You can write to Sarge at Troubleshooter, ATV Action, P.O. Box 957, Valencia, CA 91380-9057 or via e-mail: atvaction@gmail.com.
When sending e-mail, you must include full name, city and state. Also, be sure to put “SARGE!” in the subject line.
By Sarge McCoy
MY DASH LIGHTS
FLASHED BEFORE MY
EYES!
Dear Sarge,
While riding an ’06 Raptor 700 all day
at the coast, I topped a short climb but
failed to get the clutch in soon enough.
The motor died. I hit the starter, and
the starter just rattled like my battery
was dead. My dash lights all flashed
also. I rolled off the hill backwards,
pretty steep. I used a battery backup
to jump the bike since I had to ride it
out if I could. It started but wouldn’t
rev out, again like low battery. I was
able to ride it back with the service light
on. It seemed to miss a lot and never
cleared up. Still sounds like an electri-
cal issue. I also checked my plug and
it looked good. I called some shops,
and I got back on base and they said
it’s the battery. I got a new one, and it
still didn’t want to start; now it’s cold.
Others also said fuel pump, but I can
feel it when I turn the bike on. The coil
sounded like a wild guess, and one of
three safety switches. I have a second
bike I can swap parts off of to try. This
is my wife’s bike I broke. I am already
on permanent KP, so I would hate to
see what else she would do if you don’t
help me fix it. Thank you for any help
and helping the other troops.
Del Lamproe
Somewhere on the West Coast
Private Lamprey, your problem may
be electrical, but it is definitely because
you broke “her” Zooter and not yours!
I would start my
diagnosis with a
wet/dry compres-
sion test of your
Zooter’s motor
to make sure the
problem is not
mechanical. Low
output power
could indicate the
loss of ground on
the reverse limit
switch. If you are
not in reverse and
the switch loses
ground, the limiter
kicks in, reducing
power. The no-
start problem may
be different from
the low-power
problem. With
your spark plug
removed from the
wet/dry test, reinsert the spark plug
into the spark-plug cap and lay the
plug against the metal engine head,
grounding it. Crank the motor over
and look for a persistent blue spark. If
not, then it’s the spark plug, plug cap,
high-tension lead, coil or CDI. There is
also the possibility the flashing lights
indicated a loose connection at that
time that caused a voltage surge that
damaged some electronic component. I
hope you understand that with EFI, you
never touch the throttle during starting
or warm-up. Those Zooters run rich
when cold. You could try replacing the
spark plug with an NGK CR8EIX iridium
spark plug that resists fouling better
than a standard plug does. As a last
resort, your “parts” Zooter may be the
easiest way to diagnose your problem
if it is indeed electrical. Start changing
parts until she can ride and you can
walk! Laugh, Boot! It sounds like your
discipline is being handled by your wife,
so you are dismissed, Boot!
MY EXHAUST IS JUST
FUMING
Dear Sarge,
After reading and enjoying your
articles for many years, I finally have an
issue for you. I have a 2015 Can-Am
X ds Turbo UTV, and I installed side
doors, a top and a full windshield. Now
the exhaust fumes just circulate all
through the cab, and it’s undriveable
unless the windshield is removed. I’m
sure that I’m not the only one that has
this problem, so I thought I’d call on your
experience to see if you have a solu-
tion.
Ron Wosel
Shawnee, Kansas
Private Weasel, from what I have been
able to discern, you are the only one I
have heard about with this Zooter problem! The Turbos have more exhaust connections than a standard exhaust on a
normally aspirated motor, and I think you
have an exhaust leak somewhere, most
likely from a factory defect. So my advice,
Boot, since you asked, is to return the
Zooter to the motor pool where you
purchased it and have them diagnose
and fix your exhaust leak and demand it
be fixed for free. Anything less and you
will be painting every rock white on the
parade grounds with a Q-tip! Dismissed!
TYPO OR AM I MISSING
SOMETHING?
Dear Sarge,
I noticed in the March 2016 UTV
Action mag that the 2016 Polaris
Sportsman 570 has a 567cc engine
at 44 horsepower, and the Polaris
Sportsman 450 is listed as having a
567cc engine at 31 horsepower. A friend
of mine has a 2016 Polaris 450, so I
checked the owner’s manual, and it also
states that it has a 567cc engine. Is this
a typo from the factory, or am I missing
something here? Are both engines really
the same displacement but with different
horsepower output?
Dave Hazen
Mantua, New Jersey
Private Hazing, you are not “missing
something here,” and both engines really
have the same displacement. I find it
interesting that Polaris isn’t even listing
the engine displacement anymore on
their 450 H.O. website
( www.polaris.com/en-us/atv-quad/
sportsman-450-ho-velocity-blue/specs).
They wanted a quick boost in torque,
and the quickest (and cheapest) way
is to drop in a larger motor and then
detune it for torque. So from now on,
Boot, the Polaris 450 H.O. is the model
name, not the displacement. Hopefully, if
there is enough backlash, they will realize what a dumb move they made and
rename the Zooter what it really is—a
Polaris 570—and then re-badge the 570
as the 570 H.O. Remember, Boot, you
can fix dumb, but you can’t fix stupid!
Dismissed! ❏
TROUBLESHOOTER
