2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 Reversed Terminals On Battery

[JacobSlabach]

20 minutes ago, davefrombc said:

Can't help  on the axle info  but  I  believe the  line going to the top  of the carb is the impulse  line ( I misnamed it   "vent" )  that  makes the fuel  pump  work.  As you found out the  motor will  run  on gravity feed alone.  More than  on  owner  has bypassed the fuel  pump  and  just  run the fuel  line directly  from the fuel  valve to the  carb and  blocked the  vacuum impulse line from  carb to  fuel pump. There is a service manual  for your quad available in the downloads section that should help  you working on  the front axles/ differential.

 

ok, the thing is, I cant find my model's manual...?

[davefrombc]

The manuals are pretty much generic for all  models in the years  covered.   Motor sizes and  cosmetics  change , but mechanically  and chassis  are near  identical.

This one likely  has what you need in it

 

[JacobSlabach]

ok thanks

[Boozy]

Any luck?

[JacobSlabach]

I have a hunch that water is in the pod (the lens is cracked) and that is causing shorts randomly.  I got the wiring harness back together and turned the key and different parts of the display came on here and others there...  I'm thinking if I can somehow put a hole in the lower end of the pod, the water will drain and maybe that will help.

I did pull the old axle off the sportsman.  How?  I used a mall and some cable from a zip line brace:  Looped the cable in the knuckle of the axle and the other end just above the mall head.  Braced the atv with a 2x4 so it wouldnt come off the jack stands and gave a couple gentle swings... out it came.  I did squirt some WD-40 in there first.  Just got the new axle shipped in in today yesterday while I was out of town.

[JacobSlabach]

ok so I took the pod cluster apart and it has a short in it.  I put it back together and took it out just to see what it would do with the water drained out...  worked perfect.  I'm sooo confused with this thing lol  I went ahead and ordered a new pod and just ate the $280 lol  I'm done with this old one.  I'll get the new pod and the front axle fixed and see if the pump will decide to work for me............ dunno how thatll go..

[JacobSlabach]

new axle is in, new pod is in, everything works good......except the fuel pump.  I think @davefrombc is correct about the vacuum line.  I think I'm going to bypass it like he suggested (thanks for that suggestion btw!!)  I still dont know what tha carb should be adjusted...  But first things first...  need fuel to the carb haha

[Frank Angerano]

It’s a 500 so right out of the gate you know 1-3/4 will be the minimum. Start there and adjust out.  Keep the idle as lows as possable to keep the bike running. As you adjust the fuel/air mixture screw the bike will rev up as you get better. While this is going on you will have to lower the idle. Keep adjusting until the highest point of reving. That means at some point the engine will not continue to rev higher but start to act up.  Once you hit that point you have passed the sweet spot.  Back it down and make final adjustments.  The highest revs mean the bike is getting the most out of fuel and air. 

 

[JacobSlabach]

ok so I have never heard this before...  haha nobody has ever explained to me HOW to adjust a carb on a bike yet.  Thanks!  Also, how do you adjust the air screw while the carb is on the bike?  I have never been able to do that since the screw comes out the bottom of the carb.  but thanks!  I knew the engine wont run right if the ratio is off, but I did not know that it would affect rpm....just never put 2 and 2 together

[JacobSlabach]

*well- nobody has explained to me what I'm looking for when I adjust the carb

[Frank Angerano]

It’s a bi*** but two things have to happen. 

1. You must have the air filter on as if the bike was ready to ride. 

2. You have to make up a small screw driver to get in to the adjustment spot.  I’ve done it  I bought a flex driver which is a small flexibile shaft screwdriver. Or make one up.  

 

[davefrombc]

I  did a little searching on your  carb. The  third line on the carb is a vacuum  line to  create the pulses  to  drive the  pump. I  found a youtube video  on rejetting your  carb that  you might want to  watch .. He points out the  fuel  pump  vacuum line connection in it .

 

[Frank Angerano]

That’s a great video @davefrombc 👍 good find.  

[Steve Vasquez]

I would not recommend taking apart an ECM Since most have been water/moisture  protected with epoxy!

[JacobSlabach]

8 hours ago, Steve Vasquez said:

I would not recommend taking apart an ECM Since most have been water/moisture  protected with epoxy!

thanks for the input- I bought a new one and the wiring side of this quad is good now as far as I know

[JacobSlabach]

ok guys, first, I need a flex screwdriver to get to that air screw  because nothing I got will even touch it...  lets just say the bayou's carb is a ton easier to get to.  I unhooked the gas pump and ran the line from tank to valve, then to carb.  The first crank, it almost wanted to fire, then fall back to the starter speed (had the pod set to rpm, starter makes around 300rpm)  it fired once, made it up to maybe 800, then fell back to 300ish with starter.  I took the af out and held my hand over the air duct thinking it was starving for gas still.  It fired up and within 1/2 second got up to about 3-5000rpm before I hit the kill switch.  Does this consistently.  lets just say I'm afraid if I let it go, its gonna blow

[JacobSlabach]

found out why the bike was racing.  The throttle cable was too short for the cable sleeve.  shortened the cable sleeve with the sleeve adjuster (lol dunno what its called).  But then the throttle was shorting out the spark inside the handlebar cluster so I just ripped out the wire in the throttle box- dunt know what thats for but now the bike runs flawless.  I'm suprised it runs soo well with no carb adjustment (other than I moved the needle leaner two notches)  It idles clean, and doesnt flood or bog at all when the engine is cold or hot.  My four issues are: 

1.  The speedo is just reading 0 all the time with the new cluster.

2.  the rear end is making a clicking noise when I go around a curve like its trying to lock and cant (I thought sportsmans were all-time locked in the rear)

3.  The oil compartment is leaking.  I am going to change the fluids soon anyway, but I wanted to fix this while I had the oil out.  

