My son's 1996 Ski Doo Formula III Long track 600 triple

[moose eater]

My youngest son is turning into quite the prodigy where it concerns mechanic work on a variety of vehicles.

As we've discovered, one major problem with dealing with vehicles that were built to last for decades, but for which parts were made obsolete by the manufacturer after only a handful of years, is that you're left with a vehicle that otherwise performs extremely well in many cases, but which is more or less sitting dead, for lack of a $100 part.

He's completely rebuilt nearly every aspect of the above referenced snowmobile, and the thing, when running, is scary fast. (*I've told him that if I get word of him driving it to its capacity, I'll take his keys; he's the only 1 of 3 kids for whom we don't have a life insurance policy, and he was a straggler, notably younger than the other 2, but a -really- good guy.. and no, I'm not one of THOSE biased parents; I call 'em like I see 'em).

The CDI seems to have taken a nose-dive this morning. No extreme cold, no extreme frost, no adverse conditions that would explain a temporary failure.

The only other explanation for its current (lack of) performance, might be ignition coils, but to have 3 coils fail simultaneously, well... if I were in Vegas I'd take the opposing odds, saying, "No way in Hell."

Yes, we've checked on-line.... thoroughly, running not only the Ski Doo OEM part #s, but also the sub-manufacturer/contractor (Nippon denso) part #s. Only used stuff comes up.

Buying used electrical parts from unknown sources, from thousands of miles away, with little or no guarantee, is not a good start toward a happy ending in my opinion.

Monday or Tuesday we'll contact someone who has access to the Ski Doo (obsolete) vintage 'new old-stock' site, and see what they have, and what ever their Smithsonian-rated pricing for such rare beasts are, if available at all.

Be a shame to bring the thing all this way toward completion, as we have, only to let it go the way of the dinosaurs.

If anyone has any additional ideas, chime in. The thing, when it was running, up until yesterday, sounds so pretty and intense, I was tempted to propose to it.

 

[moose eater]

May have scored in a dealer search, for discontinued, no longer available new old-stock.

And not too terrible a price... If he were a bit more wealthy at the moment, I'd tell him to get 2, just in case... as well as a stator, and various other soon-to-be-rare parts.

Will know relatively soon whether the parts in question are ghosts on a computer, indicative of inventory that vanished long ago, or not.

 

[moose eater]

Current issue seems to have been resolved, in a VERY satisfactory way.

 

[GOT_BUD?]

:like:

 

[moose eater]

Found a part, as new, applied -once- in a test situation by the shop that has it (new owner had no idea what it went to, and hadn't searched it out), still covered by 12-mos BRP warranty (I asked, in case the machine it had been used on in the 'test situation' had 'dirty electrical current' that might've damaged the thing), and all for less than half of msrp, plus what ever freight applies to a part that I think weighs all of <8 oz.

If that fails, there's a good chance another OEM dealer has a 'new old stock' version on the shelf. But it'd truly devolved into one of those searches that required tweezers and a magnifying glass... and some coffee. ;^>)

Every now and again, on a rare day, Murphy actually goes to bat for me. YIPPEEEE!!!!!

 

[shithawk420]

Glad you found the part.its probably not relevant to you as I've never had a snow mobile.theres snow on the damn ground though! Anyway I've got a 73 black bomber Honda motorcycle.my brother broke the shifter.somehow we got an original online for 75 bucks.they said there's only a few original in the whole country.glad we got the part but the damn bike is rusting

 

[shithawk420]

By the way,if your goin 70 miles an hour on a snow mobile your nuts.i won't do it! Lol

 

[7thson]

They can be a lot of fun.I used to ride on the Mississippi river up in central Minnesota.I couldn't get enough of it.

 

[shithawk420]

Yeah but that's still nuts.if your an adrenaline junkie then that's your business.hell,I was going 40 an a doe jumped in front of me the other day.scared the shit out of me.id be more worried about shit I can't see.too many variables.i wasn't driving by the way.my buddy was

 

[moose eater]

For me they're a tool; all of them that I own are pullers, 'utility machines', for transporting freight into the bush, or hauling firewood and fuel around the property in winter.

The machine in question I suspect tops out at near 90-100 mph; maybe a touch faster.

Hitting the ground at that speed is very similar to falling out of a motor vehicle onto concrete or pavement, unless you're lucky enough to fall into powder, which is unlikely if you're doing that speed; the powder slows your velocity.

