Could it be the electonic control unit causing both problems??

 

The control unit has nothing to do with the 2 symptoms you are describing as long as 2/4WD is not flashing on the meter. I even think you have 2 separate problems.

1). Dash meter - Check the rear buss connector for corrosion. Do a search on this forum to find its location and remedy.
2). Hard starting - Give a full choke (if you are not), but DO NOT open the throttle at all. If that doesn't help, you need to check/adjust valve clearance.

 

checked all connections, no problem all were greased.

as for the starting Ill have to try choke without throttle. I think I always have my thumb on it.

 

Are you sure you checked the rear "BUS" joint connector? Greasing is not the issue there. It is the electrolysis. You need to remove the - wires out of the white plastic capsule and just leave the + wires in there.

 

by capsule do you mean harness?
I just noticed that my 4wheel does not work right now either. what happened was the instrument panel stated to flash on and off acting like a loose wire. I grabbed some wires moveing them around and it seemed to affect it then finally it quit working all together. the only thing that works on the dash are the nuetral and reverse lights. around the same time the bike got harder and harder to start when it was cold. I was thinking that it was the electronic control unit possibly, but Im not sure exactly what it controls. and I have no way to test it.
I was wondering what does the ECU do on this bike? Does it effect the way it runs at all?
I started the bike and unplugged it and nothing happend.

 

ECU
There is no ECU on your quad. Instead, it has two electronic boxes;
1). Igniter contains the fuel curve mapping, ignition control and rev limit function.
2). Control Unit controls 2/4WD & EBC actuators.

Find the BUS junction connector which is taped to the main wire harness on the right side of the fuel tank under the rear fender, and open/check inside the connector which looks like a capsule a size of a typical match book. The corrosion inside there could be causing your dash meter problem.

 

I checked the rear BUS joint connector and there was a white wire that was fried. I cleaned it up and reconnected the wire and still no dash. It did flash a few times just as I turned the key on then went right off. never stayed on.
I still have no 4 wheel either.


As for the cold starting I think I got that fixed. My choke was sticking in the carb. apparentley that is a common problem.

 

It's good that you found the BUS connector. Cleaning the wire may not be good enough. The next step is to cut off the joint connector and join following same colored wires together into 3 "SEPERATE" groups:
1). White
2). Brown
3). Black/Yel

*** DO NOT MIX/CONNECT DIFFERENT COLOR WIRES !!! ***

Your meter should work after that if it didn't get permanently damaged.

 

make sure all white wires are soldered together, all brown together, all black/yellow together and tape them seperately and away from one another. dont try to start it until this is correct, or this could fry the cdi(ignition) permanently. this is what happened to me. everything operated as normal but i had no 4wd, lights wouldnt even flash. PLEASE, MAKE SURE THE BATTERY IS DISCONNECTED BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT ANYTHING, and for good measure i would also disconnect the cdi and controller. these are pretty expensive items to take a chance on.

cdi- large black box in the center, under the seat, 3 plugs coming out of it, has a small mitsubishi symbol on it.

controller- slightly smaller black box towards the rear with 2 plugs coming out of it.