Polaris Sportsman 570 Won’t Start

2014 so it’s 10 years old

Very little maintenance done to it, but also used very lightly.

It had been running fine but now won’t start. It will turn over but not start. Any ideas where to start?

1st thing I’d check spark at the plug. Next check for fuel.

I have a 2015 with less than 100 hrs on it. lol. My fuel pump went out a couple years ago. Did you notice a clicking noise when operating in the past? If so that was probably your fuel pump turning on cutting out.

Hand brake sensor

Check compression before you get too deep into it.

Is it reading RPM when trying to turn over? I had the same machine. Had spark, had fuel, but wouldn’t start. Turned out to be the crank position sensor. Super cheap and easy fix but took me a long time to track down and diagnose. Turns out it was super easy to diagnose from the info above. Digital RPM will read 0 when cranking over if thats your problem. Fingers crossed for ya. was only like $15 sensor.

Check for spark. That test determines where you go next.

Kill switch?

I have the same 2014 sportman 570 and I had the same issues. I replaced spark, belt no fix. It was the fuel pump. Dealer wanted $1000 to fix it. I did it for $100. there was a good video on you tube. if I find it I will share it.

Not sure I did it correctly but I pulled the spark plug and turned it over I didn’t see any spark. I think I will try to replace the spark plug tomorrow as a first step.

I had the battery on tender overnight and there should be enough battery power (seems to be anyway). Although the battery is like 7 years old.

Robby and Jeff- hopefully it’s not the fuel pump but yes if you come across the video please share

Well I replaced the spark plug but still won’t start.

Jake – I don’t have an RPM display

Starting to think it could be the fuel pump – doh

lindyrig79 wrote:

Well I replaced the spark plug but still won’t start.

Jake – I don’t have an RPM display

Starting to think it could be the fuel pump – doh

If you didn’t have any spark then it was most likely not the plug but something bigger. Do you now have spark or no ? And do you know how to tell if you have spark

Bearcat89 wrote:

If you didn’t have any spark then it was most likely not the plug but something bigger. Do you now have spark or no ? And do you know how to tell if you have spark

I pulled the spark plug, put the wire cap back on, and tried to ground it while turning it over. Not seeing any spark on the new spark plug either. But not completely confident I’m doing it right either. It’s hard to hold the plug in place and use the hand break and turn the key at the same time.

Have your neighbor hold the plug and crank it over . If his hair stands straight up, it has spark!

lindyrig79 wrote:

Well I replaced the spark plug but still won’t start.

Jake – I don’t have an RPM display

Starting to think it could be the fuel pump – doh

I believe you do. You need to cycle the instrument panel with the yellow reverse override button. It will cycle through miles/trip etc until it gets to rpm as one of the options. I can make a quick video to show you if need be. I also have a brand new ignition coil and wire from when I was diagnosing mine if you’d like to give that a try. Seeing as spark maybe your culprit. I’m near Garrison.

Should be able to stick a volt meter into the spark plug boot. If it has power then just re fit the boot, if no power just work your way back checking power.

Edit. Take the boot off and measure the supply wire.

Ah… most volt meters are not rated for the voltage a spark plug operates at. I wouldn’t risk damaging any of mine doing it. An in-line spark tester is cheap and effective.

Yes. I am incorrect. I was way mis-rembering going through and testing resistance. Glad you cleared that up.

Pull the plug wire, stick a screwdriver into the plug wire connector, hold the screwdriver shaft against the engine to create a ground, turn engine over, and watch for spark.
Put a cable tie on the brake lever to use as a 3rd hand, that way you can hold the screwdriver and turn the key.

Do you have to pull the brake lever if its in neutral? On my Cat I dont.

Years ago I had a older Polaris 400 Sportsman that would not start. I brought it over to my brother’s place for him to assist me trouble shooting this in his fairly large heated shed. When I showed up there were 2 of his friends building a fish house in his shed.

I would not be considered a mechanic but in initial review we had spark. One of his friends suggested that we check the compression. We had no compression testing tool but we put a finger over the spark plug hole and it was determined to be low….. I would have normally stopped the project right there but my brother’s friend kept offering advice from a distance and my brother seemed enthusiastic. Evidently his friend had some type of engine mechanical experience.

Next thing I know I was coerced to pull things apart and look at the piston and ring. It was determined that a new ring and a bit of touch up on the piston and we might be good to go. Off to Dennis Kirk for some parts they had in stock. I now was in a hurry to obtain parts and put this back together while we had some one available that seemed to have knowledge.

When I got back and we were about half way in putting things back together I had to ask my brother on why his friend was always offering advice from a distance but failed to physically assist in any part. He stated that he thought that if he helped more then maybe he would have to do the whole thing.

After more advice from my brother’s friend and a bit more struggling I finally said why don’t you just get over here and help us. My frustration just got the better of me and I figured that was not too much to ask since he was building his fish house in my brother’s heated shed. And with most fish houses they were never built in the warm months….

Anyway we put it back together and she started right up to my surprise. Because it was so out of my skill set and as I get older one day I think that I might question myself if this even happened.

Maybe we should start a Help On-Site page. You could ask for help, offer up beer and maybe brats on the grill and coerce people with maybe more knowledge and the right tools to come over and assist on-site.

You can get a spark checker at any auto parts store for a few bucks. If you’re not sure, get a checker. Usually just taking the spark plug out, putting the boot back on the plug, and grounding the electrode side of the plug to something metal and cranking the engine is enough to show if you have spark.

Assuming you do NOT have spark for sure:

1. Check all known safety switches and kill switches by moving whatever actuates the switch while cranking to see if spark comes back. Definitely easier to do with a helper.

Make sure the handlebar kill switch is in the “run position” and not sitting halfway between run and off. Ask me how I know…

Is there a “brake on” switch that requires you to depress the hand brake when starting?

I’m almost positive there is a switch that requires the shifter to be in park to start.

I would search YouTube and see if there are specific videos on how to test these switches.

With no start / no spark, the #1 suspect is always the kill or safety switches. Don’t start tearing apart things until all these are tested.

Yeah always test the stupidly obvious things first. I thought I had a problem with my tractor because it wouldnt crank at all. Turns out that the cruise lever was slightly forward so it was disabled.

this is a pretty handy spark plug tester. no need to even remove the plug.

see photo link didn’t work

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I hear ya OG. Working on engines is not my gift either. But want to give this a try.

Grouse and DH I picked up a spark tester today for like $8 so I’ll report back.

Ok according to the spark checker I am not getting spark.

It’s kinda a PITA because the spark plug is recessed into the cylinder. The spark plug remover tool that came with the machine is barely tall enough to grasp. A 5/8 socket works, but the 3 inch extension is too short and the 6 inch extension is too long.

Nonetheless I’m fairly confident there is no spark by using the tester with the spark plug removed and grounding it to the cylinder. (Thanks for the zip-tie tip on the hand break, however that reminded me there is a locking position for the hand break as well – duh)

I’ve fiddled with the only kill switch several times. I also put my noco jump pack on the battery, wondering if the battery was weak despite using the tender. I wonder if I should replace the battery I have seen a couple you tube videos for this machine that claim the battery can be the problem. You’d think there would be enough juice to see spark though.

Jake I did use the yellow speedo/reverse override button until I saw RPMs. It does say zero when trying to turn it over. However I’m not getting spark.

Seems a little odd that sitting a little while caused the spark to randomly die . Check all your connections . And make sure you have it somewhat dark when you’re checking the spark – sometimes they are tough to see in direct light .