P1000 Out Camping/Riding and Broke Down. Can anyone help.

[nitzo]

The ride: Around noon, hot as hell, very dry conditions, super tight trails. We come to a small water hole, maybe a foot deep, I blasted thru it, no issues, yet. We go another five minutes or so and come to a small bushy tree down in the trail, I go over it noticing it was hung up under the pioneer, it freed itself shorty. About a 1/2 mile later I noticed it would not shift out of 1st gear, automatically or with the paddles, I got a yellow engine light that came on and the gear indictor was flashing with a dash. I was way back in the woods and didn’t want to be stranded so I kept going. A bit latter the temp went to four bars and the red warning light came on. It has never done this before. I had to shut it off, it boiled a bunch of water out. I let it cool down, checked fan fuses, all good, added some water and it took off like nothing happened. road for 5 miles maybe, all good, then the yellow engine light comes on and the indictor is dashes again. This time it was stuck in like 5 th gear. It didn’t overheat I guess cause I was going fast enough. So, I stopped shut it off for a minute or two. Started up and road to the camp, maybe 10 miles and no more issues. Any ideas? It’s a rather uneasy feeling not knowing when it’s gonna bite again. Thanks guys.

 

[Admin]

 

[wrhii]

The ride: Around noon, hot as hell, very dry conditions, super tight trails. We come to a small water hole, maybe a foot deep, I blasted thru it, no issues, yet. We go another five minutes or so and come to a small bushy tree down in the trail, I go over it noticing it was hung up under the pioneer, it freed itself shorty. About a 1/2 mile later I noticed it would not shift out of 1st gear, automatically or with the paddles, I got a yellow engine light that came on and the gear indictor was flashing with a dash. I was way back in the woods and didn’t want to be stranded so I kept going. A bit latter the temp went to four bars and the red warning light came on. It has never done this before. I had to shut it off, it boiled a bunch of water out. I let it cool down, checked fan fuses, all good, added some water and it took off like nothing happened. road for 5 miles maybe, all good, then the yellow engine light comes on and the indictor is dashes again. This time it was stuck in like 5 th gear. It didn’t overheat I guess cause I was going fast enough. So, I stopped shut it off for a minute or two. Started up and road to the camp, maybe 10 miles and no more issues. Any ideas? It’s a rather uneasy feeling not knowing when it’s gonna bite again. Thanks guys.

Codes????

 

[nitzo]

Codes????

Codes? I didn’t see anything different other then the dashes. Not sure how to retrieve any code.

 

[Schmeg]

If the dash is flashing, count the number of long flashes, then short flash’s. Hence one long flash and three short flashes is a code 13. You boiled over because you overheated running it continually in first gear. That busy tree you ran over is certainly suspect. I would:
1. Burp the cooling system for sure. Drive the nose of the buggy up an incline so the radiator cap is at the highest point. Take the cap off, let the buggy warm up and keep adding 50/50 coolant mixture until it’s full. keep going with it until it no longer take coolant. Put cap back on. Make sure overflow bottle is half full.
2. clear out all the crap that tree left behind under the buggy and near the transmission.
3. give it a good test drive before tearing off with it.
4. unless you have extended vent lines, don’t go blasting through any more foot deep puddles. Your asking for problems.

 

[nitzo]

If the dash is flashing, count the number of long flashes, then short flash’s. Hence one long flash and three short flashes is a code 13. You boiled over because you overheated running it continually in first gear. That busy tree you ran over is certainly suspect. I would:
1. Burp the cooling system for sure. Drive the nose of the buggy up an incline so the radiator cap is at the highest point. Take the cap off, let the buggy warm up and keep adding 50/50 coolant mixture until it’s full. keep going with it until it no longer take coolant. Put cap back on. Make sure overflow bottle is half full.
2. clear out all the crap that tree left behind under the buggy and near the transmission.
3. give it a good test drive before tearing off with it.
4. unless you have extended vent lines, don’t go blasting through any more foot deep puddles. Your asking for problems.

Very good. Thank-you. The vent lines? I
have the stuff with me to do them. A bit late I guess. Lol.

As far as counting the flashes it just starts and keeps flashing. Now it seems to be working so no flashing is going on.

I get everything u r saying , but what was the initial cause of it not shifting is what puzzles me.. It wasn’t overheating at all when the shifting issue started.

