Ask The Editors: Polaris Codes Aplenty

Polaris 500 EFI diagnostic codes tell the tale.

We’d imagine you looked into the following issues but suspect your trouble lies in either one of, if not some combination of the codes your ATV is throwing. Let’s break them down individually.

Code 22: Pertains to the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) – specifically an inaccurate voltage reading.
Code 41: Pertains to the Air Temperature sensor – specifically an inaccurate voltage reading.
Code 42: This one isn’t a universal Polaris code but rather is left for model-specific issues. In our experience it usually indicates a faulty ground.
Code 45: High or ow input reading from the MAP sensor.
Code 47: Open load or short to ground in the Idle Air Control (IAC) motor.
Code 51: Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) fault or wiring issue.
Code 58: This code is another non-standard, but again usually indicates an electrical issue, most likely related to the fuel pump circuit (which is Code 56-onward).

This all seems like a lot but if you have a bigger underlying issue like a bad ground or a faulty ECU, it isn’t uncommon to get a boatload of codes as each of the diagnostic sensors will report the issue as a malfunction in their specific circuit.

We’d begin with looking for opens or shorts with your multimeter by connecting your leads to each harness and testing for resistance (ohms). Start at the ECM in fact. If you don’t find anything, you could try load testing the battery.

We actually know someone with a Ranger 500 experiencing similar issues with rough idle and a plethora of similar codes who simply replaced the ECM (Electronic Control Module) which controls all the electrical activity on the machine and the idling straightened out and all of the codes disappeared.

We’re guessing yours is a situation like this where a single bigger issue in the electrical system is causing all of the other symptoms and codes.

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