OK i have a 1999 polaris sportsman 500. I have had only one problem with it, the 4X$ wont work. I have tried everything and nothing will fix it. I am going to fix it so it is 4X4 all the time. I am about to weld the front hubs so they are locked in 4x4 all the time. I know it will be harder to steer but i only ride this machine on dirt and mud. Mainly us this machine for plow and mudding. Is there anything i am missing, dont wanna break anything. But thought it would be nice to have the 4 wheel engine breaking also. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

you can take a 12V source, off the battery if you want. put a fuse inline with the wire, run it to a switch on your handlebars, then splice that into your two wires going to your hubs. this will supply the 12V to your hubs when the switch is closed, just as the speedometer would do if it were working right. this is assuming the electrical is the problem. if its your armature plates in the wheels, then those are cheap to replace. the 99 is the same as 00 isn't it?

 

Don't think you'll be able to weld it up and achieve what you are after b/c of the way the 4wd is designed. There is no actual differential in the front case.

 

I HOT WIRED MINE SO I HAVE CONTROL WHEN THE WHEELS LOCK UP. IT SEEMS TO WORK GOOD SO FAR. IN THE POD, PURPLE WIRE CONNECT TO RED(HOT) WIRE. REVERSE OVERIDE SWITCH MUST BE PUSHED IN AT ALL TIMES(WITH A PLASTIC TIE) AND I CAN SWITCH OVER AS USUAL. I PUT IN A BREAKER TO PREVENT DAMGE IF IT EVER OVERHEATED, BUT NEVER HAS.

 

Welding the hubs would be difficult because of their design. Unlike a lockable hub, polaris hubs have a rotating cam that forces an outer cage assembly to wedge against the inside of the hub when the front axle spins faster than the hub, basically when the rear tires spin.

I suppose you could force the cam into the wedged position and weld it in place, but you would have to do this with the hub installed and you could only weld the outside where the cam and cage meet. I do not know what material the cage is made of, but appears to be cast which presents diffculty when welding.

The Polaris AWD system is pretty simple and to diagnose problems. Take one sides hub apart. Put the machine in a forward gear, turn the key and run switch on and press the AWD switch. Take the armature, the flat piece of metal with three tabs found at the back of the hub assembly, and slide it over the axle towards the strut housing. The magent in the strut housing should have a very strong pull against the armature. If it does not have any magnetism, you either have a bad AWD switch, bad gear selection switch or a broken wire between the hub and the circuit board.

If you have some magnetic pull, but not much you may have a weak coil or the seal sleeve and the strut housing are not lined up.