'80 Liquifire Lighting Coil Replacement

[Hackinator]

Hello everyone. Happy New Year and I do hope most have had some snow to ride on!

The Issue: The lighting coil on my 1980 Liquifire is throwing a total of 1.3-1.7 volts. All dash lights, headlight and tail-light are not lighting up. The internal lighting coil is dead.

The Question/s: The tech manual says I must remove the engine to replace the lighting coil. Looking at it, I'm thinking I may be able to remove the exhaust, the recoil housing, sneak a flywheel puller in there, then work on the lighting coil with the engine still in. So...

1. Is it possible to replace the lighting coil with the engine still mounted in the sled?
2. What threads are in the flywheel (metric I assume)?
3. What length bolt is recommended to get the flywheel off?

Thanks everyone. The engine and snowmobile run great, only has 260 miles on the totally rebuilt engine and drivetrain. I'm just stuck cruising around the yard during daylight hours because of the dead lighting coil.

-Hack

[harleysportster]

Hack,
I have removed the flywheel from my '80 liq in the chassis, it came be done. Now if I had to do it again, I would pull the engine out, it is not that hard to do. The threads are metric in the flywheel, the same as the bolts mounting the recoil cup. The length is determied having only 1/4 to 3/8 of thread thru the flywheel and what ever is needed to go thru your puller. Use good qualilty bolts. The holes in the flywheel are open so be carefull that you don't damage the windings under it.

[JDT]

Are you sure the coil is bad? Did you ohm test it?

It is possible that a short somewhere in the harness is pulling the voltage way down.

Test voltage with the engine at idle and the main harness unpluged. If you still read 1-2 volts as stated than the coil must be bad.
Be advised that you have to plug the harness back in in order to stop the engine.

Reason for this post is that lighting coils generally do not go bad unless they get externally damaged or there is a short in the electrical system.
Most sleds manufactures never saw the need for a fuse or curcuit breaker in the lighting system so if a short happened it can toast the coil.
Adding a in line fuse is a good idea.


The most common source for a short is a fried voltage regulator. After that I would be looking for a frayed wire or grounded connection anywhere in the harness.
I have seen light bulb sockets shorted out on the speedo, tailight, headlight ect.

The wire under the seat that goes to the taillight where the plywood rubs through the insulation is another common problem. One time is was the brake light wire that got beared. The lights would disappear when you hit the brakes but worked fine any other time.

Handle bar heaters have also caused some hair loss for me in the past. Especally when they only short out after they get warmed up.

The best one I ever had was the dial backlight on the tach on a sled a few years ago. The black wire touched the housing when it was plugged in but was fine when I removed it to test the bulb. Grrrr....

[Hackinator]

I tested voltage with the engine at idle and the main harness unplugged. That is where I read the 1-2 volts. With that information I'm operating on the idea that the lighting coil is defective.

[JDT]

Agreed. Just wasn't sure how you read the low voltage.

And you were reading AC volts correct?

[nick80lf]

Hack,

To answer your questions about bolt sizes, I like to use M6-1.0 X 100mm socket head cap screws that are 12.9 hardness.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/de ... ?sku=39580

I also use a thick hardened washer under the head of the bolt.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/de ... ?sku=33581

For the puller I have just picked up a loan-a-tool harmonic balancer puller from AutoZone
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... 55524_0_0_
I will admit that I keep thinking about making or purchasing a power sports type flywheel puller, just haven’t got around to it yet, since I haven’t had a need for one recently.

When I set up the puller I'm really particular about making sure all the bolts are threaded in the same. If one is threaded in a little more you will actually be pulling on a slight angle. Most generally you need smack the puller bolt once you get it tight to get it to pop loose. As already mentioned don't thread the bolts in too far or you will damage the coils under the flywheel. Also, if I was going to change a coil I'd yank the motor (just like Pat recommended, assuming you have a clutch puller). I've become pretty proficient at it, and it much easier to deal with the motor on the bench than trying to fight the puller in a tight spot.