Can not use awd while riding. If you start in gear with awd switch off it will not engage when switch is turned on. It only works when engine is restarted in gear with the awd switch turned on. If gears are changed awd quits, must turn off and start again in gear choosen.

 

Hmm that doesn't seem to make much sense... So if you change from say reverse to hi with the AWD switch on, it won't work unless you kill and restart the engine?
Maybe you could explain your problem a little more.

In the meantime, when was the last time you changed your hub fluid? Also, what kind of wheeler do you have, do you have outboard hubs or the central hub?

ty

 

Ya, I agree it doesn't make any sense. That's exactly correct if I switch gears the machine has to be restarted in the gear needed (hi-low-rev) with the awd switch on or else I have no awd. The awd will not work if running and I select awd. I must stop and kill engine, select awd and restart, it really sucks when you need awd on demand- stopping and restarting is the only way it works. I just changed the hub fluid to the proper level(filled with hole to the top and checked level at the four o-clock position, until it poured out at the four o-clock positon, this problem makes no sense. This is occurring on a 2000 explorer 400. I believe you would refer to the hubs as being outboard hubs.
Any ideas are welcome, I am totally baffled!!
I have checked wiring diagrams nothing pin points this kind of problem.

 

Just curious.....How do you know the AWD is not functioning? By means of an indicator lamp not functioning or are the front wheels actually not "pulling" when the rear's slip the required amount?

 

It seems like it is a mechanical problem, like the castle nut in the hubs not being torqued correctly, but the fact that you have to restart makes no sense. The front hubs can't "tell" whether the engine is on or not, they just can "tell" if you are moving. So even if you leave it in AWD for awhile, it never kicks in? Sorry, but I am stumped.

 

I hadf similar problem with my explorer, when I had shift lever in high or low if I didn't hold lever in awd light would go out and awd would disengage . I took shifter apart and my switch is junk ,I bypassed it for now and seems to work fine. Caution switch is very fragile and easy to break cost around 90.00 for new switch. Mine was bad from water, dirt and rust got in there, I'm going to flush out the shifter and manual says to fill part way with Polaris 0-40w or 10w non-detergent oil but don't overfill . If I got new switch I'm not sure how it would work ,because I got rid of reverse override button function. with the switch on shifter eliminated I have to be carefull backing up in awd and neutral light stays on all the time. Newer machines have more electronics and might have trouble or lose functions if switches are bypassed.

 

awd indicator light not on when not working, rear wheels spin with no front wheel engagement.

 

Oh if the light is not on, that makes it a lot easier. It could very well be the switch in the shifter that senses what gear you have the shifter in.

 

I'm still working on this problem. i have changed fluid, rechecked castle nuts, and still searching for the answer to fix this problem. any suggestions welcome. please reply anytime never to late
thanks

 

Well if the AWD light is not on, it is not a mechanical problem (or not only one). No awd light = no power to hubs/coils.

Do your gear indicator lights work? Because if your quad thinks you are in neutral (or if it does not know what gear you are in) it will not power the coils and light the awd light.