Polaris ATV owners! I need your help.

shot_gun · Jun 24, 2009

Ok I have a new to me Trail boss (1992) 350L. It is liquid cooled 2 stroke. I have been having fun the last couple days playing around with it but I have a concern. The cooling fan hasn't come on once. I have tested the fan and the overheat light and both function. So my question is how hard do you have to beat this thing before the fan comes on? My experience with liquid cooled machines is very limited and I've never owned a polaris. The machines I have rode the fan comes on after a few minutes of riding. Your input would be appreciated. I just don't want to harm the motor.

2fast2 · Jun 24, 2009

Make sure you have a filled and properly bled system. When my fan wouldn't come on, it was because I had air in the radiator and the hot coolant wasn't contacting the thermostatic fan switch. Your experience might be different, but this comes to mind as a consideration. Good luck.

shot_gun · Jun 24, 2009

I guess I should have said I did check the coolant level and it was up to the top of the neck of the radiator. The over flow tank also had the proper amount. Did your machines overheat light come on when it was air bound?

SuperDuty335 · Jun 24, 2009

I had to hammer on mine hard in the summer time before the fan would ever kick on. I had over sized mud tires and it still took quite a bit to get the engine hot.

bigdeer2000 · Jun 24, 2009

i put a temp guage on a ranger and the fan would come on at 190 degrees

2fast2 · Jun 25, 2009

my overheat light would come on, yes.
But getting the fan to come on requires slow driving or working mine. Just cruising at a reasonable speed probably produces enough airflow through the radiator (your core is clean, right?) so the fan doesn't seem to kick on often, and when mine does, it doesn't run for very long. Now trail riding with hills and slower forward progress is another matter, and the fan runs lots more.

TOMMYHPX4X4 · Jun 25, 2009

unplug your connections and put dielectric grease on them while you have them unplugged give the connections a little tig to make sure the stacons on the inside the plugs are still connected to the wires i seen this happen on the rhino's. i undo all my electrical connections and sqeaze some dieletric grease in them it keeps the water from messinfg with them plus it keeps a good connection all the time i redo this twice a year or more if i ride in the mud or dusty locations. plus it's also a good practice to gice that fan bearing a shot of remington gun oil the one with teflon in it it keeps that bearing and stuff rolling nice and free. thats sorta why it takes me 4/5 days to clean and get my rhino back to the way i want it after a good riding.

shot_gun · Jun 25, 2009

Thanks for the replies. 2fast thanks that is what I was looking for. The radiator is clean and I used a fin comb to straiten any fins that were bent over. My over heat light hasn't come on yet and I know it works so I guess I'm ok. It rained every day for the last 3 weeks here so we haven't got any real hot tempatures yet. I'll check it when we get some summer heat. Tommy way ahead of you. I did all the connections and the battery terminals. wrapped the coolant hoses to protect them from the frame ect. With all this fricken rain I'm going to need new tires! Of course we have made it so far today 12 hours with out rain. Thanks again.

escavader · Jun 25, 2009

I own 4 polaris atvs[all 4 strokes],and about the only time the fans work are slow riding [low gear] or real hot summer heat.Sometimes if i am working them hard ,hauling wood etc.
ALAN