1988 Wildcat 650 - all lights no work

[federline]

I just resurrected a 1988 Arctic Cat Wildcat 650. Once I got it running, I noticed there is no headlight, tailight, brake lights or dash gauge light action. I put it away before I checked all the bulbs and wiring harnesses, so I have to do that yet. But I was wondering, while I am waiting for the weekend to roll around - is there something specific and typical I should check on this model that would all those to not work? Thanks...

[NAMASafetyDirector]

1st guess would be to check the wireing harness for a break somewhere. 2nd I would look at the voltage regulator. Once in a while the voltage reg. will go out causing a spike in voltage in the harness which in turn can blow out some if not all of the bulbs. This is not model specific to the Wildcat more of a general thing that could happen to any sled but that's where I would look. Good Luck, I hate electrical troubleshooting!

[witgey&water]

I agree with NAMASafetyDirector on 1 and 2. A thrid thing to look at is the connection to the light coil. I had this happen on and 88 650 I owned. It is located behind the recoil. see this link for

microfiche picture. http://alpha-sports.com/arctic_cat_parts.htm

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[Eyewitness]

Hey buddy, it now officially time for you to drop a couple of $$ and get a nice newer used sled. There is a glut of them out there for around a grand or so and you will feel a whole lot better knowing that I won't be pulling you off Millacs at mach 9......

[hanson]

Voltage Regulator would be a good place to start.

I had one go out on my ZR600 while I was riding it at night.

First the head light just blew out. I needed lights so I flipped the high beams on, within 5 seconds... pow, pow! Both high beam lights were out. Taillight started to glow like the sun after that but I never lost the taillight or the instrument lights.

Corrosion, more than likely from road salt, appeared to be the culprit.

[federline]

A thrid thing to look at is the connection to the light coil. I had this happen on and 88 650 I owned. It is located behind the recoil. see this link for microfiche picture. http://alpha-sports.com/arctic_cat_parts.htm

Good luck and I hope this helps.

DING DING DING! Winner! Thank you W&W! Nice call. headlamp, taillampl, brake lamp, both guages - all work again now. Yoo da man! Welcome to FM!!!

[witgey&water]

Glad to help. Now we just need a lot of snow