Just picked up a 97 500 Explorer 4x last night for a whopping $660. I just couldn't pass it up. That being said, it ain't pretty and there are some issues. This is the first 4x utility I have owned, although I do most of my own work on snowmobiles and jeeps, these are somewhat new to me.

The motor runs great. The thing had been sitting for a few months, I added fresh fuel, flipped the choke and whala it started first pull (the battery is deader than a door nail), idles like silk and seemed to zip up and down my driveway without a hick-up. I shifted in and out of low/high/rev and seemed smooth without issue as well. The front u-joint on the front drive shaft is shot, but seller had replaced the rear joints recently.

I have 100's of questions, most of which I will just have to read and find out but I have 1 pressing question.

The seller stated that because the battery was so dead that the cooling fan, lights, or 4x solenoid would not function. Once the engine is running, shouldn't the charging system run these things? Seller said he thought that the starting solenoid needed to be replaced since even with jumper cables, the starter won't turn over. I have yet to try this however.

Any initial thoughts? I am not running it for that a few minutes for fear of heating it up. He "claimed" to have never heated it up since the electrical issues started. It just got parked for about the last year or so as the ranch it came off of bought a new replacement 2 years ago.

One other questions, can you get the EBS feature simply by installing the drive and driven cluthes of a later model sportsman? Anyone make a converstion for this?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

yes the clutches are the only part of the ebs that need replace from newer models i beleave. most likely springs and or weights. would have to check. when bike is started just take a volatage tester and test the out put to the battery when running to see what t he output is. should be 14 or better volts. if battery is junk(most likely if its been sitting) ust go buy a new one and start from there.

 

Thanks for the input, I hope to have a little time to test things out this weekend.

Will have to start watching e-bay for the clutches. I rode my friends 06 800 and the EBS is a really cool feature for hilly terrain and I imagine it goes a long way to save the brakes!

Thanks,
Steve

 

there is one on there right now i think that would work for ya.

 

Don't forget the battery is toast you said..........So that could mean a "SHORT" or DRY cells..........This would put a very large strain on the charging output also..........I would buy a new battery first before testing...........Or take this one RIGHT out of the quad and charge it and look for proper electroite level..........Good luck.....Keep us posted on the progress you make..........Caper......

 

Well I had a little time to look it over closer this weekend. Besides every bearing and bushing needing replacement, I think its going to be OK once I get the electrical figured out.

I put a volt meter on the battery.... 8.4 volts, dead by most measures, fired it up and registers 1.4 volts?? I removed the battery and tested the + & - cables with it out and registered 1.4 volts. Is the charging system toast?

As for a short, I would imagine that is possible since this thing looks like, at some point, it was stuck in the heaviest clay mud one could imagine. There is rock hard clay packed in places that I wouldn't have thought possible, even up in the electrical pane below the handleb bars!

Any good sources for bushings besides Polaris?

Thanks
Steve