OK, so let me preface this by saying I'm a person who was raised on snowmobiles and brought up under the impression that the P in Polaris really just stood for problems.

That said, I am interning on a beef farm which is dependent on a 2006 Sportsman x2 500 EFI for calf checks, herding, etc. It gets run through mud, rocks, brooks, and faces animals over 1200 lbs. Since day one of me working there this machine has had idling problems. It will run at RPMs so high you cannot shift and at other moments will run at RPMs way below an acceptable idle range and kill. If you turn the handlebars one direction the RPMs increase and will do the opposite if turned in the other direction. Therefore, I'm guessing its dealing with a wiring harness and/or bad connection. Any suggestions on how to get access to this to check it OR has anyone had a similar issue and found it to be something else?

Furthermore, I've found that the seat of the ATV is jiggly and lose. It appears that the rubber seals for the two contact points at the rear of the seat have come lose but since I'm not familiar with what it looked like when it was bought (and since I'm really not an ATV girl...rather a sled and jetski kid) I was wondering if anyone has had this issue (or if its just how the seat is...jiggly...which I'm guessing is not the case).

Anywho, any suggestions or advice would be appreciated as I'd like to help get the issue resolved so we don't end up being on dead machine and facing an angry cow.

 

I would check the wiring harness and all wires around the steering stem. There has to be an electrical problem from what you have described. The seat issue is solved by getting velcro with sticky backing on it. Put one side on the bottom of the seat and the other on the airbox. It doesn't put any more pressure on the airbox but does keep the seat from moving around.

 

Sounds like an out of adjustment throttle cable. Have you tried adjusting it?

The grommets for the seat get torn easily and end up being pushed up inside of the seat. I've replaced the ones on my X2 once so far and they're available from the Polaris dealer for a couple of bucks. I do like the velcro idea and might do that on my X2.

 

It has worked very well. We have a lot of rock climbs where you have to shift your weight (my 350lbs.) around, wide open paths, and mudholes. It has kept the seat from moving around much. It's even a little tough to pull the seat off sometimes.

 

Thanks for the replies =)

The throttle has been adjusted but to no change in the sporatic behavior with the RPMs. Do either of you know a semi-quick or at least efficient way to get at that harness to look at it without having to drag it into a dealer? (Although the dealer isn't far...we really can't afford to be an ATV down right now since we're beginning a lot of herding, etc.)

Also, I think its shady to have to velcro the seat of the ATV. The issue is exactly what KBinCT said as I looked at it more today on break and the rubber seals are actually sucked up into the seat. Thats super poor design as it was bought in fall last year so this spring it was pretty much "brand new" and should be able to last longer. We jostle around a lot when banging through pastures and up and down the hills and through brooks. These machines should be able to hold up to more than this...but perhaps I'm just thinking crazy...ATV's made to be tough?...never.

 

the problem with the throttle is in the routing of the cable , it has either been moved on top of another bundle of wires or it is getting pinched under the gas tank , pull the left side panel off & check the cable there , pull the inspection cover off between the front box & the headlight pod , also check to see that there is no zip ties on the throttle cable holding it to the handle bars , hope that helps! happy herding!!

 

with the machine turned off for at least 30s, turn the key into the "on" position, then the "off" position 3x, leaving it in the on position on the third time. This activates the onboard computer diagnostics. Watch the screen and see if it displays any codes (usually a 2 digit number, like 25, 35, etc). Run this a few times and let me know what it says (it may display several codes).

The erratic throttle/idle speed could be a bad sensor-- this onboard diagnostics won't necessarily figure it out, but it is a start.

lemme know

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: BadgersEatGophers

Thanks for the replies =)

Also, I think its shady to have to velcro the seat of the ATV. The issue is exactly what KBinCT said as I looked at it more today on break and the rubber seals are actually sucked up into the seat. Thats super poor design as it was bought in fall last year so this spring it was pretty much "brand new" and should be able to last longer. We jostle around a lot when banging through pastures and up and down the hills and through brooks. These machines should be able to hold up to more than this...but perhaps I'm just thinking crazy...ATV's made to be tough?...never.</end quote></div>

The grommets seal thingys get sucked up into the seat from not having them perfectly aligned with the studs when putting the seat back on the bike. Also just a little tiny bit of lube (spit works) on the grommets help the studs slide into them. It is a super poor design.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: duffus

with the machine turned off for at least 30s, turn the key into the "on" position, then the "off" position 3x, leaving it in the on position on the third time. This activates the onboard computer diagnostics. Watch the screen and see if it displays any codes (usually a 2 digit number, like 25, 35, etc). Run this a few times and let me know what it says (it may display several codes).



The erratic throttle/idle speed could be a bad sensor-- this onboard diagnostics won't necessarily figure it out, but it is a start.



lemme know</end quote></div>



I'll check in in the morning when I go in and get back to you on it = )

Random side note...we were using it for pasture spraying today and it liked to play the RPM game. In low gear it would range from around 1800 RPM all the way up to 2600 RPM idling, which is just rediculous.

I'll need help from my boss to actually get in and work on checking out the wiring harness itself (and digging out the ATV from a few layers of mud) but I'm hoping this gets sorted out soon.

 

I agree with the cable routing but if its doing the same thing with no movement of the bars as well I would look for a possible air leak in the intake manifold and/or hose in between the throttle body and cylinder head as well.

Joe