Fuel Relay ?

First I’m gonna rant on how stupid Engineers can be.
What’s your biggest fear when you head out on the frozen lake at -20 to go fish riding your ATV/UTV?
Will it start….
I’ve been stranded on LOTW 10 miles out and it ain’t fun.
What pi$$e$$ me off is the Engineers that make these products know why this is happening but do not remedy the issue.
The fuel relay gets cold and doesn’t operate.
Come on, that should be an easy fix.

Got to the cabin on Friday and the SxS wouldn’t start, I pulled the fuse panel cover off, hit it with a heat gun for 20 seconds. It starting like it does when it’s the 4th of July.

2 questions –
1) Which one of these runs the fuel relay?
2) Does anyone have an aftermarket battery operated heat pad that could fit in the backside of the cover that you could switch
on and let run for a minute or so to heat that relay up so it would operate?

I would prefer #2 over #1. #1 I could take out and put it in my pocket but if it’s dark and cold I might not be the easiest to accomplish. Plus it cold get lost or broken.

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Yep they are the achilles heel for req vehicles, if you find a good solution post it here.

Do snowmobiles utilize them? I would guess whatever design they use would be the best available??

Polaris ranger ?

since i’m now retired…if it gets that cold i stay home and talk smart on fishing websites!!!!

sorry……i’m no help whatsoever!!!

It happens with both my Yammi Griz and CanAm Commander.

It happens with both my Yammi Griz and CanAm Commander.

glenn57 wrote:

since i’m now retired…if it gets that cold i stay home and talk smart on fishing websites!!!!

sorry……i’m no help whatsoever!!!

I may need to join that Club!

A lot of my friends in the snowmobile world just carry an extra relay at all times. Even some of the newer sleds have the same problem. There was a guy at one time selling an “upgraded sealed unit” that supposedly solved the problem but I never saw it first hand.

My solution has been to throw a HOT HANDS pack on it at the end of the day to keep it a little warmer overnight. Definitely not ideal.

Dog – you got me thinkin and yeah it hurts this early on Sunday.

I could velcro this onto the cover. I don’t think it would take much to warm it. I made need to do some testing with how much heat the relay needs to operate.

I don’t like the idea of carrying an additional relay. Sometimes I put down a few Coronas out on the ice and it could become a challenge to thread the needle if ya know what I mean.

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On the Yamaha you should have 3 relays that look identical, it’s one of the 3 and I don’t remember which one. On a warm day when you know it starts just remove them 1 at a time and cylce the key to identify which runs the fuel pump.

It doesn’t take much to get them to work. On our Yamaha Apex snowmobiles, since those 3 relays are the same you could pull any of them, roll it in your hands for a few seconds and pop it back in and it was good to go. I think (yes Sunday morning not fun) it was the middle one of the 3.

hdog3385 wrote:

On a warm day when you know it starts just remove them 1 at a time and cycle the key to identify which runs the fuel pump.

^^^ yep

Eelpoutguy wrote:

2) Does anyone have an aftermarket battery operated heat pad that could fit in the backside of the cover that you could switch
on and let run for a minute or so to heat that relay up so it would operate?

I have hand grip heaters on my ATV. I assume it would be fairly easy to adapt a hand grip heater into a fuse/relay box heater, complete with it’s own on/off switch. That should easily “preheat” the relay bow without the need for removal of the relay.

I find the cut off temp for relay sticking on my machine is around 10 below zero. Anything above that the relay works fine, below that it becomes iffy.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hdog3385 wrote:</div>
On a warm day when you know it starts just remove them 1 at a time and cycle the key to identify which runs the fuel pump.

^^^ yep

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Eelpoutguy wrote:</div>
2) Does anyone have an aftermarket battery operated heat pad that could fit in the backside of the cover that you could switch
on and let run for a minute or so to heat that relay up so it would operate?

I have hand grip heaters on my ATV. I assume it would be fairly easy to adapt a hand grip heater into a fuse/relay box heater, complete with it’s own on/off switch. That should easily “preheat” the relay bow without the need for removal of the relay.

I find the cut off temp for relay sticking on my machine is around 10 below zero. Anything above that the relay works fine, below that it becomes iffy.

I would think it would be fairly easy to run a heat wire around the fuse panel.
Its’ crazy, I would think getting it started is more important than keeping your hands warm, but that’s just me.

