Polaris ATV Forum banner

2002 Sportsman 700 ignition problem??

20K views 36 replies 2 participants last post by  lateburd 
#1 ·
Bought an old 2002 700 Sportsman that ran and drove good. Owner said he'd done the Polaris ignition system upgrade from the old Ducati system to the Kokosan. It had a small coolant leak between the case and inner stator cover. Nothing too bad, just a torn gasket . I'd guess he torn it while doing the upgrade due to removing too many bolts. It appeared to me that the upgrade was done as he said it was, the flywheel had the spaced magnets that look like the ones I'd seen in a You Tube video about the Polaris ignition kit installation. The only thing I noticed was the magnetic pick up coil by the flywheel had a little crack in the body of it. Stator and all wiring looked almost brand new. Up front, under the cover, the CDI box and coil are seperate parts. The cdi has a part number on it, but it's faded and I can't make it out. It ran perfectly until today. Started it to let it warm up before driving it, and in 3 minutes or so, it died. It'll crank, but no start. Doesn't even act like it wants to. Its getting fuel. Doesn't seem to be getting any spark. I pulled a plug wire and had no spark to confirm my thoughts. Lights and gauge cluster work fine. Where would be a good place to start looking?
 
#29 ·
Now that I have every I'm the open, is there anything I can test that might be the problem?
I'm waiting on the hold down bracket that goes on the inner stator cover. There wasn't one in there but the wires all look good, without in nicks or scrapes on the insulation. Engine Auto part Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive engine part
Auto part Engine Technology Scrap Wire
 
#30 ·
Well, I'm back to square one. Finally got the wire hold down today and got everything put back together. It cranked over, but no fire. I pulled the stator cover again.. Apparently the new trigger coil I got from RM Stator wasn't correct. It's in pieces inside the stator cover. My stator checks out just fine, so I hate to buy a new Polaris unit. I see that's the only way to get the crank trigger though. I also confirmed my magneto was the correct part number 4010899, and its in excellent condition. I'm tempted just to buy the whole conversion kit and start from scratch!
 
#32 ·
Its fixed! Replaced the stator and crank trigger. I believe the old crank trigger was the culprit all along. The new one that came with the DB Electrical stator was hitting the flywheel when mounted. I took a Dremel tool and slotted the mounting holes to get a little clearance. I had bought a trigger from RM Stator, It exploded as soon as I hit the starter. The manufacturer's should really have the mounting holes slotted from the factory. Anyways, It runs perfect now. Thanks latebird, for all the help and for posting the instructions!!
 
#34 ·
......and it quit again. It ran perfectly for 30 minutes, then i put all the plastics back on. That's when it wouldn't start. It fired for just a second, then nothing. Pulled the stator cover and rechecked the trigger. Set air gap to .010. Put it back together. Nothing. Unplugged the black kill wire, started up immediately. I'm going back to do the tests in post #2. I'm betting it'll be the switch on the left handle bar. I was extra careful when I put the front cab and headlight pod back together. The are no pinched or pulled wires. The stator ground is good, sanded and clean. The ground under the stator cover from the stator is attached to one of the bolts holding the trigger on.
 
#35 ·
Electronics can suck - I just finished a BIG BORE job on a 2003 Triumph 865 Speedmaster motorcycle and when I tried to start it, NO SPARK!

I had replaced the pulse coil as part of the job since the engine cover has to be off to time the cams and the Triumph is well known for pulser failures so my first thought was either connections or coil. I checked the resistance and it was good - I checked the peak volts and that was good, so I went back to connections. I unplugged the CDI and plugged it back in - viola.......... SPARK, but the engine would not start. I checked the plugs again. I found one of the two plugs had a extra wide gap. It was an Iridium plug and the Iridium pad was missing from the center electrode. I put in two new plugs and the engine started. Whew, I was glad it was not a CDI unit or other component like the Throttle Position Sensor - on the Triumph, the TPS is not replaceable - you have to replace the carb assembly - $2125 for the US model. I'm also glad it is not my bike. I have a 1971 and 72 Triumph 650 Bonneville and won't trade them for any other bike. As long as I can get parts for them (and all parts are still in production) I will just keep them. The point type ignition is almost foolproof.
 
#36 ·
It's running again! I replaced the ignition switch when I put it back together. It's the wrong switch. It had 4 positions.I believe its for a Polaris that has the key operated headlights. Put my old one back in and the problem is solved.I had bought a new one so that I'd have an extra key. The old one is good. Seems i'm my own worst enemy!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top