Check if power is reaching starter from the solenoid. You can tap on the starter to see if it starts working. Moisture,dirt and brush wear eat starters up. You can go to all the trouble of cleaning one up,installing a new brush kit, but easier just to replace them. Amazon,ebay or here.http://www.dbelectrical.com/c-1789-polaris.aspx

 

I'm doing this on the fly, and may need to make minor edits...

The solenoid is likely positive control with one end of the coil connected to chassis ground. This is confirmed by looking at the diagram, one end of the coil on the solenoid goes to the starter switch, other end to chassis ground.

To test the solenoid:
1) If newer style solenoid, verify the solenoid body has good contact to ground. Ohm out the metal to battery negative, should be near zero ohms.
2) Disconnect the control wire (small gage) should have a bullet quick disconnect.
You should get some small resistance like 3-15ohms (not open and not short) between the control wire and ground. If you don't replace the solenoid.
3) If the coil ohms out ok, lightly touch the control wire to the + battery terminal and see if the starter kicks over. Do not hold it for more than fraction of a second. If the starter does not kick over, disconnect the starter side of the solenoid, This takes the starter out of the circuit so you ca verify the solenoid is good. Lightly touch the control wire to + battery and you should measure 12V on the starter side of the solenoid. If the starter kicks over when directing attaching the control wire to +batt and does not kick over when pressing the start switch, the start switch is faulty or no power to the start switch.
4) If you don't measure 12V on the starter side of the solenoid in step 2 after taking the starter out of circuit, replace the solenoid as it's internal contacts are fried. If you do get 12V on the starter side of the solenoid, then the starter is the problem.

Good Luck,
Tim

 

Some of the early models did have a ground wire that hooked up behind the solenoid mounting bolt,but the newer ones you had to have a good frame ground on the battery box for them to work.

 

Thanks, added that as first step. All steps assume it's mounted to chassis ground.
Tim

 

Thanks for the info guys! In doing some more voltage tests, I have to believe it is the battery. When attempting to start, only about 7 or 8 volts are registered at the starter. At the battery, it stays about 9V, so not sure why the drop from solenoid to starter, but think a new battery may be the place to start.

 

This could explain what happens to batteries,sometimes even new ones straight out of the box.

Your local automotive shop is more than able to load test your battery for you. But it's quite easy to do at home. All you need is a digital voltmeter. For any load test to be accurate, the battery must be fully charged. Let's use a motorcycle battery for an example. Remove the seat and expose the battery in your bike so that you have access to the terminals. Do not disconnect the battery because you will attempt to start the bike. Hold the prongs of your voltmeter to the correct terminals on the battery. Now push the starter button and watch what the voltage drops to. It doesn't matter if the bike starts or not, what you're looking for is a voltage reading.

DC Voltage on a healthy 12 volt motorcycle battery should maintain a range from 9.5 - 10.5 volts under the load for a good 30 seconds straight. If the battery begins to hold and then steadily drops in voltage, there is a problem. If the voltage instantly drops to 0 volts, that is also a problem. We call this the open cell. On a new battery, this can be a result of manufacturing flaws, but it also may be caused by sulfate crystal buildup. Under the intense heat of the load, one or more of the weld pieces connecting the cells is coming loose and separating. This will cut the current, and voltage will drop. When the battery cools off, the pieces will touch, barely giving a complete connection. This gives you a false voltage reading. Batteries with open cells may read fully charged in idle, but they fail under a load test every time. Once a battery reaches this point, there is no going back. The best thing to do is recycle the thing.

 

So I just wanted to update this thread, and thank everyone for the input!

Got 0 ohms from ground to chassis, so good.
With switch on, got the requisite ohms.
From here, I went on my own! Disconnect the battery. Disconnect solenoid. Plug in battery charger to house and apply 12v direct to starter. Nothing but a big spark.
Remove starter. Apply 12v again. Nothing. Attempt to turn starter by hand (pretty rusty looking). Nothing.
get new starter. Put new starter in (that bottom bolt should be used as torture against bad guys). Rewire. Turn key, hit switch and VOILA!

So bad starter.

Thanks everyone!

 

Glad you found the problem on the starter. Is the battery holding a full charge(12.6-12.8),14 volts or so from the regulator while running?

 

Yes battery is holding about 12.5 V. Might still have a weak battery, when I go to start, all the lights go out, so it is taking all the amps to kick the engine over. This might be normal behavior, I don't know.

 

12.5 volts is actually around 75% charged.It may not hold more than that. Best to have it load tested for peace of mind rather than being out in the boonies somewhere and having it go out. No fun having to pull start these machines.

State of Charge Voltage
100% 12.7 - 13.2
75% 12.4
50% 12.2
25% 12.0
Discharged 0 - 11.9