OPT,
Update....so i thought I had this thing fixed but its got me stumped again! I'm hoping you have some insight on this.

As you may recall, I have put in new Stator and Voltage regulator and (2) batteries as well as the bmap harness you suggested. On the last go round after I put in the last battery, it was putting out 13.1V while running. For 3 weeks it started no problems. I did not run it hardly in all since I put in a different battery 3 wks ago.

Fyi... The atv has a winch that was direct wired to battery and I put an interrupt switch in line bc I found that this particular winch that has remote control (not a handlebar thump switch) was always hot and maybe it was drawing the battery down. I wasn't sure so I put the inline switch which stopped the constant hot issue I had btwn the winch and the battery. With the inline interupt switch cutting ALL power from the winch to the battery, so I thought I'd take the variable of the winch out. So if my battery went down, it wasn't from the winch and it had to either be the battery or the stator/v.regulator.

In any case, this weekend it fired right up and we rode for about 45 minutes. It stalled and wouldn't turn over. It would just make a clicking sound and the battery &/or Check engine light would flash. It would pull start and run. It did not run rough after I pull started it, but the battery light would flash...and then the battery symbol would stop and then intermittently start again. But if you turned it off, the battery light would flash and then it wouldn't (weird I know, but it was intermittent) and then it would pull start. It would not turn over via the key, only pull start. It would either make a click, click click noise....or it wouldnt do anything when you turned key. It would never start.

I didn't think to check the codes if there were any and didn't have a meter to see what the stator was putting out.

My thought is its the battery. this is a new used battery, and it was charged and holding a charge so I thought it'd be good. I've been using the liquid acid ones that you add acid and have to charge. They are charged and they hold a charge but I'm considering getting the precharged gel kind ($$) and see what happens. I thought we had this thing licked w/ the bmap sensor fix but apparently not? Do these bmaps go bad? as you may recall, i ordered the wrong one from the link you sent me (I needed a 3 wire bmap and I ordered a 4 wire) and had to 'make up' a new harness w/ wiring and use my old 3 prong bmap sensor plug. could that be the issue? it tested fine and the wiring harness w/ way stronger than the original little 'telephone' guage wiring that came w/ it originally.

Any thoughts at all? It obviously seems to be something in the electrical system and obviously seems to not be charging.

thank you again for your help.
Jr

 

A new used battery? Charge this battery up and load test it. Batteries can show 12+ volts but drop like a rock when a load is on them if a cell is weak or corroded.Plus 13.1 volts is on the low end. Should be around 14+ volts. Here's from a good battery site.

3) Load Test the Battery

Your local automotive shop is more than able to load test your battery for you. But it's quite easy to do at home. All you need is a digital voltmeter. For any load test to be accurate, the battery must be fully charged. Let's use a motorcycle battery for an example. Remove the seat and expose the battery in your bike so that you have access to the terminals. Do not disconnect the battery because you will attempt to start the bike. Hold the prongs of your voltmeter to the correct terminals on the battery. Now push the starter button and watch what the voltage drops to. It doesn't matter if the bike starts or not, what you're looking for is a voltage reading.

DC Voltage A healthy 12 volt motorcycle battery should maintain a range from 9.5 - 10.5 volts under the load for a good 30 seconds straight. If the battery begins to hold and then steadily drops in voltage, there is a problem. If the voltage instantly drops to 0 volts, that is also a problem. We call this the open cell. On a new battery, this can be a result of manufacturing flaws, but it also may be caused by sulfate crystal buildup. Under the intense heat of the load, one or more of the weld pieces connecting the cells is coming loose and separating. This will cut the current, and voltage will drop. When the battery cools off, the pieces will touch, barely giving a complete connection. This gives you a false voltage reading. Batteries with open cells may read fully charged in idle, but they fail under a load test every time. Once a battery reaches this point, there is no going back. The best thing to do is recycle the thing.
Plus I'd get the cheap 5 buck manual to check the charging system out. Could be a weak stator or regulator. Several tests to narrow it down.
http://polaris-atv.brssm.com/2008-Po...ce-Manual.html

 

OPT,
thanks for the response.
I bought a brand new battery and it seems to have fixed the issue. It fired right up several times and ran w/o issue each time. I'm hoping it was just a dead cell in a battery that bottomed out under load. I also bought the manual you suggested. Just a quick thank you for your help and input. YOU ROCK!!

 

Keep the battery on a battery tender.Hope the new battery solves the problem but if it happens again since voltage back to battery is on the lower range(13.1 volts), I'd use the manual on the charging section for troubleshooting checks, stator resistance checks along with other tests shown for the stator. If the stator checks out then usually a regulator problem.

 

Got it. Will do.

I dont know if this matters but I just replaced both the stator and v.reg w/in past few months w/ brand new. is it common that those parts (stator/V.reg) are bad or go bad so quickly?

thx again
Jr

 

Not normally on oem parts,but the cheaper Chinese stators and regulators don't have that good of a reputation for holding up. Some are even bad out of the package.

