Snowmobile Repair: 1996 Arctic Cat Pantera EFI, gauge works, gas gauge

Question
I have a huge problem here. I took my sled in for a routine replacement of the front drive bearing. the sled ran when it went into the shop and now it doesn't run at all.  the starter doesn't catch due to some peice of metal that was lodged in it then later removed maybe this was a peice of the starter? So I pull start it all the time which is no big deal.It came out of the shop with electrical problems it ran for all of two minutes and then lost all electrical power a low battery they said, got a new one then experienced the thrill of a non-functioning electronic injector. Got the sled to run once more only to get non-functioning electronics (dash lights, headlights, tailight.) Only the light behind the gas gauge works. I took the sled out once and ran a circle around the yard. Tried to start it again only to find there is now antifreeze in the cylinders and it will not run anymore. The injector turns on, there is spark, but there is nothing else happening. it's a mess and no mechanic can tell me what's up. Is this sled lost? It's a '96 with only 3000 miles on it when it ran, it ran perfect. Lots of juice always started on the first pull. I would really like to enjoy this sled again I know it's a good sled. It probably needs the standard maintenence too but as far as that goes it should run.  i have had at least two arctic cat mechanics look at it one said the brain, another just shook his head and left. help!

Answer
Hello Nathan,

 Sounds like a real mess. It can be pretty tuff to diagnose a sled that has that many problems. Personally, it would be my recommendation to find a new mechanic. It sounds to me like they are not putting parts back together properly on the sled. The piece of metal was most probably either a chunk of the gear drive off of the starter, or could have even been a part of the flywheel, although that is less likely. You are right, it's a good sled, at least considering the age of it, and they way it ran before this mishap. The sled does have the costly ECU "brain" system. To be honest, they seem to be the evil of the Cat's lately. I have had a large number of questions recently with reference to the ECU acting up. Unfortunately, the ECU's run around 1500 dollars on that particular model. I would have it tested before even looking into a new one. Ebay has them used sometimes for very cheap. Of course, antifreeze in the cylinders cannot be blamed on a faulty ECU. With the electrical lights not functioning, yet the gas gauge light on, this tells that the main electrical on the sled is still OK. Generally when this happens, the mechanics didn't plug a wring plug or connector in, after disconnecting it for service. I have had a sled that would only light the headlight, and nothing else. I found that the wires running up to the hood, right at the point where the hood's hinges are, the wires had all cracked, except 3 of them. I have seen quite a few sleds like this, so it is something to look at. As for the coolant leaking into the cylinders, this is probably one of 2 things, either a head gasket, or possibly the water pump seal. Looking over all of this, I would make an estimate of about 100-150 dollars plus labor, which isn't too bad considering it is still a fairly newer sled. I would recommend using this page to find a good dealer: http://www.arcticcatdealers.com/  .  I hope I have helped you. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck with the sled! --Arcticatman