Hey everyone,

I just became the owner of a 2005 Rancher ES 350 yesterday. I bought it off of a friend who has received it as part of a voluntary repossession (I work in the debt collection market). The owner of the ATV though had "mis-placed" the keys so they were not handed over when the repo was done. Obviously I need to get a new set. Based off of what I've read is there is a key code on the ignition that I need to get to Honda. How do I find that? I read there's something I just need to pop out, but I'm not the most mechanically inclined.

Additionally, the former owner said it was stuck in second gear. It has the electronic shift on it, so do you think this might just be a censor on it? I've read that there seem to be some issues with the censors, and they're real cheap and easy to replacement.

Do you guys recommend doing any other stuff before taking it out? Obviously I'll change the oil and what not, but is there any other basic maintenance that it'll need? It hasn't been rode in probably close to a year.

 

The ignition pops out the top of the dashboard by depressing two tabs underneath it. You can see them from beneath the dash. Just jot down the number/letter code stamped in the plastic body of the switch and carry them to your Honda dealer and you got yourself an ignition key. Sometimes these switches have more than one set of stamped numbers on them. Write everything down. However, the code you are looking for will end with a letter (A,B,C, or D) follwed by two numbers. This is the actual code although the entire code may consist of 6 to 8 characters to throw off those with not so good intentions.

As for the electric shift problem, it's something you may as well get used to as a 350ES owner. Honda sells more angle sensors alone just for the 350ES models than they sell in ATVs yearly,..no joke. The sensor may not even be your issue however and unless you are really good at diagnosing electrical issues, you will come out ahead by just allowing your dealer to do the work for you and get it right the first time around.

Congrats on your good deal and hope you come out good after you get her shifting again.

 

Thanks for the response. I'm pumped to get it out on the trails.

When you say the sensors (I can't believe I spelled it censor in the first post) are that prone to failure, is it something that I should carry several spares of? Some of my friends and I are already planning on taking some day long trips and I don't want to end up stuck on a trail with a dead quad.

 

I know dozens of folks who own ES equipped Honda's that carry spare angle sensors....just I also know many riders with CVT tranny quads out there that carry spare belts.
But personally I think that's a little overkill. While there are more people than not that have problems,..there are still large numbers of riders who have experienced no problems at all.
It's not a big fix when they go bad so my suggestion would be to ride it and only worry about problems when they arise.

 

Examples:

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Key number A31

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Key number D01

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