I have a 01 Rubicon and I have problem with the hondamatic....that i already know...

But i have read about the centrifugal clutch and i was wondering how it works and what happens or how would you know it it was working improperly??

 

It lives under the front engine cover. It has weights/springs that run inside a drum.

What kind of symtoms are you having? How many miles on the machine, and what oil has been used?

 

I just bought the quad..... it has 2600 miles on it..... i just changed the oil running 10w-40 atv 4 stoke oil...... the bike doesnt move and it sounds like when i try to putt out its in high gear..... i can start it in the ESP mode and go through through the gears up to fourth..... and then downshift.... but when i shut it off.... no matter what gear i was in it starts back at 1st...? so i'm assuming its either not shifting or its stuck in gear.....

i have pretty much accepted buying a new hondamatic..... but i haven't bought one yet.... and i dont want to replace stuff and then have other parts bad..... i'd rather replace everything at one time and avoid tearing down the engine numerous times....

 

So if I understand correctly, you put the machine in gear and it doesn't move, but acts like you were trying to start out in a high gear?

Like the engine bogs down like it is fighting against a load, but the machine doesn't move?

Under transmission trouble shooting, the book says first thing to do is check oil pressure.

Then under "engine speed does not rise, resulting in a lack of driving force or low vehicle speed", it says to check the transmission bearing in the front crankcase cover, then to check the sub-transmission...

I would guess typical symtom of the centrifugal clutch would be a slipping sensation, where the motor revs w/o vehicle speed rising.

Hopefully someone who knows more about these machines will chime in shortly.

 

how you described the bike's movement is correct......

the oil pump brings up another question i have about the oil pump.....

if the pump does bad wouldn't it create problems for the engine itself? because it wouldnt be getting oil either? i also noticed when i took off the front crank case over the sprocket that turn the chain for what i'm assuming is the oil pump kind of wiggles forward and backwards..... is that kind of play supposed to exist?

i do think that i am goin to get the oil pressure checked before i buy a hondamatic to just make sure.....

but i appreciate your response and help!!

Thanks

 

Rincons with significant miles have been known to throw the oil pump drive chain, and the result is a machine that runs but won't move. The motor would have no oil pressure, but will run like that with no load (but should only be ran long enough to test pressure). I would presume a Rubicon would do something similar (transmission wouldn't operate w/o oil pressure, but engine would run OK for a while).

I don't know how much that drive sprocket is supposed to wiggle, but it makes me wonder if it's been stripped on the shaft...

Since you have the front cover off, do the bearings turn freely?

Also, I presume you don't have blinking dashes (indicating trouble code) on the gear position indicator?

Anyway, in my non-expert opinion before you dump $$$ on a new transmission it might be worthwhile to button it back up to check the oil pressure, and also look at the sub-transmission. It would also be a good investment to get a service manual, or even have a pro take a look at it.

 

well i have put it back together, i have bought a manual and i do have a blinking error......however, i replaced the ECM, angle sensor, took apart, cleaned and tested the shirft control motor and all worked.....

when i did have the case off, everything moved smoothly, as far as the clutch and tranny...

with regards to the sub tranny...... i have taken the speed sensor out and tried to move the gears with a screw driver..... and even in neutral i couldnt spin the gear.....which didnt make sense.....and there was a bit of play on the gears?? is that all normal.....? and lastly, when the case was off, i would spin the clutch and the chain and sprocket for the oil pump would all turn....

thanks again!

 

I would guess the gear below the speed sensor would be one that would rotate with the rear drive shaft? IE one that you wouldn't be able to spin unless the quad were on a jack and tires were off the ground? (Just a guess). If that were correct, I would expect a little play.

When you spun the clutch, and saw the chain and sprocket move, did the shaft the sprocket rides on also rotate?

Also, it looks like there is an initial setting procedure for the computer whenever ECM, throttle sensor, or angle sensor are dinked with...

Did that go OK? IE you no longer have the bars in the gear position window? If you do have the bars in the gear position window, what code?

 

The shaft the sprocket was on did spin.... when i put the new ECM on it went through all the gears fine.... but when i started the quad it blank continuously once it saw an error.... i cant count the codes b/c they never stop..... the first time i ran it when i first bought it i got error code 5.... replace the angle sensor then it blinked continuously after that... no real code....??

 

It looks like you turn key on while pushing up and down at the same time, release both buttons, press both again and hold for 2 seconds, then release when it starts blinking a code? On for 3 seconds, then pause, first set of blinks, off for 2 seconds, and a second set of blinks, then repeats?

Does it display anything when you do that?

It says if you don't get a code after repeatedly trying above to get it to blink out the code, check code 3 and 7, gear position switch and EPS switches...

It also looks like that if it just blinks in mode 2 (code retreval mode) that the inital setting procedure wasn't done, or didn't take.

Did you do the initial setting thing when you replaced the electrical stuff?


I'm beginning to think electrical/ecm issue. I sure wish one of the Rubicon experts on the boad would chime in.......