Where is the voltage regulator located on an '02 Sportsman 400? Also, does it look the same as a volatge regulator on a sled? I'm assuming it does, but I don't know for fact. Thanks for any info.

 

Should be in the front of the machine. #'s 28 and 29 in this link. Partsland

 

Thanks NCSrambler, the reason I asked is that my headlights, speedo, and possibly my 4x4 have been cutting out latley. I posted about this a while ago, but it quit doing it for several weeks, then last weekend I was standing in front of the wheeler as it was idling, and it looked like the headlights were sending me morse code. Could the voltage regulator have anything to do with this? Thanks for any more info.

 

It's a possibility, it could also be a bad ground or the battery is dead or does not have enough charge to keep things going right.

 

A close friend has a 2001 sp500HO which started to act up in a similar fashion a month or so ago. I posted the symptoms and a HELP! logo but didn't get any satisfactory replies. My friend's claim is that the headlights, speedometer, etc. start to blink on and off after the machine has had a chance to warm up.
He has cut short several runs lately because of the prospect of not being able to drive the machine home.
Interestingly enough, this problem doesn't happen on every run. That makes it all the more difficult to diagnose. I believe he indicated that disconnecting the low beam lights seemed to have solved the problem at one point. I'm hoping that others who might have a similar problem will reply so that eventually we can make some sense of this problem.

 

I checked all of my battery connections and ground on the machine yesterday. Everything was tight. This problem also may cut out my 4x4. I'm not sure cause we were riding in about 2 to 2.5 feet of mud and standing water, so I had some bad clutch slippage. At times when the speedo wacked out, I still had my 4x4, so I'm thinking that was just clutch slippage, and if the back tires can't spin the fronts aren't gonna engage. One thing I thought of is that I put a winch on it a couple of months ago, but I didn't use a solinoid. I just went off the battery to the switch, then to the winch. Would a solinoid lower the amperage being drawn from the battery at all? I'm gonna unhook the winch from the battery and see if it continues to do it. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

I had my friend check the electolyte level in his battery this morning. It was ok. The first time this happened to him I believe he had just ridden through some snow. In a previous forum, someone suggested looking at the fuses to see if water had entered the sealed pouches they are contained in.
Other than that I can't be of much help. I was sort of hoping this thread would be read by someone who was not only familiar with the problem but had already found a fix. Is the speedometer electronics suspect ? I've heard they are somewhat problematic and an expensive fix. If you do come up with something I'll pass it on.