i was riding with my freind and he stopped. he has a 2001 polaris sportsman 500 6x6. we were olny riding for 15-20 mins and his heat light was on. his engine was warn but it wasnt hot. he is new to riding so he said we should head back so i desided we should go the long way back eager to keep riding. but is light wrong or was it hot. please help me before the light spoils any more rides

 

How fast were you riding? Was it in mud? Was it a hot day? Is the maching brand new? There are many factors. You say he is new to riding, so was he riding hard while just breaking in the new machine? The only time I've had any of my Polaris' get hot was on a warm day, riding in mud & water. The screen in front of the radiator got coated, blocking the air from cooling the radiator.

 

The only problem similiar to this is when our fan switch went out. It's a thermostatic switch located at the bottom corner of the radiator. It normally activates before the temp. light comes on, the fan comes on at 185° and the temp. light comes on at 221°.

 

well we live in palmer alaska so it was probly near 60 out. there was some mud but not a lode of it. we were driving at a slow pace becase hes new. but he did have it in high gear in we didnt get over 15 mph. when i found out he had it in high i told him to put it in low. i know nothing about an automatic polaris 500 four stroke liquid cools but it wasnt very hot when you felt it

 

I didn't notice you're in Palmer. I live in Eagle River. And it looks like Mudkid is in Kodiak. It's an all Alaskan thread. Well, it seems to me there is a malfunction somewhere. Next time he rides, have him make sure he pays attention to the fan. Mine turns on and off quite often and never gets hot. His may not be turning on at all due to a bad switch like MudKid said. Good luck.

 

Reach around the front wheel to the fan. Spin it by hand to make sure it is free. I had seen once where some packing material of some sort had wedged in the blades & kept it fron turning. It has some resistance to tuning built into the fan motor, but you should be able to spin it with one finger if you can reach it. Otherwise, I would go with the idea of a bad sensor or maybe connection to the motor.
Farmr

 

He is new to riding so he said we should head back " SO I DECIDED WE SHOULD GO THE LONG WAY BACK EAGER TO KEEP RIDING". but is the light wrong or was it hot?. please help me before the light spoils any more rides

REMIND ME NOT TO RIDE WITH YOU. You could have burned up a brand new machine, because you were "eager to keep riding" without knowing the facts and making a somewhat selfish decision.

I will let a friend's overheating engine spoil a ride every time. Good friends and engine repair dollars are hard to come by.