I have a 2002 400 sportsman, a couple of weeks ago I noticed the speedo would quit working then jump back up to speed. Well this weekend my kids were riding and I noticed the lights front & rear were going on & off, speedo would work then not, light on the speedo on & off, reverse & neutral lights would not come on, mind you the bike would was running. If I turned the bike off and if none of the lights were on it would not crank, once the lights came on it would crank and run. Also I noticed the cooling fan works as normal. thanks for any input

 

Sounds like a short in the headlight pod area or possibly the speedo connector. Common problem for shorts on the harness in the pod because of all the twisting and turning. That's the area I'd check first. Also shorts around the high beam connector can do the same thing.If you can't find anything obvious there then I'd check the pins in the speedo connector.

 

Thanks.

 

Sorry it's been crazy for me. I've checked all the connectors, pins, wires nothing. Could a bad speedo be the whole issue. It seems it acts up only after it warms up, now it does it just sitting there idling on & off

 

Yes the speedo could be at fault. Some of them don't have a good reputation of holding up. New ones are pricey also. If it's a speed issue wheel sensors were bad on failing or getting clogged with dirt also. Item#37.2002 Polaris SPORTSMAN 400 (A02CH42AA) Handlebar And Headlight Pod | Cycle Parts Warehouse If it's entirely an rpm problem,then signal supposed comes from the stator,through the regulator to the speedo itself. If you're brave enough,people have rebuilt them also.KA7OEI's blog: Repair of the speedometer on a Polaris Sportsman 500 4-wheeler
AWD and Speedometer don't work - Page 2 - ATVConnection.com ATV Enthusiast Community

 

Ok I tried to repair it speedometer won't work but everything lights up. Take off on the bike and after a lil while speedometer starts to work then lights go out. No awd no key start but recoil start. Let sit and it will start all over again. Got to one point where the awd was done. Tried a used speedometer and it's the same thing after you've been riding it speedometer starts working then lights go out and no key start let sit (cool) I'm guessing and it will go to working for a lil while. I'm about ready to fix it with gas and a match.

 

When the speedo goes so does the awd as the ground path(brown/white wire) goes through it. If you've determined it's the high dollar speedo,a new one will solve it,but a lot of people have jumped the brown white wire in the speedo harness to the brown wire or to a frame ground. May not be too bad of an idea to do this anyway to keep the awd ground from going through the speedo to begin with. If it does the same thing with a good used speedo,problem could be in the 17 or 21 pin speedo connector. The manual shows what each pin does and can help trouble shoot.http://polaris-atv.brssm.com/2002-Po...ce-Manual.html

 

Thank you Guy's for the info much appreciated.