I have a predicament about two four wheelers I may potentially buy. I am in the market for a four stroke to my collection and I put my feelers out there for one that needed work. A guy got ahold of me right away with a 1995 magnum 425 that was in pretty decent shape body wise, had good tires and plastic, but would start easily and idled good but would not rev up. He said the slide would not come up so he said he thought either a carb needing a rebuild or a bad cam. Either way, he doesn't want to deal with it and wants it gone. He was looking to get about $500 for it and it would be right up my alley as a project. I was just getting ready to set up a time to look at it when another guy called me about a 2007 sportsman 500 browning edition. It's in ok condition with one running board cracked up, ok tires and around 3000 miles. The issue with it is, it just died on him. It has power to the lights, hand warmers and stuff like that but the starter won't turn over and the speedometer won't light up. He said he had someone tell him it was the ecm. How would I go about verifying the ecm is bad or its not something like a bad key switch or fuse? I am leaning toward the 2007 to buy but am leary about the newer four wheelers because of all the electronics that can go wrong, especially since it is fuel injected. The 95 magnum would be a simpler fix but I can pick the 2007 up for just a few bucks more so it would be a nice upgrade for my wife. Any thoughts on what might be wrong with the 2007 or would I be opening a can of worms and stick with the older one?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Ecms were problems at 150 bucks a pop along with costly speedos if they happen to go out versus the simpler 425 that you can probably count on needing a cam among other things. Basically your choice,but if in halfway decent shape I'd go with the 2007 and get a manual..

 

Thanks OPT,

Would the ecm cause the issue of the machine just going dead on a whim but let everything else work? I didn't know an ecm was that cheap, the ones I found werected over $400. The guy said everything worked on it then one day it died and wouldn't turn over and the speedometer wouldn't come on. He bought a new battery but that didn't fix it either. I had one where the key switch went bad and did the same thing, but was on an older model 500 so I don't know if this could be related or if I should look at the ecm first. I can get the 2007 for under $1000 so that may be a factor also. If it was up to me I would snatched the 425 up and be happy with another old steel racked polaris but my wife likes the thought of the efi and the fancy camouflage this one has......or maybe I'll just buy both and ask for forgiveness later, lol.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Oh,efi not a carb model.. Different story on the ecm price,but yes does the same thing or more on the electronics,Fuse block wiring,plus wiring harness problems on the sensors could be a pain also. Like you said just get both and go back and forth repairing them..

 

Thanks,
What is all involved in replacing an ecm? I have had to do it on cars before and you had to order a VIN specific one and then have it programmed by the dealer on certain newer cars. Is that the same on a four wheeler or is it just plug in and go?

Thanks,
Mike

 

You're thinking of the ecu or brain box that Polaris sometimes calls an ecm also.Rarely had problems with them. The Ecm(or pdm as some are called) just plugs in. Controls charging,battery protection circuit,starter lock out,fan control,etc plus has all the internal circuit breakers. Item #11.2007 Polaris SPORTSMAN 500 EFI (A07MH50AB/AL/AQ/AX/AY/AZ/MN50AF/AN/AT/AY) Electrical | Cycle Parts Warehouse