I am in need of some help. I have a 03 sportsman 600 and when I turn on the headlight switch it kills the insturment cluster. I wait and wiggle the wiring and it comes back on and will start up an run till I turn on the lights and again it kills the insturment cluster. Any ideas I am very desperate to resolve this issue

 

Pull the top of the headlight pod off and trace the wires down from the control switch and check for any bare wires shorting out. When wiggling the wires you are making a good connection somewhere in the harness, or the connector plug at the control switch or even could be the control switch itself shorting out inside. If you can't find any bare wires,broken ground wires(brown wires are ground) then I would make sure to clean the contacts on the switch and connectors,use an electrical grease and see if that helps,if this doesn't help could be control switch problem. Plus check out the connector and wires going into speedo. Hope this help a little. Keep us updated. OPT

 

I tried to figure out what was happening. Don't really think wiggling the wires made a difference. I replaced the ignition switch. I took off the ground at the cigarette lighter and regrounded the wire no difference. The headlights do not come on when the cluster goes out. The connections seem tight all the wiring looks ok. so i don't think the cluster is the issue and can't find out anything that seems odd.

 

Hope I'm thinking of the right machine,BUT check for also for a sealed black pouch(circuit breaker) under the front panel,could be kicking on and off (resets) and could have corroded terminals causing problems also?? pouch can be split open to reveal the 20 amp circuit breaker. Just a hunch,electrical ain't no fun at all! OPT

 

There are 2 black pouches under the cowl. I'll check them tomorrow. They are sealed so do I just open them? What do I look for? Thanks
Bdog

 

Look for loose or corroded terminals,even though they are sealed can get water in plus when going out just start kicking off and on. Just slice em open along the side and you will see,plus try to duplicate the problem again with the lights and then check that each side of the pouches has power on the red wires. OPT

 

Trace the ground wire from the headlight into harness below, I have seen lots of those break from the constant turning. The speedo shares the same ground as the headlight. Other wires maybe broken also in that area. You will have to remove the pod top and the cover below the pod to get good access.