Very helpful! I'm deciding between EFI or carb on an Ariens right now. Was reading up on SnowblowerForum about early EFI issues. Stupid as hell that they don't include a charger for the little battery to run the electronics and electric fuel pump. The EFI battery is a 7.2v RC car type - smallish, but not a Lithium as they don't like the cold, and you can buy them for under $30 even from Ariens. After it starts the engine stator should keep it charged while you are running it. Apparently the light is also run off of the little EFI battery so that is another clue as he said - good to know. Another issue people have seen with the Ariens EFI is they had a bad batch of fuel pumps apparently. The pump is needed to provide pressurized fuel to the fuel injectors. I don't know if this is an ongoing problem or not. Some have had a sticky fuel pump, so if you apply 12v to the 7.2v fuel pump leads momentarily it can unstick it. The 2 pin red and black connector the video shows to charge the battery has some perhaps dielectric grease on the pins to provide a better contact, but some have replaced it with weatherproof modern automotive connectors, as the electronics may be sensitive to an unsteady battery voltage due to drops across the connector. I'm on the fence. I trust EFI in general and this is a simple closed loop setup (no Oxygen sensor) and would work great at altitudes here in Colorado vs a carb. I think it comes down to design and build quality and I'm not sure if Ariens is there yet or not. You only hear about issues and I don't think there are that many. It's weird that there is no fuel on/off switch so you don't have to run it dry to keep the carb from gumming up, and that the fuel system is called "sealed" off so no air exposure. Weird in a good way I guess!
I had to contact Ariens for a "service manual" on troubleshooting the EFI models. Appratently it was covered in only one model. Search support, manuals and Model 921049. For a "fuse diagram" search model 926091. I don't know why "The king of snow" is so void in this information, including on the Professional models. I mentioned it to them in the survey they sent me.
I have the same machine and experienced the same problem. You should have gotten a charger with the new machine. Also.. machine has to run on "Efficiency" throttle setting or higher to be able to self charge. Otherwise this machine is an absolute Beast! I've had mine 3 Alaska winters and this is the only issue I've had.
Git the same problem. Mine was purchased brand new right outta the create. And came with no charger whatsoever. Thanka for the input. Ill search the interwebs and see if i can find a chager.
@brianmartin4035 yeah problem is. I purchased it from ( THE HOME DEPOT), and I opened the create up. But no charger was inside! That was 2019, so I'm not sure if that'd still be covered ir not.
You absolutely should have gotten the charger with your snowblower. It says right in the owner's manual "IMPORTANT: Battery charger is shipped in the literature pack." The dealer probably separated it from the manual for some reason and forgot to give it to you.
