The first time this happened, I thot it was a fluke. But now it's happened twice and I want to know what I am doing wrong.

The problem comes when I climb a hill. Twice now while climbing a hill my cat has backfired and blew the ignition fuse.

I am guessing that either 1) I am doing it wrong, in the wrong gear or something or 2) there is something adjusted wrong on the machine. Frankly, while I would like to think it's the latter, I suspect it's the former. Either way, I would like to know what you guys all think.

BTW. This is with my 2002 400 4x4. My brother has not had the same problem with his 375.

 

Check your battery and cables to see if they are loose or making good ground. My battery rattled loose one time in the little holder and worked the connector loose. Check the ignition wire to make sure it is free of sharp bends and nicks that could be causing a misfire or the ignition to ground itself on the frame or engine block and there by blow the fuse. Is the spark plug snug and tight? There are a couple of supplemental power connectors in the back and front, are they connected or covered properly. I had a trailer connector loose one time and it would swing around and finally it grounded out on the frame and blew a fuse. Anything loose around the fuse box that could be making a contact and shorting the fuse from underneath where the connection is? These don't cost anyhting and might save you the time of seeing the dealer. Hope they work out.

Dakota R/T

 

Checked all the wiring (that I could reach, anyway) and everything looks good. The problem still exists, though. But today I found some new information.

It only occurs when the engine is hot. The fan appears to be working, and there is fluid in the radiator. The oil and temp lights NEVER come on. Yet it seems everytime the engine gets hot enough and is under load, like climbing a hill the ingnition fuse blows and all the power goes. The engine then backfires (this occures AFTER the power loss so is probably a byproduct). Today I went through ten or more fuses before I finally singled heat out as a factor. When it cools, I can put a new fuse in and start it again.

It's still under warranty so it's going back to the dealer on Monday. Hopefully it will be something simple.

Anyone ever heard of this?

 

I just bumped up the thread where I wrote about finding what was causing my Dad's Cat to blow his ignition fuse. His didn't do it going up a hill, but when turning to the left. If you dig into the wire harness going down from the speedo, you wil notice that there is a pretty big bunch of wires all clamped down by a wire spring clamp type deal. That is what was shorting the plug in the harness on Dad's Cat. It was a pretty easy fix once I found it & then dismantled the whole front of the cat to get to it.

 

Well, I dropped the thing off at the dealer. They fixed it within days. When they called and said It was fixed I asked what was causing the problem...

"Oh, says they fixed the brake light switch."

"What?!?"

"The brake light switch. It was a recall item, didn't you get a letter about this?"

"No. What would the brake light switch have to do with the thing blowing a fuse when it's hot and under load?!?"

"I dunno."

Feeling less than optimisic, I picked the thing up and asked them about it in person. This time a different guys said "I called Arctic Cat and the minute I mentioned the problem, they said that's what it was."

Scratching my head at his explanation I took the machine and left. Today I rode it for hours...no blown fuses. Go figure.

Apparently there is something wrong with the brake light switch that causes feedback through the electrical system and blows the ignition fuse. You might want to check to see if this recall affects your ATV.