Have a 2007 Sportsman 500 efi x2 with issues relating to electrical. I can turn the switch on and nothing. Then I go back about 2 mins later and there will be power. Cleaned the emergency switch, main ignition switch, etc. Unwrapped main harness. sometimes i wiggle and it goes on. then goes off. Really weird problem. I really cant tell if there is a short in the wire harness. Seems like it just comes on intermittently.

Any ideas?

oh. battery cable was loose and has some arcing damage to battery.. Replaced with new battery. seems like a short, but don't seem to be able to find it.

 

Battery cable being loose may have caused a voltage spike back to several different places.Most common places for shorts like this to happen is in the relay wiring or fuse block wiring.Plus vibration alone can cause fuse block problems.Fuse blocks can be removed to check for any loose wiring connections underneath that can cause intermittent power.Plus another common area is the pdm module that has several circuit breakers that can trip and controls several areas of the atv including battery protection circuit, lights, accessory power,starter, fan,reg/rectifier.On this module its is hard to trace all the circuits and wiring.The manual is vague on checks. Some have even taken them apart to check for any visible signs of heat, melted components or wiring.Item #15 on the breakdown.
Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Honda, Arctic Cat & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse
If you can't find a wiring short or cause of intermittent power then the best thing is have it hooked up to Digital Wrench.Can save you a lot of time tracing wiring.

 

no fuse blocks, just a PDM. I suppose I will replace and see what happens?

 

Thanks for the input.

I checked continuity for all the wires leading from the ignition switch to the pdm and the left switches. All good. It just keeps making me think that the PDM control module is bad.

 

Don't overlook wiring shorts as in your first post you mentioned wiggling wires and power would come back on.I'd recheck the wiring harness area where this is happening and see if it's just a short before you buy a $225 pdm module.