I have a 2000 Sportsman 500 that will not start. First I thought the starter was no good, I can start it with the pull cord but not with the key. However when the key is on none of the lights work unless the machine has been started with pullcord. Is there perhaps a fuse buried somewhere inside this thing?

 

There are no fuses on a 2000 but there should be an inline breaker which resets itself. If it goes bad it could cause you some issues but it sounds more like a bad battery. Have you tested the battery? Check your battery first, then starter solenoid, then the starter itself.

 

Is the electric starter tuning the motor over?

If the starter is not working than its probably a sticking bush in the starter.

If the starter motor works, than the pulse coil inside the recoil cover needs cleaning.

Polaris went from fuses over to a breaker in 1998 I think.

 

I did replace the battery and seems like right after I changed it the starter stopped working, that's why I jumped to the conclusion of a dead fuse. Thanks for the input.

 

does it even click when you hit the start button? could be selenoid, take the wires off the selenoid and check that the nuts under them are clean and tight, might be bad connection

 

Mine wouldn't start all winter except by pull starting. It turns out it was just a loose cable. I still haven't figured out how it loosened up while it was parked. Check the simple stuff first.