im new to this forum and had a couple of qs. i dont know much about these bikes, i have a 2000 polaris sportsman 500 and the 4 wheel drive wont work, we have replaced most mechanical parts in the front end, still wont work. the light on the switch doesnt come on and my speedo dont work either. other q is i have put 2 starters on this thing since i have owned it for less than a year. any advice

 

You will have no AWD unless the speedo works. When Polaris came out with the first digital speedo in 2000 they wired it in as a componet of the AWD's fuction (Dumb move).

No fear though, if you use the search option on this site you will find a easy wiring bypass trick to have AWD without buying a $300 Speedometer.

Moisture gets into the starters some how and rust causes the brushes to stick open,you have to take the starter apart and clean up the brushes,not that bad off a job.

Hope you did not throw your last starters aways.

 

thanks for the reply. im gonna give it a shot. hopefully it works and saves me the money, ive heard this is a common problem.

 

When My time comes there is no way I would pay $300 for a new Speedo. Makes sure your pull core handle is sitting right and tight on the recoil cover,lots of expensive parts in there if water gets in. I just lost the metal ring on the rope handle which caused it to sit loose and allow muddy water to get in,it was a mess.

 

i tried to find bypass codes to bypass the speedo and still use 4x4 i couldn't find anything. maybe im just not looking in the right place. the same thing happened to my pull starter i have one ordered to replace it too. i havent had much luck with this bike. this is the first utility bike i have owned and im ready to back to sport bikes. ive ridden them for 15 years and never had this many prob. maybe i got a lemon.

 

Here is a thread about it. http://forums.atvconnection.co..._key=y&keyword1=speedo

There are many more. Use the word "Speedo" as a key word in seach and search "Title Only".