ATV is a 2004 magnum 330 new to me a few days ago.
Initially the front wheels would not engage. As I started to check things I found two wires running down to the front differential. One Grey, one Brown. The two wires both have 12 volts with the AWD switch on, and neither has voltage with the switch off. There is no light on near the switch. With the wires unplugged, the two wires coming from the harness still are 12 volt positive, there is no ground wire. The wires down to the differential show continuity, indicating that they are connected and complete a circuit.

While doing this testing I drained the oil and replaced it with Polaris Demand Drive oil as instructed by my dealer.

Suddenly the front wheels are engaged even when the wires are completely dissconnected. I don't know if I have a mechanical problem, an electrical issue or both.

Shouldn't one of the two wires, brown or grey be a ground? When the wires are unhooked shouldn't the front wheels be dissconnected? Should there be a light in the switch, or somewhere else showing when the AWD is engaged?

Any ideas would be great.

 

If you have voltage to the front diff with the awd switch on then this part is ok. The brown is ground,the grey is the hot wire. Possible problems in the internal roll cage assembly (bad problem area for cracks since it's plastic) or the armature plate or both. can cause the system to lock up even with power off. Look here under "front housing" on your model.Browse OPT

 

Ok, so part of my problem is that I have positive voltage to the differential but no ground because both wires are hot coming out of the wire harness. I verified this by unplugging the connector, and grounding my test light. both wires are positive and with a voltmeter they both show 12+ volts. Where would I find a wiring diagram so I can try to figure out how the ground wire is getting charged? I don't expect this to solve all my problems, but I need to make sure the electrical is working properly before I dig into the more demanding mechanical fix.

 

Then it's possible you have a problem with the awd coil shorting out. Look under the "sticky" threads in the normal thread section under free manuals,plus if this doesn't help try this place and see if they can help.Wiring schematic in the manual should show you what's the cause of the problem. PartShark.com - Motorcycle Parts, ATV Parts, UTV Parts, PWC Parts, Powersports Apparel, Motorcycle Accessories for OEM and Aftermarket.
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