Snowmobile for Ice Fishing

[DOOM]

I have a 2002 AC 660 4 stroke.....bout 18 mpg hauling portable. Not the turbo, but does well. I carry spare relays and an x-tra battery since no pull start. been a very good sled so far, just keep the proper maintenance on it and it will last a long time. Yes, I've buried it in the slush before which sucks, but thats the way it goes sometimes!

[leech~~]

Nice setup DOOM! I sure would hate being out there with just El=start and not back up pull rope though.

[DOOM]

Haven't had that happen yet.....knock on wood. Biggest things I have found out on the 4 strokes, this particular one, is the relays get moisture in them, in which you have a poor elec contact for the fuel pump. Had this happen once....luckily at home. Now I carry a spare with, along with a battery for the long fishing trips on LOW. Been a good sled otherwise, plenty of power for what I do. Can go bout 350 miles before fueling up!

[Xplorer]

Can go bout 350 miles before fueling up!

Whoa!! That is some range! Last time I rode I checked mileage on mine and my wife's F570 one-up. Hers got 17mpg and mine got just under 15, which I didnt think was too bad. With an 11 gallon tank that still gives me room to roam

[DOOM]

That's without pulling the portable, bout225-250 pulling on groomed lake trail. It is great on gas!

[ib_jigged]

Don't tell him! It maybe the Prez of Cat on the HSO forum when he should be working too!

That's funny, because I was thinking the same thing as I typed that from my desk on lunch break at the plant.

[DOOM]

What was the electrical problem? The relay issue? What was the bulletin's repair for it? I have a 2006, my friend has 2 2005's, all of our 660's had the same elec system and relay box that would have an occasional (once in 3 years) no start condition. Simple to tell, the check engine light, headlight and fuel pump would not come on with the key on engine off. Remove relay cup hand and blow warm air on it and put it back in, all ok. I determined the root cause and came up with a permanent fix, AC was no help, even at the factory level, but by then it was an outdated model. The sleds are real work sleds that are great for fishing too, not fast (50 mph), but very reliable, quiet, comfortable and get 25MPG easily pulling major loads. I know of no one that owns and uses one of these model bearcats that would part with them, I've been offered well over what I paid for it. Even if I upgraded to a new one, I would lose 50% of the fuel economy (but able to go 100mph) and they're much harder to service than the 3 cyl 660.

+1

[LegattoAD]

That's funny, because I was thinking the same thing as I typed that from my desk on lunch break at the plant.

Nice recovery..

[ib_jigged]

What was the electrical problem? The relay issue? What was the bulletin's repair for it? I have a 2006, my friend has 2 2005's, all of our 660's had the same elec system and relay box that would have an occasional (once in 3 years) no start condition. Simple to tell, the check engine light, headlight and fuel pump would not come on with the key on engine off. Remove relay cup hand and blow warm air on it and put it back in, all ok. I determined the root cause and came up with a permanent fix, AC was no help, even at the factory level, but by then it was an outdated model. The sleds are real work sleds that are great for fishing too, not fast (50 mph), but very reliable, quiet, comfortable and get 25MPG easily pulling major loads. I know of no one that owns and uses one of these model bearcats that would part with them, I've been offered well over what I paid for it. Even if I upgraded to a new one, I would lose 50% of the fuel economy (but able to go 100mph) and they're much harder to service than the 3 cyl 660.

If I remember correctly the older models used a relay that was not sealed. This would have allowed moisture to build inside. If you replace with a newer relay, you should not see this problem any longer. You can remove the relay and look at the bottom of it, where the pins come out, and around the edge of the shell.

[Transporter]

I haven't seen the sealed relay, a few years ago when I originally identified the root cause I bought Suzuki relay for $9, the same relay from Cat was $40+, I know Cat was doing cold room testing at that time, and had not yet come up with a fix. I used to use a Hot Hands hand warmer in the relay box on the really cold days when it would likely occur. But then I remembered I had many tubes of some dielectric from my days at Ford in my tool box. There was a recall on old escorts, water intrusion into the air bag module through the connector. The fix was remove the connector, squirt a bunch of dielectric into the pins and plug it back in. I did the same to the relays and problem solved. No other problems with this sled at all, buy a good battery, make sure it stays good or replace it, use synthetic oil and pay attention to the grease zerks. It goes through slush no problem, breaks trail in all this snow easily and pulls serious weight. It is not pretty and doesn't go fast, but it is great for work/fishing. But I didn't buy a ski boat to fish from either, if I want to ski, I'll buy a ski boat. When I ride trails, I take another sled.