Have an 04 sportsman 500 ho that wont start.

[Highdesertcruiser]

Have an 04 sportsman 500 ho that wont start. i already replaced the starter bendix gear. Starting soplenoid too. when i tried starting after installing the new solenoid the starter motor burned up. It got real hot at the positive connection, then sparked & smoked. Could this be caused by a bad battery cable?


Thanks for any ideas....


HdC

[4getful2]

possible,but i doubt it.
For that type of symptom to occur,would mean the brush assembly on the inside of the starter housing would have be touching ground,so most likely time for a new starter.
I take it you have been having cranking problems for awhile?
Double check the starter drive install

[PolarisRich]

Does the engine turn over with the pull cord?
Did these symptoms come on all of a sudden or has the bike been sitting for a while?
Sounds to me like water has gotten into the starter from the front O ring and has seized the front bearing.
This same thing has happened to my bike. If you pull the starter out and take it apart you will notice that the copper wire that is connected to the brushes has melted thus causing the spark and smoke you mentioned. The Positive cable to the starter will heat up in just a few seconds of trying to crank the engine over with this condition.
I would put money on it, that this was your whole problem in the first place and you did not need to replace the Starting solenoid at all.

Let us know what you find out!

[Highdesertcruiser]

The thing is, it was a new starter. I just replaced the starter last week thinking that was my problem. Still didn't start. So I replaced the new solenoid today and after about 4 attempts to start it, it sparked and smoked it. But I noticed before it burnt up that the starter shaft wasn't spinning when i turned the ignition. Its getting pwr to starter, however 2 different starters wont turn over. I guess theres a chance it i could've recieved a defective starter. But i cant figure out why it burnt it up when i put the new solenoid on it??? Thanks for the ideas...