Hello
I've come across this forum many times over the years while researching ATVs.
You guys have been very helpful in making a decision on which machine I wanted to use as a plow rig and for joyriding with the kids.
I finally picked up our new(to us) 2013 Rancher ES 4x4 today.
It was advertised on Craigslist as a low, 500 mile and "needs nothing" - I test drove it before making the deal and didn't notice any issues.
However, as soon as I got it home and drove around the yard and got it up to speed I noticed it had an issue.
Here's what was going on: (**photo attached)
-Speedometer read zero at all speeds
-After a minute or so of driving around the gear indicator would either go blank or show a dash ( - ) and the yellow check engine light on the far right side would come on. At that point it would no longer allow me to shift up or down and would be stuck in whatever gear I happened to be in.
Turning the key off and restarting the machine would give me back the ability to shift, but only for a short time before losing it again.
First thing I did was fully charge up the battery, hoping it may have been a bit low. Test drove and still had the same issues.
I immediately came on here to do a little research and it sounded like it may be a bad speed sensor. So I went out to the garage to find this sensor and I could see that the wires had either been ripped out or cut off of it. (**photo attached)
Is there any reason that may have been done on purpose?
I pulled the sensor and cleaned it up. (Would it have been motor oil on this?)
I didn't have a lot of wire left to work with so I had to slice apart the plastic connector with a razor to expose enough to solder it back together. Once connected back up, I took it for a spin.
Whaddya know, everything worked as it should! Speedo registered and shifts correctly. No more dashes or check engine light.
Not exactly how I planned on spending my night, but hopefully I won't have any more issues with it.
I've come across this forum many times over the years while researching ATVs.
You guys have been very helpful in making a decision on which machine I wanted to use as a plow rig and for joyriding with the kids.
I finally picked up our new(to us) 2013 Rancher ES 4x4 today.
It was advertised on Craigslist as a low, 500 mile and "needs nothing" - I test drove it before making the deal and didn't notice any issues.
However, as soon as I got it home and drove around the yard and got it up to speed I noticed it had an issue.
Here's what was going on: (**photo attached)
-Speedometer read zero at all speeds
-After a minute or so of driving around the gear indicator would either go blank or show a dash ( - ) and the yellow check engine light on the far right side would come on. At that point it would no longer allow me to shift up or down and would be stuck in whatever gear I happened to be in.
Turning the key off and restarting the machine would give me back the ability to shift, but only for a short time before losing it again.
First thing I did was fully charge up the battery, hoping it may have been a bit low. Test drove and still had the same issues.
I immediately came on here to do a little research and it sounded like it may be a bad speed sensor. So I went out to the garage to find this sensor and I could see that the wires had either been ripped out or cut off of it. (**photo attached)
Is there any reason that may have been done on purpose?
I pulled the sensor and cleaned it up. (Would it have been motor oil on this?)
I didn't have a lot of wire left to work with so I had to slice apart the plastic connector with a razor to expose enough to solder it back together. Once connected back up, I took it for a spin.
Whaddya know, everything worked as it should! Speedo registered and shifts correctly. No more dashes or check engine light.
Not exactly how I planned on spending my night, but hopefully I won't have any more issues with it.
