hello new to this site but it looks great just got my first polaris 2001 sportsman 500 yesterday bought it with a few problems no lights all bulbs blown checked for power and their is at all the plugs also no speedo light and the speedo is not working also the digital display is not working also don't think 4x4 is working from what have read the bulbs blew because the batt was dead and they were pullstarting it got new batt now but can anyone help with the speedo before i shell out ?$ for a new speedo

 

welcome to the forum. the awd will not work if the speedo does not work as it's ran through it. i would check the voltage being put out to make sure the refifier is working and it's not putting out too much power and overloading causing the bulbs to blow and yes not having a battery in thier and running it is not good for it al all.

 

I belive there is a bypass for the speedo to get the awd to work, it use to be on this site but i'm having a hard time finding it.

 

one of the brown wires that come out of the speedo i think to ground will make it work.

 

Here: http://forums.atvconnection.com/pola...roblems-2.html

I grounded the brown/white wire after having speedo problems on my SP '99.

The yellow AWD switch will now turn 4x4 on and off. (auto AWD disabled)
As long as you use common sense with regards to speed/rev in 4x4 while having this mod. it'll be just fine.

K.

 

if you type in awd and speedo in seach you will find bypass, but caution, this is to be used for more of a quick fix, this can cause damage if you ingage the awd while moving.

 

Ok to run the 2001 with a dead battery, but not without a battery ,rode mine for a month like that.. The bybass trick will get you AWD working agian without buying a new speedo.

If your rectifier is shot, your speedo may come back once you change it.

Might want to check that you main 20A breaker does not look like this.

 

I ran mine with a dead battery...killed my voltage regulator, blew bulbs, and fried my speedo and my AWD wouldnt work. I needed a new volt reg and a new speedo. Good luck. Not cheap.

 

What year is your ATV? You cant run a newer ECM model with a dead battery.

 

That was several bikes ago...it was either a 99 or 01 both were 500's. It started blowing headlights, and then i was going down the road and the speedo started spinning all the way around then went dead. Then on the way home after that i pulled into a creek and found out my AWD wasnt working when i dug myself into the sand bottom trying to come up out!

I know that whichever one that was they both had a pull start and you could run them both on a dead battery. Apparently that was a bad idea.