Polaris ranger question - rough, backfire

[Coach]

I've had my ranger for several years now and it's always run great. Today I took it out on a scouting trip for my son's upcoming youth hunt and it was running really rough (seemed to be missing?) at lower speeds and even backfired when it would miss/lag. By mid-day it seemed to be back to running smoothly.

 

Any ideas on what could cause this?

[Buckwheat893]

Im no expert on rangers, but that sounds like a textbook spark plug issue

[AzDiamondHeat]

Spark plug, bad gas, dirty air filter....

 

Pick one. All very easy to remedy.

[WhtMtnHunter]

I've got a Ranger XP and this happens all the time lately. Usually when the engine is cold it will sound like its running on 1 cylinder right when I start it. I turn it off, take off the seat and rotate/apply pressure to the spark plug wires where they meet the plug. Always fixes it but can be annoying. After it warms up, or later in the day, never has this problem. I think I need new plug wires.

[Coach]

Thanks for the replies. I've definitely got something to go on now. We checked the air filter and it was clean, the gas was fresh, and the same we ran later in the day. Sounding more like spark plug or wiring to it. I did a quick google search and it also sounds like it could be a dirty injector and folks recommended running some sea-foam - never used that before.

 

Anyway, I really appreciate the responses.

[AzDiamondHeat]

Poor some marvels miracle oil in your next tank and add some to your oil. Amazing stuff. Will solve most rough running issues. Won't fix bad plug or wire though lol.

[Coach]

AzDiamondHeat, I'll have to look into that, but the name conjures up the snake-oil salesman from Josey Wales, lol.

[ThomC]

All replies from a hunting web site even from mechanics are WAGuesses at best. Take it to a mechanic.

[KaibabHunter]

I ended up putting some old/bad gas in my ranger during my elk hunt which put it out of commission pretty much. After syphoning and replacing the gas I had what felt like clogged injectors. Called around to a few places and was recommended to run Yamaha Fuel Med thru it first and not a bad idea to change the spark plugs. First thing to do before getting drastic. Nobody near me had it in stock so I got some more aggressive fuel injector cleaner from the auto store and so far 🤞🏻it's not sputtering after a couple miles test drive. Once I can find it I will probably also run fuel Med thru it too just to be thorough.

[Azguy]

My 2006 700xp would sometimes backfire durimg deceleration. I changed the plugs. But I ran some sea foam cleaner in the gas and it eventually worked itself out. I think it must of had some debris or buildup in the fuel system. A couple years later it started backfiring again. Ran the fuel system cleaner again and that fixed it up. So.. my issues always seemed to be fuel system related. Good luck.

[oz31p]

I’m a mechanic and have a 2006 500 ranger that had a similar problem . I changed the pump(just the pump not the house sender unit) and the regulator

 

You got an other info about your ranger?

[Coach]

Mine's a 2006 also but 700 XP, fuel injected.How big of job was it to replace the pump?

 

BTW, just an update. I replaced the spark plugs today and ran some Marvel's Miracle Oil (couldn't resist) and it's running great.

[oz31p]

Its not that hard theres plenty of info online about taking the sender out and apart. I pulled the whole unit and took it apart. I took the numbers off the pump and matched up to the same Bosch pump. The regulated is in the same assembly.

 

Most engine issues start and end with the efi. They are very susceptible to low pump pressure. Especially once warmed up.

 

Are there any codes? These years have issues with broken wires near the maf and tps.