P500 Need some help

[Bcraig]

I really need some help
Today I went out to use my Honda Pioneer 500 which I bought new about 3 r 4 years ago (Dont have the Year model sitting in front of me)Any ways it would not start (I have not started it in about 6 months). Battery was not putting out very much.
I called a friend who came by and he hooked his cables up to my battery and I tried to start it and it did not sound like it was even trying to start even though I had my foot Held down relatively hard on the Brake pedal.
There was a mouse nest under the seat and next to the firewall which I removed but could see not chewed up wires.
I then put it into neutral and it fired right up.
I then drove it about a half a mile down an old country road and when I turned around to go back to the house it was trying to die on me so I give it a little more gas and got turned around and noticed that it would not shift so pulled off to the side of the road to check out what was going on and noticed that the display was reading hot (the radiater was not hot to the touch though)and showing a icon of the transmission on the display so I shut it off and noticed that I had it in 4wd and had been driving it up to about 33 mph.
It would not start so I waited about 15 minuted and it started again.
I drove down to another friends house a couple of hundred yards and told him what had happened.
I also told him that I could not hear the fan coming on ,He got in it and drove it a few hundred yards in his cow pasture and came back
and we talked for about 5 minutes and the fan came on and the display was showing cool.
we talked for about 10 minutes .
I left and drove again about a half a mile down the old road and stopping occasionally to try the 4wd and the Manual shifting every thing seemed to be working fine as I got to the house ,I parked it and looked at the display again and it was showing Hot again and the round icon of the transmission on the display again and it was neutral.
I shut the engine off and the display would not go off.
I took the key out
I went in the house and ate and came back about 45 minutes later and the display was still on and showing hot and the icon for the transmission was still on.
I took the Key in and out several times and finally the Hot display and the transmission Icon went off as did the rest of the display.
I then tried to start it again with the transmission showing that it was in neutral on the display without being hot but it sounded like it does when trying to start when it is in gear,like it was getting no fire.
I am disabled and have been feeling poorly for a while which is why I have not been starting it or using it for about 6 months,I have not evn had the first oil change yet and doubt that It even has 500 hours on it an most of that spent using it to get around about an acre of yard instead of walking.
I have the manual but do not know where in the house it is.
I would really appreciate some help as I dont have the Knowledge to know what to do nor the Money to take to a dealer to get it fixed.
I do have plenty of time as I am disabled and retired
Thanks
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Craig Henard
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[Admin]

 

[Bcraig]

I found the owners Manual and it is a 2021 year model
I see that what I thoght was a Icon of a transmission is in fact an yellow Icon of an engine.

PGM-FI
Malfunction Indicator Lamp according to the Owners Manual

 

[JACKAL]

I really need some help
Today I went out to use my Honda Pioneer 500 which I bought new about 3 r 4 years ago (Dont have the Year model sitting in front of me)Any ways it would not start (I have not started it in about 6 months). Battery was not putting out very much.
I called a friend who came by and he hooked his cables up to my battery and I tried to start it and it did not sound like it was even trying to start even though I had my foot Held down relatively hard on the Brake pedal.
There was a mouse nest under the seat and next to the firewall which I removed but could see not chewed up wires.
I then put it into neutral and it fired right up.
I then drove it about a half a mile down an old country road and when I turned around to go back to the house it was trying to die on me so I give it a little more gas and got turned around and noticed that it would not shift so pulled off to the side of the road to check out what was going on and noticed that the display was reading hot (the radiater was not hot to the touch though)and showing a icon of the transmission on the display so I shut it off and noticed that I had it in 4wd and had been driving it up to about 33 mph.
It would not start so I waited about 15 minuted and it started again.
I drove down to another friends house a couple of hundred yards and told him what had happened.
I also told him that I could not hear the fan coming on ,He got in it and drove it a few hundred yards in his cow pasture and came back
and we talked for about 5 minutes and the fan came on and the display was showing cool.
we talked for about 10 minutes .
I left and drove again about a half a mile down the old road and stopping occasionally to try the 4wd and the Manual shifting every thing seemed to be working fine as I got to the house ,I parked it and looked at the display again and it was showing Hot again and the round icon of the transmission on the display again and it was neutral.
I shut the engine off and the display would not go off.
I took the key out
I went in the house and ate and came back about 45 minutes later and the display was still on and showing hot and the icon for the transmission was still on.
I took the Key in and out several times and finally the Hot display and the transmission Icon went off as did the rest of the display.
I then tried to start it again with the transmission showing that it was in neutral on the display without being hot but it sounded like it does when trying to start when it is in gear,like it was getting no fire.
I am disabled and have been feeling poorly for a while which is why I have not been starting it or using it for about 6 months,I have not evn had the first oil change yet and doubt that It even has 500 hours on it an most of that spent using it to get around about an acre of yard instead of walking.
I have the manual but do not know where in the house it is.
I would really appreciate some help as I dont have the Knowledge to know what to do nor the Money to take to a dealer to get it fixed.
I do have plenty of time as I am disabled and retired
Thanks
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Craig Henard
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Well mice can and do cause havoc with the wiring. That said it doesn't seem like there is an electrical issue beyond the battery draining from extended period of not being used. So recommend getting the battery fully charged as low voltage can cause multiple issues.

