I have a 2000 Honda Rancher 350.. Over the weekend, I drove it up onto my trailer (ignition and shift to neutral worked fine) and headed down to Southern Utah (Moab area) for some offroading.

When I arrived and attempted to unload however, I could start, put into first gear, but the thing acted like the wheels were stuck and wouldnt move... it stalled.

After the stall, I could no longer start (the start button acts dead) or change gears (up/down) and that button produces no result either.

I assume some sort of electrical failure, but I couldnt find any bad fuses or disconnected cables.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

someone people state that you need a good battery for the the es to work correctly try chargin the battery and make sure it hold s a charge

 

Understood, but oddly enough - I have headlights and other electrical functions..

The only things that don't appear to function are the electronic ignition and gear changing (up/down).

I can't even manually start (via the pull start).. I pull and pull and it turns the starter, but no ignition.

Ugh!

 

Hi do your neutral and reverse lights and all the spedo info come on at all ? I assume it has the same speedo set up as my foreman ES ?

 

Yes, upon turning the key, all lights register, but no shift/no ignition.

I tested the battery.. GOOD

I tested all connectors and resistance according to the manual I bought.. GOOD

I can only assume something has happened to the gear sensor.. but before I drop a couple hundred $ at the local ATV shop, I'd like to try a few more things myself.

 

Kill switch on?
If you use the handle to shift manually, can it shift?
If its still stuck in first, the starter wont work. You may have to do the honda rock, to get it to shift into nuetral. Rock it front to back while shifting the handle.

 

Kill switch? Besides the Orange switch and key ignition, is there another switch that kills the motor??

On the gears.. while it reports being in 1st gear, I can roll it easily - suggesting that it's either really in Neutral or something's up with the trans.

I've tried the Honda rock & roll and even dragged the Honda w/my Kawasaki (while the wife steered) forwards and backwards to get some wheel motion to see if I could trip the trans (or something) to no avail.

Again, I'm thinking it may be a sensor reporting that I'm in first gear, thereby killing the ignition...

Today, I phoned my local Offfroad repair shop and they have a 2-3 week back log.. so even if I dropped it off tommorow, they wouldnt touch it for 2-3 weeks (UGH!)

 

Thats the kill switch i was thinking of.
The display shows 1? not the flashing - - ?
Then thats why it wont start.
Did the clutch seem to work normally before this? Try doing the clutch adjustment and then try shifting with the handle again. If its in gear, and being pulled, it should spin the motor over, and eventually start the motor.
Have enough oil in it?
Any fuses blown? They are back by the battery box.
Check for loose connections, like to the shift motor.
Dont give up...you got two weeks to try and fix it for free.