4.  the trans doesnt engage till half throttle.  dont get me wrong, this little girl gets if you floor it, but to 'get', you HAVE to floor it.

 

again, I'm surprised the bike runs soo good with no carb adjustment other than the needle-  just still has some hiccups that need straightened out.

[Frank Angerano]

That part on the throttle was most likely a rev limiter. Major problems with them on some of the Polaris bikes.  I’ve learned that personally on one of mine. Backfire issues, reving spitting you name it. I removed it and the bike ran perfect !  Thanks to some of the memebers on this very forum with that info and you know who you are! 👍

As far as your clicking if it’s independent suspension it’s prob the axle joint making the clicking sound. ESP if it’s on turns only. Very similar to a CV joint on a car.    

The trans not engaging till half  throttle is a clutch issue. Weather it’s worn (prob so) or springs my guess is it’s just tired. 

[JacobSlabach]

yeah I thought the rear end was just adjusting (it mainly clicked when turning on pavement)..  That was my guess on the clutch as well- just showing its age..  The speedo is driving me nuts as I like to brag about how fast I was going haha😴

but yeah overall, this would be the bike of my choice if I was looking for a carbed bike.

I'll see if I could take some pics and upload them soon.

[Frank Angerano]

There are apps on your phone you can download that are speedometers. They are spot on accurate.  Download the app and take a ride in the car and compare you will be shocked.   Clip the phone to the quad and you can see how fast it goes.   Not a fix but you can get an idea on how fast your going.  

[davefrombc]

Phones only work when you are  within cell  range though.. Get a GPS  and not only  can  it guide you  but most of the ones I've seen and use also  give your speed as a readout and operate anywhere you can see the sky.

 

[JacobSlabach]

yeah I've heard of that and one of my friends does that for his sportsman (his little brother was playing around and melted his pod lol)  I would do that, but I would like for it to work because I plan to sell this bike and I spent 300 on a new pod cluster and it doesnt read speed...  Its not the cluster though- its the speedo itself-  I've checked connections so the only thing I can think of is it just shorted out when I reversed the terminals...  If thats the case, I wounder what else shorted out with it that I'm not aware of........like the temp gauge?  I know the fan comes on after a little while...  kinda concerning..  But I need at least $2000 out of this bike just to cover what i put into it...  dunno if I can get that much or not..

16 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

That part on the throttle was most likely a rev limiter. Major problems with them on some of the Polaris bikes.  I’ve learned that personally on one of mine. Backfire issues, reving spitting you name it. I removed it and the bike ran perfect !  Thanks to some of the memebers on this very forum with that info and you know who you are! 👍

As far as your clicking if it’s independent suspension it’s prob the axle joint making the clicking sound. ESP if it’s on turns only. Very similar to a CV joint on a car.    

The trans not engaging till half  throttle is a clutch issue. Weather it’s worn (prob so) or springs my guess is it’s just tired. 

so is the clicking sound an issue or is it just adjusting?

[Frank Angerano]

No it’s a worn joint. Can’t adjust it.  

[JacobSlabach]

ok, so just ignore it?  is it supposed to do that ( i assume not lol)

[Frank Angerano]

Lol no don’t ignore it.  If it’s an independent axle you will have to pull it and have it rebuilt or order a new one. 

[JacobSlabach]

yes it's independent suspension.  I also noticed that there was a little bit of axle grease leaking from the upper cv boots- not much, but its for sure there

[JacobSlabach]

Also, I spoke too fast about the adjustment.  Only for the first say 20 seconds when you start it up, it wants to bog down if you punch the throttle-  after she gets warm, it runs amazing!  Also on the first cold start, it doesnt fire unless you give it a little throttle.  I tried choke- she hates it.  the engine dies instantly with any choke at all.  I'm assuming its still burning rich?  The cold start thing is not a biggie for me- just like I said, I wanted to sell this bike haha

[Frank Angerano]

That really applies to most older bikes with the staring up and bogging. They have to warm up a bit. As far as no choke that’s a little strange unless it’s kept in a garage or somewhat warm place.  

[JacobSlabach]

nope- no garage here!  they are lucky to get under a shed at my place haha- no room lol

[JacobSlabach]

ok.  well I might take the top of the carb off again and adjust the needle some more- the air screw is out all the way haha.  and @Frank Angerano, what I found with the chinese carbs so far is that they like to run a lot leaner that the oem carbs.  I'm running one on the bayou and on this thing now.  other than the startup on the sportsman, both work great!  just have to take the air screw waaaaayyyy out.  haha I'm still proud of myself for getting the sportsmans carb almost perfect on the first try 🤩🤗