We took our brand new Sportsman 400 for my wife and my new 500 EFI out for the first time today. We had a great time and the 400 ran great all day. My 500 was fine at first and then ran good except it would not idle. Very frustrating especially the downhills and hard on the starter too. I wish Polaris would have put the starter button over by the left hand, so you could hold the brake and hit the starter with the same hand.

So when I got home, I read the book and like I suspected with EFI, it says if the idle is unsatisfacory, see your Polaris dealer.

However I tightened up the slack in the throttle cable to where it would idle now. I think. It was touchy and had to do it a few times because once I thought I had it, and the next time I started it , it raced too high, or it was too low again but it seems OK now.

But, did I do it wrong? This is my first ATV with fuel injection and being brand new, I don't want it jury rigged. Is this the way the dealer would set the idle?

One other thing that happened once and scared me because the little 400 would have had a hard time (to say the least) pulling me out of there.
Went to start the 500 after repeatedly stalling , pulled the brake and it did nothing. Put it in neutral, it still did nothing but the key was coming on cause the IP came on, just no starter engagement.


After trying it several times, turning he key on and off, it just started cranking, like nothing was wrong. Only did that, just that one time. Any body have any ideas or had this happen before?

Other than these things I really liked it alot better than I liked my '08 Grizzly 450. Altho I never had any problem with the Yammie except the rear seal.

I sure was wishing I had 3 hands today tho.
One to hold the brake; one to turn the key; and one more to give it a little gas , so it would start.

 

sounds like you need to take it back to the dealer and let them get it right.

 

man that sucks.... if u out it in park u dont have to hold the brake in

 

As busy as this forum is with Polaris owners, I surely thought someone would know how to set the idle on an EFI Polaris. Am I the lucky one that got the only EFI that won't idle?
I can adjust the idle with the throttle cable but and the book tells you how to adjust the cable slack but it says to see your dealer if the idle is not satisfactory because it is set at the factory.
I wish I knew if the idle was a separate electronic circuit and should not be adjusted by tightening the throttle cable.
I've never had any idle problems with any cars/ trucks I've had with EFI

 

I had an idling problem with my 07 500 efi. One of the members on this board posted the solution that worked for me. There is some sort of idle safety device built into the throttle lever that requires a small gap for the engine to idle. If you pop off the cap on the top of the throttle lever mechanism, this safety device will make more sense. It was a simple adjustment on the throttle cable. The adjustment screws are located in a rubber boot on the throttle cable near the throttle lever. It honestly took 10 minutes to figure out and adjust.

The post that helped me was detailed and well written, would recommend you try to find it on this board for more info.

Haven't had any problems since I fixed this adjustment.

Am really happy with my atv.

Rich

 

Uh, any good 'key words' to search for?

 

its called an electronic throttle control or ETC. what is does it senses when the throttle gets hung up and you dont have any pressure on the thumb accelerator. you can adjust it without taking the top off the throttle housing. there should be about 1/8" free play on the end of the thumb lever before you feel even the slightest pressure from actually moving the throttle cable. that doesnt sound like what your problem is but i would check it anyways because if set wrong it will make the bike run poorly and you have messed with the cable adjustments.

 

You adjust the the throttle cable so you have about 1/8 inch free travel in your trottle lever. After this is done the machine shoud idle. After I do this I always turn the handle bars full left and full right with the engine running and in neatral. If the throttle is adjusted too tight the engine will rev without pushing on the throttle.
As for the idle adjustment I do not know of any idle adjustment on any EFI as it is controlled by the ECM, as these EFI systems are very simple the idle will be controlled by how much fuel is delivered by the injector, the tps, temperture and barometer sensor. The only thing that is usually adjustable is the TPS, but don't try this without training and know how.

 

Thanks guys, I adjusted the cable and it now idles. 1/8th of an inch is hard to measure, but I'm guessing, I have no free play as the cable is now actually opening the throttle up enough so it will idle.
If it's that easy, I wonder why the owners manual says to "See Your Dealer", if the idle is unsatisfactory.
That's kinda weird.
I would think the engine should idle even if it had no throttle cable. I wonder if maybe Polaris wants the dealer to adjust the TPS

 

That cable doesn't hold it at idle,there is a stop screw on the throttlebody for that. Adjusting the idle is done by adjusting the stop screw, thing is then you need to reset the TPS after you change the idle. Polaris procedure requires a special tool to check the TPS voltage,but it can be done with a multimeter if you have a schematic of the TPS harness. I don't know the voltage for a 500 though. As for the cable tightness, if it is too loose it thinks the throttle is stuck open and kills the engine. You should not have to tighten it enough to raise the idle for it to idle, just tight enough to not activate the kill switch,like said above 1/8" free play. The way I do it is turn the bars all the way to the left and adjut the cable until the idle just starts to increase then back it off till the idle goes back to normal. Bars to the left is where the cable is pulled the tightest on an 800,may not be that way on the 500,but you get the idea. It's a fairly common problem on new machines as the cable stretches and becomes too loose and the machine won't idle due to the kill switch being activated.

Hope this helps.