I have a 2007 suzuki vinson 500 4x4 semi-automatic. It is completely stock except for the tires. I went mudding last night and within 1 hour it backfired 3 or 4 times which it has never done. Then we went back to the mud bog but it wouldnt make it because the ice was so thick so I backed out of the bog and it backfired again. When I tried to restart it the display screen went blank there is nothing on it now. When I turn the key on the lights will come on and the display light will come on but none of the other stuff on the display does. I made sure it was in neutral and it was. When you press the start button you get nothing even when the keys on and I push my winch buttons nothing happens. I have not torn anything apart yet but I did put the air cleaner box and it was spotless no dirt no gas no water no anything. If you have any ideas please let me know what you think. Any help would be great since I have no idea where I need to start. I do not want to take it to the local shop. I was lazy for the first service and let them doit and did not get it back for 3 1/2 weeks. thanks

 

Was this the first trip into deep mud?

Anyway, it would seem reasonable to think the trip through the bog and electrical problems are related.

I think I'd wash it real well, and once it dries, unhook the battery, and take EVERY connector apart. Hit them with some contact cleaner, blow them out with compressed air, and when they are clean and bright, pack with some diaelectric grease and reassemble...

 

Turn the key on and try pull starting it, my 03 vinson had a few wiring problems, when I would hit the brake the fuse would go out. The wires that go from your dash to the bike/ where the handlebars turn the wires will break there too, happend to me. Thats where I would start

 

good point about the bars, my wires for the pod light broke i also noticed wear on a number of others in the area the black plastic covering was worn and cracked and the wires inside had wear on the insulation, I taped them and covered them with some of that couragated plastic wire protector. Easy access by removing the pod light cover and then pull the lens out it just snaps in place.

 

Is it Fixed

 

Hey thanks for all the help I greatly appreciate it. It was actually just the power/ignition fuse I think it was a 15amp. I replaced it and it started but then I was riding on sunday and noticed that my overheating light was fading in and out so before it came on and stayed on I tried to make it back home but the light came on and then the fuse blew once again. Do you know if this is some type of safety feature? After everyride no matter if its just cruising or if its mudding I spray down the 4wheeler and make sure I get the radiator really good and it still seems to overheat more then it should. The radiator is clean and im using Engine Ice so I dont know any ideas?

 

I dont know about your overheating, maybe dirty/clogged coolant lines or bad pump. My vinson never overheated even when it was in the mud.

 

you can start at the beginning. check level of fluid, if that is good keep the cap off and start quad. watch for two things to happen,one is that the water in radiator should be still at first,and as quad heats up the t stat should open and water should start to circulate. if it does not the t stat is not opening.if the water moves alittle in the beginning and the water becomes hot the t stat might be stuck open. eathier way the t stat is bad. the second thing to notice is weather the fan comes on or not. if the fan does not come on thier is a sensor that checks how hot the water gets and turns the fan on. i have a kodiak that has two sensors in the system. one for radiator and one for the head. you can check the sensor and fan by shorting out leads to sensor, fan should come on. if fan does not come on check fan.

 

I wouldn't think the overheat light, and electrical problems would be related, but I suppose you could have a short in the wiring harness somewhere that's illuminating the light, or maybe there's a dead short in the fan circuit, so that when the temp sensor trips and it trys to start the fan you get a drop in system voltage, then blow the main fuse?

Water or muck in a connector can also cause indicator lights to kind of glow or flicker.

I guess if it were mine, I'd still recommend unhooking the battery and removing whatever bodwork is required to get at every connector to clean and dry them, and pack with diaelectric grease.

This would also give you a good chance to look carefully at every piece of the wiring harness for something melted, chaffed, or smashed.

Also, make sure the radiator is spotless. A surprisingly thin coat of mud can cause an overheat. I'm not convinced, however, that the machine actually overheated. The way you described the light acting to me would suggest the possibility of a messed up connector or other wiring problem.

 

Just a thought on the overheat, from one of my experiences. I had an 02 AC 500 and went through mud hole on a dry dusty day. About 20min later it started to overheat. Cleaned the radiator and it was still overheating. I than topped off the radiator and never had a problem again.

The reason I bring this up; when you were having electrical issues with the blown fuse it could have caused the bike to overheat b/c the fan was able to run and no warning lights to show you this happened. Now that the electrical problem is fixed you may have to top off you radiator from when it overflowed when it got hot. If your Vinson was like my AC there is no reservoir to look at. You have to open the radiator cap and check the old fashion way.

P.S. When the AC was overheating, I was trail riding so I would run it for twenty minutes and let it cool for twenty. The light would do the same thing you described. Start to glow and flicker and eventually stay on.