 

OPT,
Sorry to hound you, but can I run another connected problem past you on this Sportsman 500 EFI HO Touring (2008).
Loooong story short, I think u may recall, I believe may have misdiagnosed my electrical issue way back when this started b/c I thought it was a charging issue, so chose to replaced the v.reg and stator under the assumption that both or one was faulty. Not thinking to check battery first bc at the time, that battery was fairly new. AFter i had replaced both of stator and vreg, I went back and chased it down to being a bad battery and not the stator/vreg. But I had already replaced them I figured Id see how it goes, thinking they're new parts, I should be good..... Unfort. I had put in a stator from china it started to fail. bc I was back to having charging issues. So after putting in a new gel battery and testing my v.reg w/ diode test from the manual you sent me, and still had the issue, I decided I put my original stator back on. it seemed to be working fine, charging at 14.75+. So I thought i was good. no codes, and running good.

I rode today and 10 min into ride, I got a check engine light. if I just it off, it would go away but if I ran for about 5 minutes and got on it a little higher rpm, the check engine light would return.
I tried this 5+ times and same result.

btw, the bike ran fine. v. good actually no issues on response or sluggishness. If i had never gotten the check engine symbol I dont think I'd have known there was problem

I pulled the codes and it gave me 12, 58, 55, 61.
55, 58 are:
55 Diagnostic Lamp: Open Load
55 Diagnostic Lamp: Short Circuit to Ground
55 Diagnostic Lamp: Short Circuit To Battery

58 Cooling Fan: Open Load
58 Cooling Fan: Short Circuit to Ground
58 Cooling Fan: Short Circuit to Battery

I thought i did notice my fan on a bit w/ the key on, or at idle but I couldnt be certain.

I'm thinking my tbap sensor is my issue or atleast part of my issue. you may recall, last time I was getting code 55, you said tbap was a common issue. I got the wrong plug (they sent me a 4 wire and mine is a 3 wire) so I replaced the broken 'telephone size" wires but kept the original plug ....this plug still has the telephone gauge size wire going into the plug so I'm wondering w/ all the issue you say these original wire plugs have, maybe I have a break somewhere I can see where the wires terminate in the plug, so I'm going to order a new plug and h.duty wire harness from the place you suggested and make sure they send me correct 3 wire plug.

My ? to you is......can my stator/v.reg still be causing any of this or is it just coincidence that its on the heels of all of that. (I didn't have my meter out in the field to test, but since I didnt get a battery symbol, i'm thinking/hoping i'm ok there).

any thoughts on the cooling fan error codes? common issue? fixes?

thanks again for all of your help. Much appreciated.
Jr

 

A lot of time bogus codes can appear. Get the correct tbap harness kit,install it and remove the battery negative cable for a few minutes. See if this removes the codes and hopefully may solve the problem. Electrical problems in one area can cause bogus codes to show up all over the place. And yes aftermarket cheap Chinese parts are hit and miss,but because of the cheap price people still by them.That in itself can cause more problems.

 

OPT,
I thought I had this thing licked, but its been back to haunt me!

You may recall, my issue from before after all the tbap sensor, stator, v.reg etc etc...it all ended up being a loose ground wire.

In any case, its been fine for three months and I
Went away for a long riding weekend last weekend. At end of second day, after a long and very dusty trail day, it started flashing Check Engine light and "WAIT" and wouldnt run on most downhills, wouldn't idle, hard to start after it died. (It would run decent going up hills though).

I thought maybe air cleaner bc of all of the dust.

In any case, I replaced air cleaner when I got home and washed out the radiator (it had tons of caked on dust) and disconnected the positive battery terminal (hoping to clear the codes). it ran ok for about a minute, then flashed Chk Engine again and then It ran crummy after that, stalled and sputtered.

It was throwing codes 12,22,45,46,47,51,58,55,61.
I barely got it on the trailer (stalled several times and coughed getting it up the ramp.....took it to the repair shop and it ran fine. it would not give me a check engine flashing light. Drove it around parking lot for 20 minutes without any issues. But it still gives me the above codes.

I've researched it and there are several ways I'm supposed to be able to clear these codes, but I cant seem to get them to clear out. I've disconnected battery. I've put in Neutral and held yellow reverse button for 10 seconds. They dont seem to clear.

My thought is, I need to clear these (and know for certain they are cleared)...then run it and see what codes still pop up and go from there. But I'm having trouble clearing them.

thoughts on this hot mess?

thanks in advance OPT!
Jr

ps - I checked ground wire and its tight, no issues there I can determine.

 

If you replaced the tbap harness(appears you have) and you rule out a tps harness problem,sounds like it's going into limp mode intermittently. I'd disconnect the battery, pull all the electrical connectors,including the ecu connector and blow them out and use a little electrical grease. Plus wouldn't hurt to check the throttle body itself for dirt and spray it out if it is. Doing all this may clear the codes.If it still goes into limp mode,could be an ecu issue and hooking it up to Digital Wrench would be my next step.Only so much you can do at home with just the manual and a meter.