xjoedirt55x
11-23-2009, 09:25 AM
I have been having a few problems with my machine lately. This past weekend I had a little bit of everything go wrong with it, so now that I
will have a long weekend coming up, I would like to spend some time fixing, or at least figuring out what all I need to fix and get my parts
ordered so if we have another weekend of good weather I am ready to ride.
My Machine:
2006 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO
Problem #1 - My battery warning light keeps flashing periodically while I am riding. Thinking it may just be a bad battery, or a loose
connection, I tighten all the connections, and everything is tight. I haven't had the battery checked yet, but when I get the time I plan on
running it up to auto zone and having them check it. But the only thing that is making me question the problem even more is that when the
warning light is flashing, If I hit something that draws more power such as my winch or headlights, the warning light stops flashing, then
comes back on later on.
Problem #2 - My starter does not work, but pull start works just fine. When I turn the key, all I hear is one click every time I turn the key,
so that leads me to believe that my battery has enough juice since it is a noticible single click, and not multiple clicks like it does not
have the juice to engage the starter fully. My guess is the solenoid is bad. I am going to try crossing the posts, and see if I get anything
out of it that way, then go from there.
Problem #3 - When we get to our riding spot, I started my machine to let it warm up, and it was running just fine. We get riding, and we hit a
straight away, so I open the throttle up a little bit, and maybe 300 feet or so later, my machine just dies on me. The kicker is that I still
had power to everything else. I even had enought power to run my winch, so that leads me to believe that I had more than enough power to run
the motor. I tried starting it up right away, with no luck. I let it sit for about 3 minutes, and it fired right back up. Tried running it
again, and the same thing happened. So I started trying to troubleshoot the problem, and started with my electrical connections, which all
checked out just fine. Then I pulled the air box to see the air filter, which was a little dirty, so I took it off, and ran it.... shut down
again. I know the gas that is in it is fine because it is fresh, and everybody else riding had the same gas as me, and it was just fine. So I
drained the bowl of the carb, jiggled my spark plug wire, and made sure it was tight of the plug, checked all my fluids, and everything was
just fine. Out of curiosity, I started it up, and ran it at about half throttle, and rode it around with no problems for like a half hour, so
I ran it open throttle again, and it kept running just fine. In fact I rode the rest of the day with no problems, even up some pretty nasty
steep hills. But the next morning after I cleaned it off, and unloaded it, it was doing the same thing, shutting off on me. I am guessing
maybe a dirty carb, or a bad fuel pump could possibly be the culprit?
Problem #4 - The sensor that tells my display what gear I am in does not work properly. When I am in high, it says "L", when I am in low, it
says "N", when I am in neutral, It says I am in "N", reverse "R", and park "P". I am thinking I am going to just have to replace this part all
together, really no fixing it I don't think. I really wouldn't mind this all except that my 4x4 will not engage when I am in low because the
machine thinks I am in neutral which sucks when I kinda need low if I am climbing a hill with lots of rocks.
Problem #5 - Towards the end of the day, my fan was not kicking on, and machine was overheating. I stuck my hand in, and turned the fan, and
it spun easily, so it was not clogged with mud or anything. I turned the machine off, and made sure I had good airflow to my radiator, and
even pulled the front screen off to get maximum air flow. I turned the key on, but didn't start the machine and the fan did not kick on at
all. That could possibly mean the temp. sensor, or the fan motor could be bad on it.
All of that being said, I am going to get the ECM replaced, hopefully this week and see if that solves any of these problems, but I know for a
fact I am not that lucky, so I am wanting to start eliminating some of the problems that will cost me nothing before I waste money buying
parts I do not need. I am also wondering if anybody else who had an ECM fail on them had similar problems, or know some of the symptoms of a
failing ECM. If you have any input/suggestions on any of my problems, I am all ears.
Thanks a lot. Joe
will have a long weekend coming up, I would like to spend some time fixing, or at least figuring out what all I need to fix and get my parts
ordered so if we have another weekend of good weather I am ready to ride.
My Machine:
2006 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO
Problem #1 - My battery warning light keeps flashing periodically while I am riding. Thinking it may just be a bad battery, or a loose
connection, I tighten all the connections, and everything is tight. I haven't had the battery checked yet, but when I get the time I plan on
running it up to auto zone and having them check it. But the only thing that is making me question the problem even more is that when the
warning light is flashing, If I hit something that draws more power such as my winch or headlights, the warning light stops flashing, then
comes back on later on.
Problem #2 - My starter does not work, but pull start works just fine. When I turn the key, all I hear is one click every time I turn the key,
so that leads me to believe that my battery has enough juice since it is a noticible single click, and not multiple clicks like it does not
have the juice to engage the starter fully. My guess is the solenoid is bad. I am going to try crossing the posts, and see if I get anything
out of it that way, then go from there.
Problem #3 - When we get to our riding spot, I started my machine to let it warm up, and it was running just fine. We get riding, and we hit a
straight away, so I open the throttle up a little bit, and maybe 300 feet or so later, my machine just dies on me. The kicker is that I still
had power to everything else. I even had enought power to run my winch, so that leads me to believe that I had more than enough power to run
the motor. I tried starting it up right away, with no luck. I let it sit for about 3 minutes, and it fired right back up. Tried running it
again, and the same thing happened. So I started trying to troubleshoot the problem, and started with my electrical connections, which all
checked out just fine. Then I pulled the air box to see the air filter, which was a little dirty, so I took it off, and ran it.... shut down
again. I know the gas that is in it is fine because it is fresh, and everybody else riding had the same gas as me, and it was just fine. So I
drained the bowl of the carb, jiggled my spark plug wire, and made sure it was tight of the plug, checked all my fluids, and everything was
just fine. Out of curiosity, I started it up, and ran it at about half throttle, and rode it around with no problems for like a half hour, so
I ran it open throttle again, and it kept running just fine. In fact I rode the rest of the day with no problems, even up some pretty nasty
steep hills. But the next morning after I cleaned it off, and unloaded it, it was doing the same thing, shutting off on me. I am guessing
maybe a dirty carb, or a bad fuel pump could possibly be the culprit?
Problem #4 - The sensor that tells my display what gear I am in does not work properly. When I am in high, it says "L", when I am in low, it
says "N", when I am in neutral, It says I am in "N", reverse "R", and park "P". I am thinking I am going to just have to replace this part all
together, really no fixing it I don't think. I really wouldn't mind this all except that my 4x4 will not engage when I am in low because the
machine thinks I am in neutral which sucks when I kinda need low if I am climbing a hill with lots of rocks.
Problem #5 - Towards the end of the day, my fan was not kicking on, and machine was overheating. I stuck my hand in, and turned the fan, and
it spun easily, so it was not clogged with mud or anything. I turned the machine off, and made sure I had good airflow to my radiator, and
even pulled the front screen off to get maximum air flow. I turned the key on, but didn't start the machine and the fan did not kick on at
all. That could possibly mean the temp. sensor, or the fan motor could be bad on it.
All of that being said, I am going to get the ECM replaced, hopefully this week and see if that solves any of these problems, but I know for a
fact I am not that lucky, so I am wanting to start eliminating some of the problems that will cost me nothing before I waste money buying
parts I do not need. I am also wondering if anybody else who had an ECM fail on them had similar problems, or know some of the symptoms of a
failing ECM. If you have any input/suggestions on any of my problems, I am all ears.
Thanks a lot. Joe