OPT- looking for the wisdom again. Living in MN, I somtimes need to adjust the idle speed up in the colder months. Now I am trying to lower the RPM which is at 1500 and I keep turning and turning and it won't go down. Is it possible to go too far and have the idle rpm screw fall out? I was going to keep going but I was worried the screw would fall out. Also, the carb has never had any service work done(except the dealer rejetted when new as part of a recall) could it be time to have it gone thru?

Thanks

 

If you unscrew it too far the spring tension would cause the adjuster to fall out,plus check tension on the throttle cable. If none of this helps could be the shaft for the butterfly valve is sticking if it's been subject to a lot of water. Have had corrosion in the area under the cover plate where the cable wheel is and had to use penetrating oil to loosen things up. OPT

 

Thanks I'll be looking into more this weekend. I wil at least tighten the adjuster screw a little to make sure it doesn't fall out. I wish it wasn't so hard to get at it.

 

If it was easy then it wouldn't be a Polaris! OPT

 

So didn't take the carburetor completely out but I disconnected the carb from the airbox and from the motor so it could be moved around and twisted. I did see that by removing the side cover that the idle screw was almost all the way out.It did appear that the throttle was going all the way down. Cable looked good. I could not remove the top cover. It appears to be brass screws and I started to strip 2 of them before I gave up. The rest of what I could see looked fine and I cleaned what I had access to. The idle is still really high(too high) engaging the clutch when at idle. When I jiggle the throttle cable when everything is put together the idle speed increases and doesn't go down. I haven't messed with the throttle cable sleeve adjustment that is by the handle bars yet and I was wondering if that adjustment could be my issue(would have been easier than trying to access the carb) or is it more likely the carburetor itself. I may end up bringing it to the dealer because it is unsafe to drive with this idle speed so high....

Also this weekend the coolant overflowed out of the overflow container and I never saw the temperature light come on and the fan did come on. Not sure if it is just a fluke or what. I really need to talk the wife into letting me get something new. I rwally would like to get a 550xp or X2. I guess I'm getting old. The 850 sure is nice but i don't think I need that much oompf...

 

Kinda sounds like you have the throttle cable too tight.Adjust to where you have 1/8" slack at the thumb throttle and see if you can adjust the carb idle screw then. PLUS remove the carb clamp from the intake manifold and see if it's cracked and sucking air(could be another reason for the high idle,too lean) OPT

 

Saw this response after I was just in the garage and had the problem solved. I had already checked for the cracked boot and manifold. It took 1 minute of adjusting the throttle cable to get the idle down. I wish I could have the 2 hrs I spent trying to take the carb apart back. A good reminder for myself to start with the easy solution first. I installed a windshield bracket and initially there was no issue but it took some of the slack out of the throttle cable so it just needed to be readjusted. I guess I'm not buying anything new. Hopefuly the coolant overflow was just a fluke.....Thanks

 

Sorry,didn't get past the idle question! Just pop the radiator cap and run it until the fan cycles on and off,could be just trapped air,plus check the radiator out for grass,dirt,front and back. If it still does this after you put the cap back on,could be you need a new radiator cap. OPT

 

Well I guess it must have been air in the system. I ran it with the front elevated and squeezed the radiatorhose anx shook the machine. I didn't run it until the fan kicked on becauseit looked l8ike it would make real mess as the coolant would spill over. I did this twice got some air bubbles and filled the owerflow to max and it seems ok. Went for a short drive and then let it idle until the fan kicked on and it didn't overflow. Does't make sense that all of a sudden it would just have air?? Hopefully I am good to go. Thnx again.

 

Could be something that happened over a period of time that could trap air. If you ever topped off coolant, or even if had gotten a little hot in the past and spewed out the reservoir,could have sucked a little air back into the system. If it does it again,bleed the air and replace the cap and see if it helps or you can do a pressure test on the cooling system. OPT