1994 Polaris Sportsman 400 4X4, turn the key off, it keeps right on running, turn the kill switch off, it still keeps right on running.

I've had 2 of these since they were new, unfortunately, the warranty expired quite some time ago....

Anyhow, to shut the motor down, I've had to turn both swtiches off then turn the fuel valve to the off position and let it idle until the bowl runs dry.

After running the old gal for awhile, the switch will finally work and the motor shuts off when the key is turned off.

Would take it to the local Polaris shop, but they burned down 2 years ago and their sign says they'll be back....I haven't a clue when they'll be back and I just don't want to wait that long.

The other one will run just fine, cruising down the road at 25mph and all of a sudden, it will just fall on it's face, loses power, let off the throttle and give her the gas and she picks right back up again, I've replaced the fuel valve, fuel filter and lines, hasn't made a difference.

Lastly, my friends have been telling me that I should be mixing my gas and oil together......I wonder...should I be, I've never had to yet, but the way they talk I should be.

 

Welcome!Pull the tank cover, the left side panel and make sure the black wire from the cdi (kill circuit) has a good connection on the circuit board located on the drivers side. You can even jump this connection to a good ground and see if the engine dies. If it doesn't can be a cdi internal problem. Plus trace the wires from the ignition switch to the circuit board also along with the emergency switch wiring. One of these is not allowing a ground path for the cdi,or can even be a circuit board problem.Plus try jumping the black cdi wire to ground,either on the board brown wires or frame to see if it shuts off. As far as it falling on it's face,make sure you have the rubber anti vibration block under the carb that's mounted on the transmission. This was supposed to keep fuel from dumping into the engine and leaving the bowl level down causing the bogging problem.this was the first year for the rubber dampener and some weren't installed(a kit that was later added by the dealers)OR it may have broken off. If in doubt about the oil pump,pull the three screws on the oil pump face plate and check that the oil pump wheel is rotating as you give it throttle and not frozen,corroded,etc. You can also pull the oil injector line at the left side of the intake manifold and see if it's wet. A good sign the oil pump is working properly. OPT

 

Fixed, the terminal was corroded, you are my hero for today, thank you.

The fall flat on it's face...there is no damper as you have described, will look around for one.

The oil injector works just fine on both rigs, but everybody keeps giving me these doom and gloom scenarios should it fail and I've become somewhat paranoid over it.

 

PS: Where can I find replacement coolant tanks for these, both have cracks in them and the sealant just doesn't hold up all that well. Would prefer to buy new ones, but can't seem to find any, maybe I'm just not looking in the right places perhaps.

 

This was a funky part that was part air inlet tube for the clutch and a built in tank for the coolant. Part #5432336 is around $60 at Cycle Parts Warehouse.Shows it's still available? DON'T buy a used one off Ebay as you'll probably get as bad a one as you already have. They all cracked after a few years! Either the bottle would crack from the heat(too thin on the plastic) or they would split at the coolant elbow at the bottom of the bottle. Haven't done it myself,but have heard of others just buying an updated bottle from a four stroke and mounting it.Problem is though just the bottle itself costs as much as the duct inlet/bottle combo for your 94 model. Carb dampener is #5432082 a little over $11 at Cycle Parts Warehouse. You'll have to get a longer gear case bolt to replace the one you remove to hold the dampener (just get one at a hardware store) As long as you make sure NO water gets into the pump area,the counter balancer fluid is clean and not coolant contaminated from leaking water pump seals(this can damage the internal oil pump drive gear) then you can stay with the oil pump. Most people get scared OR don't ever inspect the pump or check for water pump seal leaks that freeze up pump gears.This intern can cause piston seizure and engine damage. IF you are scared you can use a small 6mm metric bolt to block off the injector line at the carb adapter and premix 40-1. OPT

 

40:1, was told to mix it 32:1, or is that too rich on the oil?

Thanks for the info on the inlet duct tube, now I know why I couldn't find the reservoir, ordered 2 of them just to be safe.

 

We only mixed 32-1 on our modified two stroke KTM race bikes that had to use a 50/50 mix of 93 pump gas and 108 octane VP race fuel because of the high compression! 32-1 is way too much oil on the 400! The oil pump itself is metered from the factory at approximately 50-1 ratio as it is! 40-1 is plenty enough oil to premix,any more and you just actually weaken the fuel mix octane. Most people don't realize that you can have too much oil that actually causes the engine to lose potential hp and just foul plugs and runs boggy. OPT

 

check the starter /kill switch the red button. i know my scrambler gets stuck sometimes or will on shut off wen slid to the right