With the machine intermittently overheating it could be multiple causes, but first:

1. Did you check the oil level as per your owners manual? It's never been changed from what I read. low oil certainly will cause that light to come on and cause shifting issues in addition to causing damage to many other components.

2. Did you check the coolant level, in the white plastic reserve tank and in the radiator? IF the white plastic reserve tank is low or empty, where is the coolant going?

3. Is the radiator fins clear of debris such as mud / leaves or grass seed from driving in tall fescue or splashing through water puddles etc. Those can cause overheating from no air flow even with the fan operating correctly. Shine a bright light from the back side of the radiator near the fan and see if the gaps between the fins allow unobstructed light visible from the front through the whole radiator.

4. Did you check the air filter, it too is a hot spot for mice nests, if it is all plugged up starving the engine for oxygen / air it can cause overheating, erratic running, and cause the engine to suck oil out of the crankcase via the crankcase vent routed into the airbox / air filter. Hence #1 did you check the oil level?

Those are the top 4 culprits I have experienced servicing other peoples Hondas that do not ride them often and rodents end up causing issues from nesting and eating on the wiring.

If its none of the 4 above (I bet it is though) it could be the thermostat sticking, unlikely but not impossible

See example here: Multi - Please don't do this to your Honda

Check all the above, do not stop at one if you find an issue, thinking it's solved. And please for the love of Pete, have your oil changed and clean the air filter at least annually even if you only put 200 miles on it a year for the longevity or your machine.

 

[Bcraig]

I Hate to admit it but I did not any of those things.
I had to go back in the house and use the bathroom after my neighbor got here and he had taken the hood off or I would not even have known about the Mouse nest's under the hood ,we pulled it out and then I took it down the road and I did not even think to check the most basic of things.
I am 64 Years old and I know better.

I will check all these things tommorow
Thanks for the information and advice and the link to "please dont do this to your honda"
I appreciate it.

 

[JACKAL]

I Hate to admit it but I did not any of those things.
I had to go back in the house and use the bathroom after my neighbor got here and he had taken the hood off or I would not even have known about the Mouse nest's under the hood ,we pulled it out and then I took it down the road and I did not even think to check the most basic of things.
I am 64 Years old and I know better.

I will check all these things tommorow
Thanks for the information and advice and the link to "please dont do this to your honda"
I appreciate it.

Good luck on finding an easy culprit and let us know what you find.

 

[Bcraig]

Thanks,I hope I find the issue or issues and have not done any major damage.

 

[Bcraig]

I went outside and checked the oil and it was full and took the hood off and checked the water reservoir and there is less than a 1/4 inch in the very bottom of it but I did not start it.
I looked at the air filter and the it did not look bad at all but there was a dirt dauber nest sitting next to the side of the air filter.
it was about the size of a golf ball across its top,also appeared to be some bits of paper inside that looked almost the start of a mouse nest!

I had to come back in the house to get on the internet to figure out how to remove the air filter .
I am going back as soon as the sun goes down so It wont be so hot and take the air filter out and try to figure out how a mouse could have gotten inside the air filter box.

Would starting the engine raise the water level in the reservoir from almost non existant to halfway between full and low ?
Or another way of putting it ,would the water reservois be essentialy empty when not started and cold ?

 

[JACKAL]

Would starting the engine raise the water level in the reservoir from almost non existant to halfway between full and low ?

No, the reservoir is one way, holding only pure coolant to be siphoned into the radiator if that level gets low as it cools off from operating temps.

The level in the radiator however would / could change some from a cold to running temp standpoint as it is under pressure when at operating temps.

The same route that air gets into the air box is the same route a rodents can enter as well, no matter how unlikely it seems.

 

[Bcraig]

is there any way they could have come in anyway other than through the air filter box?

Reason I ask is that before I went to use it this last time I turned it over pretty hard when I was riding it around an agri field and did not see a drainage ditch as It was growed up in grass,Luckily I was Just putting along only and probably doing less than 5 mph.
I had to call a farmer friend of mine and we had to put a chain around the frame of the Honda and around the frame of the front of his truck and back out very slowly to get the Honda out of the Ditch.

