled down the place of contact and cleaned it up. That got me a good connection.
So far so good on the electrical front. Now I just need to get the carb adjustments in good shape. I just posted about that regarding the raw fuel coming out the exhaust.
Thanks!!!
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