I finally got the 07 sp 500 EFI out and clicked off about 15 mile yesterday and the battery indicator light is flashing at me when I'm running 4-5 k. Got home and put the digital charger on it and said 62% so I let it charge to 100% Today I started it and tested output, Idle 12.6v-12.8v, 1500 rpm 13v, once over 4500rpm jumps to 16.5-17v and indicator flashing. With ALL lights on holding 12.6v at 4000-5000 rpm. Talked to local popo mech and he said it sounded like the regulator was bad which is in the ECM.$$$ Or the stator was bad. He also said some of the ECM's were recalled but not sure about mine. Any help on this one before I bite the bullet and take it in for a diagnosis?$$$$$ Could a bad battery cause this?

 

yes the battery could cause it, yes thier was a recall on some years ecm's (which i do believe controls your voltage as a rectifier) but don't know if 07's were in it. just have your polaris dealer run your vin# to check for the recall. w/ that higher voltage something is wrong for sure.

 

I checked the battery and it load test's ok and is holding 12.6v (11.6v under load) Any other ideas before I shell out some $$$. Dealer ran a check on the vin and says it is not in the recall list but can double check once they get a number off the ecm. If in fact the problem lies in the stator can I get it rebuit for this model or would I be better off getting a new one. I'm kinda leaning toward the stator being bad and throwing to much voltage since it had water in the recoil housing at some point from the original owner. But would'nt the regulator/rectifier still stop an over voltage situation if working properly?

 

I know you said you had the battery load tested but one thing to keep in mind is 12.8 minimum for a good battery with ECM. I also have have my Digital charger read wrong(its in the dumpster) when comparing readings with another DVM.2007 bike with the OEM battery Probably a good choice to replace your battery preventive maintenance thing. Sure sounds like it could be a battery problem to me.I always rule out the simple stuff first like battery connection,grounds,chasing volts readings. Checking stator output I would do along with all the other checks. You should be able to get access of a plug in to check the ohms,bad grounds of the stator before I would rule out a bad regulator/ecm.

 

I did the load test with a handy dandy little tool from work we use on the big trucks and have been testing the voltage with my fluke. I'm probably going to replace the battery regardless with a oddesy but if it's still good I'll keep it till fall. How do I check the stator output? I've read the service manual over and over and just get more confused each time. I know I need to check each leg coming out (three yellow wires) Could someone walk me through the steps of testing it? I really don't want to mess up a step and fry somthing! I plan on taking it to local shop tomorrow or monday if I can't figure it out on my own, (but thats a last resort) $60 an hour

 

I would have to agree with the mechanic on the regulater. The regulater shouldn't let the voltage get up to 17V regardless of the stator's output.

 

Well to rule out the battery I just swapped the batterty from the magnum and ended with the same result. What are the odds that I'd have two bad batterys? This time I held the throttle at 1700 rpm and let it climb slowly from 12.8v-14v then bam 16v-17v I also did test 1 and 2 according to the service manual and in test one I hooked the lead up to a leg and ground for reading. Getting .4-.5ohms on all legs,manual states .19 +- 15% Test 2 I hook leg 1-3 1-2 2-3 and get .7 at each time, manual states .43+-15% I have'nt performed test 3 yet to test vac. Am I supposed to have the plug disconnected to test each leg while running.

 

I would bet money your stator and battery are fine. When you did you ohm readings did you check to see what your meter shows when the meter leads are touched together? If that doesn't read zero then subtract that reading from your test readings.
VAC is done by disconnectiong the three yellow wires and hooking up the leads to any two(eventually checking all three combinations) and starting the unit. Make sure you are on the VAC setting on your meter. Let it idle and I would say you should get 25 VAC at idle.
Again, I doubt this is your issue. If the stator is bad, they normally just don't put voltage out, not excessive voltage out. And if one ever did(which imo is not possible), the regulator should take care of it.

My money is on the ecm.

 

yep, I starting to think the ecm is culprit as well, And yep my fluke was zero out when leads are touched together. Those numbers are supposedly actual. A liitle higher than the manual states but they are consistent. Tomorrow I 'll do a vac test before I load it up to take into the shop. If it is the ECM I'm hoping it's on the recall list. Otherwise there goes about $400 hard earned. Anyone know where to get an ECM THAT WORKS! CHEAP! LOL.

 

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