My '96 SP500 has had a re-occurring problem for about a year now. When I crank it up cold, it runs "bogged down" for a while 'til it warms up...then takes off and runs fine. While it's running fine you can kill it, crank it right back up, and everything is honky-dorey....let it sit there and cool down and it runs poorly til it runs for a while. I've changed carbs, filters, plugs, etc. to no avail.
I carried it to my dealer Monday. He's kinda slow right now and thought it'd be a good time to put it in the shop. I know this would take some time to diagnose.
I called today to see how it was coming, and it's got his baffled, too. The idea was to put a new CDI box and/or a new stator and see which one might be faulty. Today he put on a new CDI. He said it would fire right up, but would go dead after it "stroked" about 4-5 times. He unhooked the black wire that runs to the unit ( I think it's the ground wire) and it would run fine....hook it back up while running and it still runs fine...kill it, and you couldn't get it to start again w/o unhooking the black again. He said it could still, possibly, be a stator problem...he's gonna pursue that direction tomorrow. If that doesn't do it, he's gonna call Polaris and said it would take at least 2-3 days for them to get back to him.

I know a few of you guys (Bill, Greg, Lurch, etc.) have VAST knowledge of these machines....how about a little help with this? This has been a thorn in my side for TOO LONG!
I apprecieate it,
Todd

 

let me understand you right. when you start it cold or for the first time. it will start and idle. then as you press on the gas it will bog down or sound like it is going to died. but when it warms up it runs fine no boging or anything. is this correct? if so then it sounds to me that you have a jetting problem or bad fuel. jetting first= try as your motor is idling press on the gas and see if it bogs down. if so. at the same time turn you choke on. if the motor revs up then you have a lean setting on low end. change pilot jet or air screw.odds are this is you problem. i see alot with snowmobiles. the other is fuel. if you have bad gas then the gas don't want to burn with the motor cold. low octane gas will do this. try 90 or above. see if this helps. as far as you cdi and stator put new on and if it works great if not you just spent alot of money and it is still not fixed. good luck.

 

I would say its a little rich, and has a weak spark. When its cold, the richness makes it run a little rough until it warms. Then after everything warms up, the spark gets weaker. As long as its running, its fine, until it dies. Then the spark is even weaker because the electronics are warmed. Now it doesn't have enough spark to fire until the thing cools for a very long time.

Just a suggestion, good luck and let us know.
Gary

 

Richy,
You've got the symptoms correct. I don't think it's the jetting 'cause I just put a new HO carb and everything on it...plus, wouldn't it run bad ALL the time? I also thought it was jetting to begin with....

 

I think you're right...he's gonna change the stator ( hopefully today) and see if that makes any difference.
I thank ya'll for your input.

 

Todd

Did it ever do this before you put the HO carb on there?

 

I don't think it is the stator. My experiance is the stator will work or it wont. It is just a wound coil and when they go bad it just dosn't run.
My guess (I know you checked it) is that it is jetted to lean for cold weather. Look at jetting charts, they all show to richen it up the cooler it is.

 

Yes, it did the exact same thing.

 

What about a faulty connection, Bill? Would that act the same way? Maybe going to ground? Wouldn't a jetting problem be consistent, also? This has got me baffled.

 

If it was mine I would put in the next size bigger jet and play with the piolet screw a little and see if that helps your cold running problem. A lot cheaper than a stator or other electrical parts. I still think if it was the stator or a bad connection it would stall out completly