I’m guessing the manufacturers looked at it and figured the amount of owners who want to start their machines at those temps are not worth the costs involved to fix it…

Is it only an issue with electric start or does it effect pull starters too? Imo pull start backups should be mandatory…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m guessing the manufacturers looked at it and figured the amount of owners who want to start their machines at those temps are not worth the costs involved to fix it…

Is it only an issue with electric start or does it effect pull starters too? Imo pull start backups should be mandatory…

The relay runs the fuel pump. No fuel = no start, does not matter how you crank the engine over.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Its’ crazy, I would think getting it started is more important than keeping your hands warm, but that’s just me.

Some of us have sensitive hands.

It looks to be R2 that is the fuel pump relay.

Set a disposable hand warmer inside the box on the super cold days or if you’re having an issue. Should warm it just enough.

Also just try swapping the relays (R2 and R8) now. I have found some are just more sensitive to the cold than others even though they are exactly the same.

Are these stored in a heated garage?

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I’m guessing the manufacturers looked at it and figured the amount of owners who want to start their machines at those temps are not worth the costs involved to fix it…

Is it only an issue with electric start or does it effect pull starters too? Imo pull start backups should be mandatory…

The relay runs the fuel pump. No fuel = no start, does not matter how you crank the engine over.

I figured as much, just wasn’t sure, thanks!

An article about relays. And a couple different fixes.

Relay article

take that fancy shiny grill you have and a tarp with you.
when you are ready to leave put the tarp over the machine and the grill under it.
you can roast a hotdog to snack on while you are at it.

Shoot! Thanks for reminding me.

Jeremy wrote:

Are these stored in a heated garage?

Mine are not.

You could always wire in a temporary use bypass switch for when the relay wont switch on.

Paul in Iowa wrote:

and water proof relays are a must! but they are expensive…
the good relays can run 10 bucks each at cost where the standard relays run 1 buck!

Can you please post a specific link for these relays? I tried to sort through all the assorted pages from your other link and was unable to find the relays. Thanks

Polaris has a different relay that I put in my 2015 Polaris 570.
It cost me $15.00 I did not care better then working on machine -20 below.
I have not had a issue since replacing the fuel pump relay. But I still get little nervous is she going to start. I was up in -20 below 2 weekends ago wheeler sitting on the ice next to my fish house and started right up. The newer relay is shorter then my original one.

Gary M wrote:

Polaris has a different relay that I put in my 2015 Polaris 570.
It cost me $15.00 I did not care better then working on machine -20 below.
I have not had a issue since replacing the fuel pump relay. But I still get little nervous is she going to start. I was up in -20 below 2 weekends ago wheeler sitting on the ice next to my fish house and started right up. The newer relay is shorter then my original one.

That is about the same price I paid from Arctic Cat a couple years ago. New relay I purchased, seems to be identical in performance to the original. (as expected seeing as it was the same number)

Do you have a relay number, so one might be able to cross reference, to see if that relay would work with another machine?

I will look at tonight see what number it is for sure.

But google search came up with this Polaris 4016819 Epxy Sealed HFA 12V 20A Spst Relay General

Not an ideal solution, but we were fishing out of hub houses on a 0 deg day a few years ago when the wheeler wouldn’t start for the same reasons. We were bundled up good so we threw one of the 6×6 pop-ups over the wheeler and cranked my buddy’s sunflower heater for about 15-20 minutes. She fired up after the brief warm-up.

Make sure you have identified the correct relay. Lots of machines have separate relays for ignition/electrical functions and fuel functions.

Just relying on pulling a relay and assuming that if the machine doesn’t start, that’s the fuel pump relay is a bad idea. You might have just disrupted the electrical functions needed to start or run the machine. Especially if the box has multiple different relay types.

Find a service manual and verify what does what in the electrical box. Or at the very least, test all relays to verify which one is really the fuel pump relay and make sure there aren’t multiple relays that cause a no-start condition.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Make sure you have identified the correct relay. Lots of machines have separate relays for ignition/electrical functions and fuel functions.

Just relying on pulling a relay and assuming that if the machine doesn’t start, that’s the fuel pump relay is a bad idea. You might have just disrupted the electrical functions needed to start or run the machine. Especially if the box has multiple different relay types.

Find a service manual and verify what does what in the electrical box. Or at the very least, test all relays to verify which one is really the fuel pump relay and make sure there aren’t multiple relays that cause a no-start condition.

Your right, identifying ahead of time is the best way to go about it but on a wheeler, SxS, or snowmobile I’ve always been able to hear the fuel pump priming or at least the actual relay clicking.