[stankholio]

I bought a used Sportsman 400 today, not running, year unknown. The seller said he got it in a trade for firewood and was never able to get it to run. Other than the plastic being faded, its actually in really good shape.

Here is where I am at with it, I was hoping someone could help me out...I can get it to turn over by pushing UP on the red Off-On-Off Switch (that took me a while to figure out!), but it doesn't seem to want to fire. I tried fresh fuel and made sure the petcock was ON and also tried starting fluid into the intake, no fire.

They had an on/off switch wired from the battery area to under the pod going into a white and white/red connector.

They also did some "work" on other wires under the pod...

I removed the switch because it didn't seem to have any effect on anything.

I also noticed this. It looks like a fuel filter or something but I have no idea what it is. It goes into the airbox and the black hose before it seems to be cut. When the engine is trying to turn over I can see the black hose flapping around. Is that some sort of vent for the crank case?

I do have working taillights and headlights, with the key on, but everything else in the pod seems dead as can be. The oil tank had a good level of oil which was nice to see.

I don't mind putting some money for parts and a lot of time into this as a project, but I have no idea where to even begin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't even know what year this one is. I'm guessing 2000ish?

Where do I even start!?

Thanks!

 

[zipper77]

well it sounds like it turns over so next would be check compression spark and fuel, the filter kinda looks like a fuel filter it should have a line from the tank then it will go to the carb

 

[Rob 55]

The first thing I'd do is run the VIN number at your local DMV to see if and when it was stolen.

Hopefully you'll get it running!

 

[stankholio]

The white and white/red wires underneath i traced back and were actually spliced into the fan. So it looks like they rigged up a switch to keep the fan running. I think I'm going to tear off the plastics to get a better look and verify no spark.

 

[latebird]

First year for a Sportsman 400 four stroke was 2001 - find the VIN and let us know what it is

 

[stankholio]

First year for a Sportsman 400 four stroke was 2001 - find the VIN and let us know what it is

View attachment 158298

I found the VIN, a little hard to read but the Polaris VIN search shows its a 2001 A01CH42AB

 

[stankholio]

The first thing I'd do is run the VIN number at your local DMV to see if and when it was stolen.

Hopefully you'll get it running!

I ran a VIN check with the NICB and it came back clean.

 

[stankholio]

I also noticed that the three yellow wires going from the stator to the voltage regulator....the one with the red stripe was plugged into a yellow wire and one was not connected at all. I got really excited, hooked them all up they way they should be, but still no fire. It cranks like a champ though!

 

[zipper77]

well it sounds like your off to a good start im sure someone here can get a wiring diagram for you, it sounds like someone tried to make it work at one time

 

[latebird]

The voltage regulator has nothing to do with spark and the yel/red wire is the signal wire for reverse speed limiting as well as charging the battery.

The ignition system is AC and does use the battery to generate spark. Start trouble shooting by checking for spark - if no spark, find the CDI box and unplug the black (kill) wire - spark is always generated and to kill the engine the spark is shorted to ground via the black wire - disconnect the black wire and if spark appears, connect a continuity checker to the black wire of the wiring harness and find out which on of the four kill devices is not disconnecting to ground - start with the throttle safety switch - it is the least understood and most frequently incorrectly adjusted.

 

[stankholio]

The voltage regulator has nothing to do with spark and the yel/red wire is the signal wire for reverse speed limiting as well as charging the battery.

The ignition system is AC and does use the battery to generate spark. Start trouble shooting by checking for spark - if no spark, find the CDI box and unplug the black (kill) wire - spark is always generated and to kill the engine the spark is shorted to ground via the black wire - disconnect the black wire and if spark appears, connect a continuity checker to the black wire of the wiring harness and find out which on of the four kill devices is not disconnecting to ground - start with the throttle safety switch - it is the least understood and most frequently incorrectly adjusted.

Thanks for the info, well I did find one issue that MAY be the problem. I pulled the spark plug boot off the plug and the spark plug wire is disconnected from the boot. I'm going to try to repair this but if I cant, I'll order a new coil.This may be the problem but I'm not too optimistic.

 

[latebird]

There is a screw post inside the spark plug cap - trim the wire back about 1/4 inch and screw the capc onto the wire

 

[zipper77]

yes the could for sure cause a problem if the spark cant get to the plug it wont fire

 

[stankholio]

There is a screw post inside the spark plug cap - trim the wire back about 1/4 inch and screw the capc onto the wire

YES! I realized this AFTER I couldn't get the metal out of the plug and split it down the middle with a razor blade! DOH! Well, its back together now and I have correct resistance inside the boot (top to bottom) and from bottom of plug to coil. I had around 100Ohms from White to White/Red (pulse trigger?). I feel like I'm getting closer!

 

[stankholio]

AND NOW I HAVE SPARK!!!! Still not starting though. I guess its time to start looking at a fuel issue, or maybe a timing issue???

 

[zipper77]

you said it had sat for a while, i would pull the carb and clean that out good, did you try a shot of carb cleaner and see it it fired on that

 

[stankholio]

you said it had sat for a while, i would pull the carb and clean that out good, did you try a shot of carb cleaner and see it it fired on that

All I had was WD-40. I sprayed it directly into the intake. No go. I was really hoping not to have to pull the carb. The linkages for the throttle and the choke look like a pain but I may have to. I don't have a way of checking compression. It "sounds" like it has compression when it tries to start but obviously I can't say for sure.

 

[zipper77]

the wd40 will work but it is more of the aerosol in it that burns carb cleaner would be better to try but if you dont have it you could try the drain screw in the carb and see if you get good gas out of it or if it has gas in the carb and go from there but i still think your best bet would be to pull the carb it will probably have crud in it from sitting did you have the plug out make sure it did not get fouled if it did get a new one if its wet it will fire sitting on a ground but not when its in the cylinder under compression

 

[stankholio]

the wd40 will work but it is more of the aerosol in it that burns carb cleaner would be better to try but if you dont have it you could try the drain screw in the carb and see if you get good gas out of it or if it has gas in the carb and go from there but i still think your best bet would be to pull the carb it will probably have crud in it from sitting did you have the plug out make sure it did not get fouled if it did get a new one if its wet it will fire sitting on a ground but not when its in the cylinder under compression

When I had the plug out, it looked pretty good. I ran to AutoZone and bought a new NGK BKR5E. I tried the bowl drain screw but its stuck tight pretty good, afraid I was going to strip it. I think I'll get some carb cleaner like you suggested and try that. If it still doesn't fire on that, then am I looking a compression / valve issue??

Thanks!

 

[zipper77]

the carb cleaner may get it to fire but if theres dirt in the carb that will still need to be cleaned out so i would do that carb cleaning regardless, most auto part stores have tools like a compression tester that you can use with a big deposit that they give back when you bring it back then you can see what you have for compression as well