Drove my 96 polaris 425 4x2 down to the back pasture. When i got on it a couple of hours later and turned the key on, no indicator light, no push button start, no headlights. Fired right up with pull start, still no headlights even while running. Got it in the shop, cleaned battery terminals, still no electric. Shop manual shows a 20A circuit breaker, but when i follow the neg batt cable goes direct to the starter. Positive goes to solenoid just in front of battery then main cable to starter with a second smaller cable headed to parts unknown. Cleaned connectors on solenoid, no change. Volmeter shows 12ish volts on battery. Ohmeter across solenoid connections at 200. Would a bad solenoid do all this? Ive had this atv for about a year, only has 2300 miles on it, (previous owner ended up getting a degenerative neurological disease, so atv increasingly rarely used) had to replace the fuel valve, otherwise has done great

 

Item#2 on this parts break down.http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/f...1996&fveh=5413 Should be a 20 amp circuit breaker in a plastic sealed pouch up from the battery. Sometimes tucked under the rear fender on the frame. Slice the pouch open and check the connections on either side. If it's corroded or faulty,power can't get to the dash or controls,starter lights,etc. You can pull start it,because it's a magneto triggered ignition. The battery can be low or dead and will still recoil start. You can get these breakers at any auto supply cheap. Here's a new one versus a couple corroded ones. If the circuit breaker has voltage on each side of the terminals then could be a problem on the wiring at the terminal board itself under the front panel. Also a left control switch connections,wiring or internals can get dirty and stop power to the ignition switch and dash. You can spray electrical contact cleaner in the switch crevices,move the on/off slide switch back and forth and see if that was the problem.

 

Thank you for the diagram, i tracked back fro the taillight and found it, felt pretty stupid when i saw how easy it was to spot from back there. Opened the plastic, breaker looked good, but zero volts going across, so looks like its the culprit. Cheapest I've found online is about 40 bucks. Does that sound about right to you, or too high? Thanks again for the help.

 

Go to ANY auto supply.. You can get these for about a 8 bucks or less..Take your old one with you if in doubt.Or you can find plenty of 20 amp "auto reset" circuit breakers online.http://www.wiringproducts.com/20-amp...r-12-volt.html