To start with I sould not have to use the darn thing !!
bought new in dec 03 , now only has 285 miles on it. Starter spins but does not always turn over the engine. I've started with the rope a couple of times, but now the damn rope does not retract back in. how big of a job is it to take the side cover off ? does it take anything special to keep it water tight when it goes back togeather ?
Would it be better to have the dealer mess with it ?

This machine also had to have a new " brain box" at only 200 miles , out of warranty on time , but the dealer took care of it for me. I've also had a put a new battery in it also. Now I see all the posts about the camo turning purple !!!! Can't wait for that !!! Just found the site tonight , lots of good info . Thank you for your help.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

Should be able to do this yourself. I suspect your electric starter and rope problem are from the same root problem.

Remove the right side floorboard and then the cover; should take 15 minutes to do this. I suspect you are going to find water and dirt inside this housing. Clean up the recoil, starter clutch and remove water and dirt from the housing. Re-install housing and floorboard.

Usually the cause of this problem is the handle on the rope is not properly seated on the housing after it is used.

 

if your electric starts not working right maybe you got dirt in there as well. just make sure the spring on the pull start isnt broke while your in there.

 

Thank you guys for the response. You have described the problem. Starter works , then does not. It runs with plenty of power, but does not always crank the engine. With the rope out, starter cranked every time. The rope does show water and rust color at the bottom .
Now the good part ! apparently my fault , during a hunting trip in arkansas we drove through a lot of water off and on, didn't pay attention if it was seated properly, and obviously didn't know to clean it out !!!
I'll pull it apart and try to fix and clean it . Thank you for your help !

 

I did this a while back! You may want to get the gasket prior to removing the pull starter. Also it took quite a bit of force to remove the cover as the previous owner had never removed and it was obvious that water had contaminated this area. I removed the starter gear thingie and lubed the heck out of it and it started engaging again. It used to just spin, would not move out an engage the gears, would have wiggle or hit area where starter was to get it to engage. After lub job it has never not worked as it should.

I also found that my very old low battery would not turn over the motor even though the starter was spinning, it was not until I replaced the battery and the positive cable that it would start right up every time.

Steve

 

Thanks guys , seems to work good as new now. I now know what the plug on the bottom of this cover is for , but what is the plug in the top of the cover for ?? thanks again , very good reading on thism site!

 

If I wanted to get a 04 500 sportsman and it has 1100 miles. The dealer wants to sell it for 3395 is it a good deal. Also is 1100 miles is a lot for atv.

 

The plug on the top is where you go to find the top dead center mark on the flywheel when you go to time it or set the valves.