Dragonfire has a bypass plug for when you install harnesses. Some throw the seatbelt behind the seat and leave it buckled. Others cut the buckle off the belt and leave it plugged in. Don't recommend the last two since you really should be buckled in when riding.

 

I assume OP is talking about drive belt not seat belt.......it shouldnt make you start in low range....espically since you have to stop again to put it in high...slightly confusing post

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Ahh. Never heard of that. How would you ever get to high? Found it.

CVT transmission with Electronic Drive Belt Protection
The Continuously Variable Transmission offers engine braking as well as High, Low, Park, Neutral and Reverse as well as new, easier access to the belt housing. The Electronic Drive Belt Protection monitors the CVT belt to determine its condition and alerting the driver when necessary. This device offers belt-spotting protection for when a driver is in high gear, but should be in low gear. The vehicle will not move and a “LOW GEAR” message will appear on the gauge, alerting the driver. The system is currently standard on all Commander MAX and available as optional function on almost all other Can-Am side-by-side vehicles.

Sounds like something that would have to be flashed out of the ecm.

 

^^^Correct. But if the machine is showing the message without "working" it there is a problem. I have put a few machines (with this belt protection) threw the paces. I have not seen the message.

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Sorry if I did not explain things enough or right. I did not mean seat belts.

You do not have to start in LOW range everytime. But probably 80% of the time. It makes you use low till you can get to ground that is not making the drive train strain I guess? We figured out one way to bypass it which is also a pain, is when it will not let you go unless you use LOW range, we just put the range selector into neutral then back to HIGH range and the indicator goes out and you can drive away fine in HIGH range.
Able2007, I too wondered if it was handled in the ECM, but I have no way of knowing and I was hoping someone here could straighten me out.

 

IMO sounds like the system is not working correctly.

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Sharp, before you get the message to start off in low range, can you tell us what speeds and conditions the machine was being used? Were you working the machine hard? Running the machine at low speeds? Idling around your property? Hauling a heavy load or pulling a trailer? The reason I ask is it possible that the belt has gotten hot due to the way it was being used. I was once told that if I was not going to exceed 30mph that it would be best to keep it in Low, I am not sure if that is true or not. I am sure someone who has more experience with these buggy's will be able to help shed some light on the subject.

 

hattrick300, It is my wife who drives it. She is almost 60 if that matters.
We ride the trails in Maine which consist of everything. The machine has failed to move in high range when it has sat for a few hours and after it has been used for hours. Here is an exact description of events. In high range you come to a stop, it can be on flat level ground or a slight slope or a big slope. When you apply the throttle to move, the engine cuts out and the words LOW RANGE scroll across the gauge face. You then have to put the selector in LOW range to be able to move. So she drives for a ways in LOW range and then stops and tries HIGH range. Sometimes it lets her proceed and other times it repeats with the engine cutting out and the words LOW RANGE again scrolling.
Load wise, this is a 4seater, with my wife and usually one 4 year old grandkid riding and maybe a bag of snacks.
Before we bought this unit last month we owned a side by side Commander 2 years older than this one. It did not have this Belt Protection System and she drove it on the same trails, with the same load, and put 2,500 miles on it and never had any issues with starting off moving.
I realize you can hurt the belt but does this Belt Protection System even monitor the belt? I spent some time looking around the belt cover and I did not see and connectors anyplace. But I have no manual to actually look anything up in. I hope this helps you understand what is happening. If I confused things again feel free to bug me.
Our intentions as of now, if I cannot figure out anything on my own, to then wait till the machine is out of warranty and then ask the dealer if we can pay them to remove whatever is needed to get rid of that Belt Protection System.
Thank you for trying to help sir.

 

After thinking about my previous reply, I want to add this if it helps.
When the range selector is in high range and she comes to a stop, then tries to go forward and the engine cuts out and the words use Low Range scroll. We found out that instead of putting the selector in Low Range and driving away, we can instead put the selector into neutral then back into high range and drive away fine ! That shows 2 things that the machine can move on in high with no issues but also that doing that dance with the range selector some how nullifies the Belt Protection System.

 

Reading the commander forums, it seems this is just an update flashed into the ecm on the commander max only. It says it can be added to almost any Can Am sxs vehicle. That tells me there probably isn't anything actually monitoring the belt. Maybe ask your dealer if they can uninstall the feature? If they can add it to any Can Am sxs perhaps they can erase it as well.

 

Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's help. I have contacted the Can Am dealer and asked for an estimate on removing the Belt Protection System. When I hear back from them I will post what their reply is. I hope they say yes and that the cost is not huge.
Sharp

 

Hi All,
So we took the Can Am Commander to the dealer to have them remove the Belt Protection System. We did not even have to unload the ATV. The tech came out with a Lap Top, plugged it in. About 60 seconds later he said he was done and he said there was a patch upload for our Commander available and wanted to know if we wanted them to do it. I said ok. This took a couple of minutes. So the whole thing was only a couple minutes and we were on our way.
When we got it home we went for a ride. AWESOME. No more trying to nurse the thing on take offs.
Thank you again everyone for the ideas and help.
Oh also as the tech was leaving us,he said they have had to remove that safety on every unit they have sold so far..... Just wish he had mentioned taking it off to us before we left his store !

 

Awesome!