I have a sportsman 500 2004 model. The engine will not turn over. Holding down the key will eventually cause a backfire through the muffler. It has less than 100 miles. I had a problems earlier with the spark plug cable being pinched under the gas tank, which was fixed (manufactured defect). Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

can you pull start it?

 

I tried pull start and it did not work either. Little history: The last time it worked was this past Thursday(Dec 23). After coming back from an evening hunt, I stopped by a car wash and sprayed the mud off. When I got home (10 min later), everything had a nice sheen of ice (22 degree f) on it. I attempted to start and it was running fine while I unloaded my gear. Then it cut out after 2 minutes or so of running. After several attemps to crank it, it backfired. Still having the same problem. Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like you got some water in something.

Those preasure washers are EVIL.

Your better off NOT using the preasure washer.

 

don't take this wrong ... does it have gas?


or


the gas vent frozen? or the gas has water in it?

Can you heat up the garage and try to start.

 

uncsrew the bowl drain and see if gas is getting to the carb (maybe even let it drain a little)

is your plug dry or wet when you check it?

check for fuel and spark

 

I just got it back from the shop, it turned out to be a fouled plug probably caused by the high powered washing. Thanks everyone for your help.