Engine Noise

I have a 2024 Xpedition NorthStar and was out on a ride and had it die on us. It was running just fine but then the check engine light came on and it made a weird noise (sounded like a heat shield came lose or a chain rattling) and smelt like the belt went out and then quit running. This whole chain of events was about 10 seconds long.

We pulled the cover for the belt and it was totally fine but the engine was seized. Luckily it was right by the truck so we got it on the trailer and brought it home.

The code it gave on the Ride Command screen is the “Driver Solenoid Circuit Error.” This code has sense gone away and there are no check engine lights or codes on anymore.

Just drained the oil and no signs of metal in it and it starts up just fine and doesn’t blow any smoke. When you rev it up it makes a knocking/rattling noise. There is still a burnt rubber smell when you rev the engine but isn’t blowing smoke out of the exhaust.

Has anyone had a similar thing happen or any recommendations? Unfortunately it’s out of warranty so looking for some possible options before spending the money to have Polaris dig into it.

This exact thing just happened to me 2 days ago. I had to winch it on trailer and send it home. It goes to the shop next week but my fear is the clutch came apart. Not sure if it has something to do with the comfort clutch kit or not. Hope someone else has some ideas or resolution.

I was wondering if it could be the clutch too. We had the new clutch installed at the beginning of the summer. Is yours starting up? Does it also smell like burning rubber?

Checking if it’s the clutch is a relatively simple process.
Remove the clutch cover as if you were changing a belt. Check first for any loose metal bits or rubber inside the cover. Then, with the engine off, you can spin the secondary clutch and belt by hand and check that the secondary doesn’t wobble or catch. Check that there’s no chunks missing or strings hanging from the belt.

If all that looks good, inspect the primary clutch for anything that looks out of place, loose bolts, etc.

This is what the clutches should look like
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The weight bolts in the primary clutch will have some play and be able to turn easily, and that is okay. As long as the bolt is there and has the nut on it, it’s most likely fine

If everything looks good, make sure everything is clear and with the machine in park, start the motor. The primary clutch will spin and the belt and secondary clutch should remain mostly stationary. It’s ok if there’s a little twitching in the belt and secondary clutch but if the secondary is spinning at an idle there’s alignment issues or possibly more.
With the motor running you can watch the primary clutch for anything protruding or a wobble.

If everything appears okay then you can take it to a shop for their diagnostics. It’s pretty rare to have a clutch issue that isn’t fairly obvious by doing these things.

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I am going to check this out tonight.

Mine will no longer start. Turn key over screen turns off and resets. I can’t test your steps, but appreciate the response! It may help me in the future.

Huntfreak said:

Mine will no longer start. Turn key over screen turns off and resets. I can’t test your steps, but appreciate the response! It may help me in the future.

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Definitely sounds like a bigger problem. You might check the battery connections and the frame ground on that. With the screen resetting it sounds like a bad battery or poor connections.

If the concern is the motor might be seized, there’s 2 things I’d check
You can smell the oil on the dipstick. If it smells burnt, it’s not good.
And second, you should be able to turn the primary clutch by hand. It will have quite a bit of resistance since you’ll be turning the motor over, but I turn it by hand when I’m doing clutch tuning.

NOTE:
ONLY turn the primary clutch COUNTER-CLOCKWISE! Turning it the other direction could cause damage!

Is it charging OK, battery level?, will it turn over but not start?

They’re thinking it’s a bad rod bearing on ours. Guess it’s a common issue they’ve been having due to the low rpm clutch starving the motor of oil.

Jholbrook said:

They’re thinking it’s a bad rod bearing on ours. Guess it’s a common issue they’ve been having due to the low rpm clutch starving the motor of oil.

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That sounds like very “shop” like thing to say

Short of a bad oil pressure regulator, the engine should maintain fairly constant oil pressure through its entire rpm range, except at idle. They’re basically saying if everyone with a Prostar II motor doesn’t run it at max rpm it’s somehow not getting enough oil! Which is utter nonsense!

That being said, clutching for a lower rpm can shift the torque load on the engine out of its engineered range and I could see that causing some issues. But I would think it’d have to be a drastic change. More than 400-600 rpm would account for. And that still shouldn’t affect oil flow.

Opened a “Goodwill” warranty claim with Polaris so let’s see what they do. I’m remaining hopeful considering we’ve bought 3 in the last year alone and have referred 9 other friends to purchase in the last year too.

Here’s hoping they take care of you on it!

Polaris has been pretty good to us on several occasions, but nothing was as major as repairing/replacing an engine.