I am trying to help my friend fix a couple of problems with his '99 sportsmen 500.

1. The 4 wheel drive does not work
2. It overheats from time to time

I have tried to check the power to the pod and not one wire in there is getting power. That is with the switch on and the wheeler running. But the battery is pretty much dead.
Also the controls for the lights/override etc. have been tampered with and could be part of the issue

The fan has been rebuilt and only runs when the kill switch is in the perfect position. It is on from the time you start the wheeler until when you turn it off.

What do you folks think
Fan is draining the battery?
Not enough power in the battery to power the pod?
temp sensor bad?
air in the cooling system?
need new handle bar controls?
all of the above?

where can i start?
what should i be checking or testing?

 

Sounds like it could be all of the above as you mentioned. First off it has to have a good battery for the lights,controls,fan,awd,etc to operate properly. Start there first. Once running there should be 14 volts going back to the battery from the reg/rectifier. If not then a faulty reg/rectifier could be the problem with the battery going dead. As far as the tampering with the wires you just have to sort this out one connection at a time.Sounds like either some has wired the fan direct or the sensor at the top of the radiator has shorted out allowing the fan to operate all the time. You can get this screw in sensor at any auto store.