Well, I was out plowing today and all of a sudden I started having problems when I needed to raise the plow. The winch worked fine going down or out, but when I got close to a pile and wanted to raise the winch, it would not rewind. I had to stop and sometimes get off and pulll the cable out and then hit the button to rewind the cable. A couple of times if I rocked the switch back and forth or in and out, the winch would work and raise the plow.

Any thoughts or suggestions as to what the problem might be? I have a 2007 Sportsman 500 EFI with a 60" plow. This is a Glacier II with a 2500 lb winch.

Thanks,

James

 

awwww now your gonna get them all going again..........

 

i had the same problem on a warn 2.5ci winch.i took the winch apart thinking it was the contacts inside it was all rusty and muddy so i clened and regreased it put it back on still same thing.so then i switched the wires on the winch and it worked going in now but not out.so i unhooked the winch and tryed the switch again.there was a click going out but not in on the contactor block.took apart the contactor and there was the problem there was a wire melted off off the winding on one side.so a 1/4 inch piece of wire some soiler and some hot glue to protect the small wire put it back together and amazing enough it works like a champ.dont know if this is your problem but it worked for me

 

i think your going to find the switch is either dirty(bad contacts) or is going bad as some of the rocker switches have been. imo.

 

JSR- do yourself a favor. Just replace the contactor, that is the problem. $100 at the dealer. Seems to happen to every POS Polaris winch. Sorry.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to stir up any old wounds. By and large, I love my Polaris ATV and plow and can't wait to finish my log sleds and try them out at the gun club. We have 80 acres with a bunch of standing deadwood and several large blown down oak clumps. Should be able to harvest 4 or 5 cords of nice firewood. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions and I will take a look at the contactor. Can anyone just let me know what it is and where it is? I am handy but have never had to touch the ATV.

Thanks,

James

 

Well, any time you have to spend 100 bucks because a manufacturer has cut such an obvious corner in order to widen their profit margin, I guess it does create a small wound. If you search this forum and others, you will find hundreds of owners who have had this or other problems with the Polaris brand winch. My 3 previous Sportsmans all came with Warn winches, which were bulletproof. Now Polaris supplies a very cheap, made in China winch when they provide one as an option.

Anyways, the symptoms you describe are the exact same ones that cut my plowing short last week. I replaced the contactor (which is just a solonoid) and I was back in business. It is located under the right front fender (as you sit on the machine) directly forward of the gearshift. You can't really see it when you look under the fender, as it mounted on a bracket which pretty effectively protects it from debris. The bracket is attached to the frame with 2 bolts. Once these bolts are removed, the whole bracket and contactor assembly will drop down so you can remove all the wires that go to the winch and the switch. It's actually an ingenious spot to locate this component. The biggest pain is getting the plastic boot back over the wires after you install the new contactor. A very easy 20 minute fix if you're at all handy with tools.

I'm sure the majority of owners of ATVs with winches only use the winch occasionally to get unstuck or whatever, and for that purpose this winch is probably adequate. But for those of us who use it regularly as a major function of the machine, such as for plowing or pulling cordwood or what have you, Polaris also should offer a heavy-duty (Warn) winch as an alternative.

 

I hear you. My winch was an end of the year throw in as an incentive to buy the bike. I also got the plow and the rear tool box supposedly for "free". I love plowing with the ATV and 4 or 5 passes and my driveway is done. There is a small side parking area that takes a little longer but it still beats shoveling or snowblowing. I love when the snow is light and the wind blows it back in your face as fast as the snowblower spits it out. Will take a look at the contactor tomorrow and see what I can find out. Thanks for the info.

James

 

The winches do have a one year warranty, so if you're within a year, they'll fix for free - parts and labor - my contactor just went on my 2007 800 X2...

 

JSRIII

If it is all possible, it would be in your very best interest to ask for your $$ back for the Pure-Junk Polaris Winch you have.

Take that hard-earned $$ and invest it in QUALITY winch like Ramsey offers or Warn's RT30 or XT30. (Keep the mounting plate)

I found a few XT30 models on Ebay in the upper $300 to lower $400 range.