hey, you HO owners, with winter coming and everying, (i have already posted this once,but no replies) on my machine it has a water in oil light,,,,since it is not hooked up i was just wondering if it was just for the higher machines like the sporsman....is yours hooked up and does yours even have it....i just figured that light would be handy in the winter when u could get condensation in the oil tank....useually what is on the out side of the tank is in the inside...such as frost and such.....

 

I have a 2002 500 HO (also had a 2001) and mine does not have the water in oil light?????????? As long as you ride your machine long enough to get the machine to normal operating temp it should not have a moisture problem. I do not live where the temps are extreemly cold ( rarely ever gets below 10° F) so my machine may have not had the light added?????????????

 

My 01 HO has the "water in oil" spot for a light on the indicator panel, but there is no bulb in it.

 

Mine has it,and it's hooked up.
Never had a problem with water
Always seemed a bit odd to have it.

 

It’s news to me that this light was ever hooked up from the factory, but apparently it was (is?).

The dry sump design of the 500 engine has always had a cold-weather condensation build-up issue IF you often run the machine only for short periods of time. Short-duration heating, then quick cooling, over and over will, cause water problems within the engine. This problem is more frequently seen in machines used for farm work because they tend to be started and stopped much more often than machines used for recreation.

The “cure” is to always try to run the machine long enough so that it evaporates the inevitable condensation caused by the previous “cool-down” and change the oil more frequently if it’s used for short runs during the winter. The condensation issue is far less a problem with wet sump motors, like the 700.