 

[Adam490]

Check your grounds. My Rubicon will flash dashes for the gear indicator when I forget to hook it up to the tender and the voltage drops. If it's not flashing CEL codes I'd think you are dealing with a ground issue.

 

[Adam490]

Very good. Thank-you. The vent lines? I
have the stuff with me to do them. A bit late I guess. Lol.

As far as counting the flashes it just starts and keeps flashing. Now it seems to be working so no flashing is going on.

I get everything u r saying , but what was the initial cause of it not shifting is what puzzles me.. It wasn’t overheating at all when the shifting issue started.

Is the CEL (yellow engine light) flashing or just the dashes for the gear indicator blinking? If you can take a video and post it we can have a better idea of what you're seeing.

 

[nitzo]

The cel is solid and the gear indicator flashes a dash(-). I have the dual voltage gauges and when it’s doing it I’m running a solid 13.8 to 14 volts on both. Also, the first time it did it little yellow warning light( looks like a Mercedes emblem on the upper left of dash) came on for maybe two minutes right before it overheated.

 

[Plumber32]

The cel is solid and the gear indicator flashes a dash(-). I have the dual voltage gauges and when it’s doing it I’m running a solid 13.8 to 14 volts on both. Also, the first time it did it little yellow warning light( looks like a Mercedes emblem on the upper left of dash) came on for maybe two minutes right before it overheated.

I'm thinking its voltage. Seems to me I got stuck once and winching ect was the final straw for the stock battery. Like you I'd be fine once it restarted. The light may of been the power steering light. New battery fixed mine.

 

[Schmeg]

Your overheat was probably caused by the machine getting hot, sucking in a bit of air, Then really getting hot. These are sealed cooling systems like snowmobiles. They can’t have any air.

 

[HondaTech]

The gear it's stuck in is correlated to what gear your in when the problem starts.

Under the bed there is a panel you remove to add oil. If you take it off you'll see a large brass flat head screw. Loosen the 10mm bolt next to it, swing the hooked plate out of the way. Screw the brass screw in until it bottoms out. This will allow you to stay in 2nd gear and get home.

When the gear indicator goes blank and flat lines the line should flash to indicate a code, as well as the CEL.

There are 2 types of flashes, long and short. A long flash counts as 10, short counts as 1. So 2 long and 3 short would be 23.

Check this pattern before doing anything when the machine starts acting up again.

 

[nitzo]

Check your grounds.

I think you nailed it. The ground on my primary battery was loose. I had changed that battery out a couple months ago. It’s no excuse for not tightening it enough but I hate those short;s***ty bolts that come with batteries. Anyway, I tightened it up and did about 50 miles on some rough trails, no issues. Thanks so much for your help and also everyone who posted ideas. Thanks

 

[0860silverado]

Glad you got it figure out. My Mercedes light came on too once, engine died and then trans stopped engine braking. All it was, was a loose chassis ground. Finicky little suckers these machines are.

 

[nitzo]

Ok, I rode yesterday, the same rough trail. After about 30 miles That same battery lead came loose again. What r yall using or changing those connections on ur batteries too

 

[CumminsPusher]

Ok, I rode yesterday, the same rough trail. After about 30 miles That same battery lead came loose again. What r yall using or changing those connections on ur batteries too

Doubt too many have switched that out for anything. Is it routed in a way that puts stress on it causing it to back out? They are a booger but usually stay tight. Do you have a ton of wiring going to the terminals? Maybe loosen up and make sure any wires feel natural then tighten

 

[nitzo]

Doubt too many have switched that out for anything. Is it routed in a way that puts stress on it causing it to back out? They are a booger but usually stay tight. Do you have a ton of wiring going to the terminals? Maybe loosen up and make sure any wires feel natural then tighten

All good ideas to check. We made it back home and it's in the garage safe. I've got to install skid plates, a vent kit , some lights and do some minor maintenance on it, so while I have it all apart I'm going to reevaluate my wiring situation and do it all over. Again, thanks to all for your help[

 

[russknight]

I use a 10mm socket to snug the battery bolts tight and not a screwdriver.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

I use a 10mm socket to snug the battery bolts tight and not a screwdriver.

Wait a minute .... your socket set came with a 10mm and you still have it? What kind of sorcery is this and can you teach it to me?