battery goes dead on 1995 polaris xplorer

mutt3497 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-06-2010, 12:40 PM

I posted on here about a month ago...I have a 07 sportsman e.f.i. ho....it is completely dead i mean nothing ....i put a brand new battery on it so i know its not the battery...put i have no power....i took to the polaris dealer and they have had it a month and they still don't know what is wrong with it...it is getting really frustrating...any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

mutt3497 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-06-2010, 06:41 PM

Any ideas? About to give up...lol..it don't have but 800 miles on it

eastern_hunter · #3 (**permalink**) 03-06-2010, 08:36 PM

I really don't want to suggest something too obvious ... but it is something that a novice like me might miss ... any chance the run switch is not set to the middle position or is bad?

Any chance of a bad battery ground?

(My apologies for the beginner's suggestions.)

Mike

atvjunkie821 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-06-2010, 09:39 PM

Find another dealer,that knows something about working on quads. I would be pissed if a dealer had my quad for a month and couldn't tell me jack...A good service dept should find the problem in a reasonable time frame.

cam101311 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-06-2010, 10:35 PM

i read your other post you said you got nothing except an intermittent clicking and flashing of lights? and while pulling on the wires at the solenoid you would get these results more frequently? did you trace the wiring harness any looking for a rub or a short of some kind before you sent it to the dealer? did you try replacing the solenoid before sending it off also?........and i agree with junkie if your dealer has had it for a month with no results, either their buried up to there eyeballs in atvs or jerking you around!

mutt3497 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010, 05:45 AM

I dont get not a thing now acts like the whole thing is dead no lights no clicking no nothing...where is the wiring harness u are talking about? Yea and all the dealer told me was you got to hate those Polaris electrical problems they are hard to chase down. I was pissed to say the least!

TRI-250 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mutt3497

I dont get not a thing now acts like the whole thing is dead no lights no clicking no nothing...where is the wiring harness u are talking about? Yea and all the dealer told me was you got to hate those Polaris electrical problems they are hard to chase down. I was pissed to say the least!

I would start with the basics. Remove all of the body plastic to access everything with ease. With a good test light start at the battery. Neg. to Pos. make sure light comes on. (yes I know the batt. is new but you want to make sure test light works) Now take the clamp side of test light put on Pos. and touch the frame light should come on, this will let you know if its a grounding issues or a power issues. From there hook the test light to the neg side of batt. Probe power cable end at fuse block. Do not poke threw cable housing, only probe open end of terminals. Probe each fuse. Unplug ignition switch probe plug to check for power ( harness side not switch side) Unplug on off on switch probe for power( same deal harness side) I could go on and on but I hope you have the idea. You can pinpoint power issues with a test light. It will take time but you can do it with a little patience. If you have any questions along the way let me know I can walk you threw it. I'm a marine mechanic and run it to this crap all the time with the bigger outboards and jetskis.

cam101311 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mutt3497

Yea and all the dealer told me was you got to hate those Polaris electrical problems they are hard to chase down. I was pissed to say the least!

WOW i think i would find another dealer !

ponchonutty · #9 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010, 03:18 PM

I would too. I mean I know 95% of all mechanics are just that...mechanics but they do have to be schooled on how to diagnose electrical issues as well.

I too had major issues with my bike when I bought it. It was dead in the water. My starter was bad but I had checked the battery so I knew that was OK. I had to replace the stator because of obvious damage but it still was completely dead. I then checked the key switch. It was the standard 6 pin switch like most are and it wasn't right so I bought another used one. It still wouldn't work. So I tested the off/on/off switch and that too was bad. Bought a brand new one. It started!!! Few days later it was dead again! Did more testing and ended up finding 2 things. The main dash power line had broken at the starter relay and the newer key switch was bad as well. The keyswitch has a short in it where you can't turn it all the way to the on position. Unfortunately, on these ignition systems you can't just unplug the switch like you can on a snowmobile and start it.