OPT - Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

 

I finally got a little time to get back to working on it again today.

I picked up a new speedometer for $255.00 and a new Neutral/Reverse light so all of those items work now. It seems almost everything was burnt out on this atv.

Now that I have a good speedo the awd is partially working. Here are my symptoms.

These symptoms are the same if AWD switch is on or off position.

High or low gear:

Both back wheels spin and left front wheel spins. Right front driveshaft is spinning, but not the wheel.

Reverse:

Both back wheels spin.

When I push in the Reverse/Override button the left front wheel turns and the right wheel does not. The Right front driveshaft is spinning, but not the wheel.

I thought maybe the AWD switch could be bad since the symptoms are the same no matter if it is off or on. Is the coil bad on the right front hub since that one does not engage?

What do you think?

 

Think you're going to have to go into the hubs and check out the armature plates,hilliards and bearings. You can do just this one offending wheel if you wish,but sooner or later the other side will act up. That's mainly why when I explained this to customers most just wanted to check out the whole thing so they wouldn't have to be bringing it back in. Same for the do it your selfers. If mine I'd replace both armature plates,cleanup the bearings, replace any worn ones,inspect,clean the hilliard cage, inspect the hilliard roll bearings,garter springs and replace both strut and hub seals. This is a job,but after it's done if you change hub fluid regularly the system should be trouble free for years. Don't just do a patch job on the awd system!You'll have to continue going back into replace something if you do!! Hopefully the coil itself or strut sleeve isn't damaged,plus even worse if the inner pole of the strut where the coil mounts gets ground down. A lot of times the whole strut has to be replaced when this happens! I've had to do this on numerous atvs that weren't maintained and run dry on fluid when seals leaked,or just wasn't maintained properly. I'm not trying to scare you or anyone else,just trying to show what needs to usually be done to keep the awd system in good condition and what can happen if you don't. Just from an old mechanics point of view. OPT

 

The previous owner replaced bearings and seals last year.

On the top of each strut where the wires run down into the strut, the area is full of blue rtv silicone on the outside. I had assumed that was done to make sure that no water gets in where the wires enter.

What do you think of this and do you think it was siliconed because there was some damage?

 

NOPE! This blue silicone is factory installed and the hub coil sleeve is siliconed in place along with the wires tucked into the strut casting recess with a foam strip and more silicone added. Part of the reason for the silicone is for water resistance,the other to help keep the sleeve from moving when it gets warm from the heat of the oil and friction itself. OPT

 

So if I rebuil the hub my right front wheel should engage.

How about the other issue of the awd being on with awd switch in on or off position?

 

Main thing to check is that the coil does have power when in gear,awd switch on. When you hold the plate close to the coil it should pull away and stick to the coil and sleeve! It's usually fairly easy to tell why the awd stays engaged with the switch off. When you remove the hub,bearings, and hillard(roll cage) if the armature plate doesn't easily remove from the coil sleeve,this is a good sign the plate has become magnetized.Pry it away from the sleeve and see if it sticks again with all power off.It should just slide down!! Plus use a small screw driver and see if the plate has any pull to it. This is why most systems stay engaged,the plate won't release when the awd switch is turned off and let the three tabs of the plate lock back into the hilliard. Another reason can be a weak garter spring on the hilliard,but doesn't happen that often. Plates can just wear over time and magnetize,also from not changing the hub fluid often enough,using wrong fluid, having the hubs torqued too tight,etc.
OPT

 

I removed the hubs today and found a gouged Hilliard cage on the right side.

Both sides have 13 volts and are magnetized to the disc when in High gear and Reverse with override switch pushed, in or out of awd mode.

The right side that won't engage has no magnetism when atv is off.

The left side that is always engage in awd has a slight magnetism to the little disc with three tabs when the atv is off.

 

Have seen this happen usually from over torqued hubs. Replace BOTH armature plates and looks like(hard to really tell) but need to replace the roll cage also. Make sure the face of the coils and sleeve(where the 3 tabbed armature plate rides are not ground down) clean inspect all the bearings,replace any if feel worn,and inspect the inside of the hubs them selves for any worn pitted surfaces. The inside of the hubs must be smooth. At least you have voltage to both coils.The left side(that's always engaged) that has a pull to the plate with the awd off is why it stays engaged! Looks like previous owner didn't maintain the machine,or may have torqued the hub nut too tight.Hub nut torques to 12 foot pounds only! http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/f...2000&fveh=5510 If the roll bearings inside the cage are smooth,not pitted or worn you can reuse them,but I would replace the garter spring and cage.
OPT

 

The armature, is that the piece with the disc with three tabs?

I used the same 3 tab disc on each side and it dropped on the right side with no power on, but just barely stuck to the right side with no power. Good magnetism with power in gear on both sides.

Since my coils are still slightly magnetized with no power on the left side, does that mean that coil assembly is bad?

I'm a little confused because I expected the system to only have voltage sent to the coils when awd was turned on and I have voltage sent to the coils at all times that the unit is running and in gear.

I thought when voltage was sent to the coils it would make the magnetic field and work the hub clutch to engage. Does it operate differently than that?