I inherited this ATV about a year ago and am finally getting time to look at it. I have a fresh battery and no power. It appears to have some problems because there were random wires running all over. I replaced the main wiring harness, but have some empty sockets that I need identified. I haven't hooked it back up to the battery because I can't find a ground wire, unless the winch wires serve as ground. For the most part, the new harness matched up with the old, except the grey fusible link that I have pictured.
This first picture shows a socket connection with a red wire going in and coming out. This had a wire spliced into it from the winch control switch
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My next concern is this part attached to the engine. I think it's a thermal sensor. Has a blue/white wire coming out that was connected to nothing. Where does the wire go?
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This part is back by the battery. Has two thin wires - red and black, and two thick wires red and black. The thin red has a ring connector, the black has nothing.
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The dirty connector in the foreground runs to a cylindrical part that has a bunch of wires connecting to it. It's on the front of the vehicle. The two wires from the main harness are connected to it via a mounting screw.
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This is the fusible link wire. There is no mounting hole near where this exits the harness, and the old harness didn't have one.
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Finally, I have these two. They shrink wrap covering the ends makes me think they are extras.
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Appreciate any help.

 

You really need a wiring schematic in the worst way for this. I can show you a couple connections,but it's a lot easier with the schematic in front of you so you can trace which wire goes to what.That's where a cheap 5 buck service manual comes into play. 2003 Polaris Sportsman 500 Service Manual PDF Download

 

I have been looking at the wire schematic for a couple of days. It's useful for trouble shooting when everything is hooked up. Not so much when the you have random connectors, the wires are the wrong color, and everything is encased in protective tubes. My schematic shows that the blue and white wire from what I assume to be a temp sensor is supposed to connect to the speedo, but I have no idea how. I can't find a point on the harness where it connects in.

 

Manuals I have on all the 500s show the blue/white single temp sensor wire to go direct to the speedo harness connector. Sensor itself grounds to the engine. Doesn't show which pin number though on all the early models like they do on the later models. Has wire been pulled out of the connector,cut?

 

Yeah, It's just hanging loose. On the new harness, there is no place to plug it in that I can find. The schematic lets me down here. I managed to get it started without blowing any fuses or circuit breakers. Patched a couple of wires here and there and hoped I didn't have anything crossed. I'm still trying to figure out what the double red wire connection is. There was a patch from the winch control switch cable to the same connector on the old harness. I initially thought that it was some sort of power in to the ignition, but apparently not. I'm now wondering if power was flowing the other way instead. Something to test tomorrow. The winch control switch appears to not work at the moment. I tried testing it for continuity with the Ohmmeter, but got nothing when I pushed it either way. There is a block at the back that has the cables from the battery, cables to the winch, and the control switch cables all running to it. Wonder if something in there is messed up.

 

Red/white wires grouped together are for auxiliary equipment,powered only when key is on. Wouldn't worry about them,but one is usually hooked to winch switch.Block at the back is the commutator switch for the winch. Bad location that we used to place them at. They're located up under the front fender or under the front panel now.Some were recalled as well as some early solenoids on Warn winches.You can look at Warns web site as to any replacement parts needed.

 

Does the winch commutator switch normally draw power from the battery? There's a cable running between the two. Does this mean that since there was a wire run from the aux power point to the control switch, the commutator probably has a failed portion? Any guesses on where the engine temp sensor wire connects to the main harness?

 

Could possibly have a faulty commutator as the one I picture is the recalled one #62135,plus have had plenty of them short out that weren't recalled. Again check Warns' web site on replacement parts if needed for the commutator or winch parts and numbers. Only way on the sensor wire is to pull the protective sheathing from the harness and trace the blue wire down.