I've hit unseen mini-moguls with one ski, at ~30+ mph in flat light of the afternoon in later winter, flipping me on my side, with a little Ski-Doo Tundra II R 277, pulling a small load of freight into the bush on a hard-packed trail, ending up sliding down the trail on my side, holding my head off the ground, legs still wrapped around the tunnel, watching for various objects, stones/rocks, stumps, chunks of ice, etc., and avoiding the still-upright sled I was pulling behind me that was no longer tracking straight, and that was as abrupt an impact, and as much adrenaline as I need with hard-pack meeting speed and inertia. Lessons learned with as few injuries as possible.

But it's like riding a bike, getting used to the balance of it, etc. Just takes a bit of experience, and you're good most of the time.

I rode motorcycles starting at age 12, with home-made mini-bike before that. Took motorcycles cross-country starting at age 16. Learned some harsh, but meaningful lessons on them too, with minimal damage to my body, keeping just enough scar tissue to remind myself, "Don't be THAT stupid -again-."

But it's been many years since either type of vehicle was much more than a very enjoyable tool for me.

Unfortunately, or fortunately (???), my youngest son is at that st/age where he knows more than he does, is pretty good, good enough to press the edge, or push the envelope, and is all about the experience, enjoying speed. But he also wants to keep his keys.

So... while I can't be there to see everything that goes on in the woods, or on the river, one nearly-guaranteed aspect of 'amazing feats' is that folks want to talk about them after the fact, so I hope that provides the necessary barrier to 'stupid human tricks.'

He's young, but we all have our limits to how much bouncing our bodies will take. They just typically change and decline with age.

 

[7thson]

I hit an unseen hole one time going kinda fast and it gave me whiplash ,man that kinda hurt too.

 

[moose eater]

A few years back, fellow a few years older than myself was heading down an established trail, parallel to the river, but with a bit of powder hiding objects, not going too fast, and hit a concealed short stump just right to bring his sno-go to an abrupt stop, ending with him doing acrobatics up and over the windshield; a flip essentially, probably 25-30 years after he should have ceased any such antics, whether intentional or not.

He ended up in a slush puddle that was beneath the powder. If I recall correctly he was initially unconscious.

Simple fuck-ups can have severe outcomes in the right moment and circumstance.

My younger son loves breaking through powder, doing 'cat walks' etc., and I've warned him several times that the powder can conceal things you have no clue are there; some benign, and some can change your day.

Same with scooting across a frozen lake at 100+ mph, which they've done, and knowing there's areas where folks have shoveled hard-pack snow away from their ice fishing holes, (even out in remote mountain lakes this is an issue), and in flat light, leaving larger areas with 1' to 1-1/2' drops from hard-pack surface to the ice around the holes, often with vertical 'walls' to the holes, and not always being able to see those 'pits' in time, especially in flat-light or after sundown, when you're 'outrunning your own headlight', so to speak.

Reminds me of the comedy film, 'A Million Ways to Die in the West.' ;^>)

 

[moose eater]

Found a part, as new, applied -once- in a test situation by the shop that has it (new owner had no idea what it went to, and hadn't searched it out), still covered by 12-mos BRP warranty (I asked, in case the machine it had been used on in the 'test situation' had 'dirty electrical current' that might've damaged the thing), and all for less than half of msrp, plus what ever freight applies to a part that I think weighs all of <8 oz.

If that fails, there's a good chance another OEM dealer has a 'new old stock' version on the shelf. But it'd truly devolved into one of those searches that required tweezers and a magnifying glass... and some coffee. ;^>)

Every now and again, on a rare day, Murphy actually goes to bat for me. YIPPEEEE!!!!!

'As new' part definitely not 'as new.' Corrosion on leads and rust on flange for bolt attachment, telling me that, at best, it was pulled as a used part, and that the dealer in the mid-west who sent it north is a 'story-teller' when convenient.

So now there's TWO CDIs for the machine in need of verification as to their functionality, and One of the remaining possible causes of the failure is the ignition stator/magneto; numerous machines run a dual magneto/stator system, with one providing power to the lighting and accessories, and the other providing juice to the ignition system; such is this 600 triple.

So, coming soon to a machine near us, is testing the leads out of the ignition mag, to see if THAT'S the culprit.

If not, then it's a safer bet that both CDIs are bad; the one that was ON the machine, and the supposedly 'as new' part that isn't 'as new.'

If America was serious about truth in advertising, folks who sell things that aren't as advertised or described, would do some jail time. Whether 'clean coke,' 'pesticide-free weed,' or an 'as new' or 'guaranteed to fit' mechanical part. Lying to another's detriment is lying to another's detriment. Period.

Anyway, the battle continues. And WILL (hopefully) be won...

 

[moose eater]

Stator and pick-up coil replaced, and the thing runs like a raped ape. Now have the replacement used CDI, as well as the CDI that came off.

The 'speed machine' lives.

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