 

[JACKAL]

is there any way they could have come in anyway other than through the air filter box?

If there is, you have more serious problems than over heating, might check the full intake system and check everything is attached as it should be.

 

[Bcraig]

I went backout and removed the air Filter and lo and behold there was a dried up mouse behind the air filter along with some more mouse nest.

I am thinking the most likely place the mouse came in is through the air cleaner vent tube ?
Right where the end of the tube is at on the drivers side behind the role over.

I am thinking that if that is where the mouse came throug that there may be remnants of a nest inside the tube that need to come out.

What do you think is the easiest way to make sure the vent tube is clear ?

Is it difficult to remove ?

 

[Hello_Darkness]

The dead battery is probably alot of the issue with the display being on and shifting.

The battery is probably so dead that driving it around won't charge it enough to be ok.

 

[Scoop]

Clean up the critters and thier remnants, pick up and install a NEW battery (charge it!), then go from there.

 

[Remington]

Clean up the critters and thier remnants, pick up and install a NEW battery (charge it!), then go from there.

☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻THIS☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻
Work smarter not harder!

 

[JACKAL]

I went backout and removed the air Filter and lo and behold there was a dried up mouse behind the air filter along with some more mouse nest.

I am thinking the most likely place the mouse came in is through the air cleaner vent tube ?
Right where the end of the tube is at on the drivers side behind the role over.

I am thinking that if that is where the mouse came throug that there may be remnants of a nest inside the tube that need to come out.

What do you think is the easiest way to make sure the vent tube is clear ?

Is it difficult to remove ?

This is the area of concern in the P500 with critter contamination circled in red:

Now this is me thinking from a Pioneer 1000 long intake tube perspective, may not be needed for a P500, but probably a dryer vent duct cleaning brush, run it from the airbox end out through intake opening. Something like this is between $13-$25 depending on source (Amazon vs. Lowes) OR use a wire coat hanger or equivalent and a sponge etc. to swab out the tube to ensure its clear, will have to undo the cap on the left end of the red circled tube above.

 

[Bcraig]

Clean up the critters and thier remnants, pick up and install a NEW battery (charge it!), then go from there.

Now this is me thinking from a Pioneer 1000 long intake tube perspective, may not be needed for a P500, but probably a dryer vent duct cleaning brush, run it from the airbox end out through intake opening. Something like this is between $13-$25 depending on source (Amazon vs. Lowes)

Or if its short you can take the tube off by removing the clamps and make sure it's clear.

View attachment 432944

Thanks for the idea and the link.

After I read this I got to thinking and remembered that I have a 10ft drain cleaner with a Handle on one end to turn .
That Might work to clean the air intake tube.
Nothing ventured and nothing gained,I already have it so I might as well give it a try.

I think that whether the air intake is stopped up or not given the mouse and nest that were in the air cleaner box that it could be part of the reason for the overheating if the air intake tube is even partially stopped up.

Also I am going to check and clean the radiator with a garden hose for low pressure.
I already am going to clean the air filter anyway so I will do that first.

Reading what you wrote about the Coolant reservoir being one way IF the Radiator was Low in coolant then if there is no coolant in the resevoir then the radiator would not be able to siphon coolant and stay cool ?

 

[Bcraig]

The dead battery is probably alot of the issue with the display being on and shifting.

The battery is probably so dead that driving it around won't charge it enough to be ok.

Thanks

 

[Bcraig]

Clean up the critters and thier remnants, pick up and install a NEW battery (charge it!), then go from there.

Clean up the critters and thier remnants, pick up and install a NEW battery (charge it!), then go from there.

I am going to take the battery off and Have my neighbor put a slow charge on it and see if it is any good.
If not who makes a good battery as a Replacement ?

There is a honda dealer about 20 miles from me and There is an Advance,AutoZone,O'reillys,and Napa Auto Parts store within 20 miles also.

 

[Remington]

I am going to take the battery off and Have my neighbor put a slow charge on it and see if it is any good.

Dont waist your time! Have it LOAD TESTED NOT SLOW CHARGED! Take it to the parts store if you dont have one. But its money well spent to get one for yourself.

The OEM replacement brand is good. Ive had good luck with the Duralast replacement from AutoZone also. Pick your poison!
Just make sure its the right group size and the battery posts are the same as the one you took out.
Again, work smarter not harder!

 

[HiFive]

Get a new air filter from the dealer. Start fresh and keep and clean the old air filter then reoil air filter put in a ziplock bag as a back up. IMHO