testing a shift motor
 

Guy from honda said to take two d cell batteries and out in series to test the shift motor. If it turns both directions the shift motor is good. Does this sound legit?

Yea.. when i tested mine i used the 12 volt battery on the wheeler. May be to much for it though.. who knows..

Shift motors are less than 12v, I seem to recall the manual telling me that 9v from the leads was correct. I always take them apart, if they are full of oil or dust, have loose magnets or worn out brushes, you have probably found the fault. 350, 450 and old 500 shift motors are swine to get back together though. 420s are a lot easier.

Manual shows to use 12 volts while testing the shift motor. May call for less during functioning but 12volts wont hurt it unless you short it out of course ;)

2003 500 Stock Rubicon wont initialize
 

So Hello to everyone Im new to ATV Connection. Ive been running the trails that are in Lincoln and Langlade counties in northern Wisconsin for quite a few years.

My machine has worked very well for nearly 14 years and over last winter while ice fishing up north the meter started blinking and it went into fail safe mode.I pulled out a code 11 so started checking a few things. The angle sensor was way out of spec so i put a new one on per manual. The transition gear would not turn so I read about carefully prying the transition gear with a small screw driver and finally got it loose. I checked the shift motor with the two D volt batteries in series and it turns in both directions. Ive checked every connector, cleaned and packed with dielectric grease. Checked wires for continuity and I cant find any failures with anything yet. All grounds are good.

Anyways I erase the code and go to reinitialize the machine and when I get to the part of hearing the shift motor do its thing with the angle sensor there is no shift motor noise. The wires to the shift motor have continuity so Im really thinking I need an ECM?

The only other thing that I need to check is the sensor (think this one is gear select sensor) that is downward from the pull starter. The group of 4 wires that were bundled in a sheath had a wear mark through the sheath and almost looked like an arc mark on the recoil housing. I opened up the sheath and there was nothing evident but still should probably check with a meter.

My battery is only a year old and it starts the machine fine; only thing I noticed is after charging the battery it drops to 12.3 volts and holds the voltage at 12.3 volts. I thought I read that it should be between 13 and 13.3 volts -- not sure if this matters. A friend tested it and he said it was ok.

A bit frustrating but not giving up, hope to be riding again soon.

Thanks for reading my post and any input would be appreciated.

The battery should only read over 13v with the engine running.

It may be worth getting a Honda dealer to check it. They may know of a common fault that throws code 11, or have either a spare ECU or another Rubicon, so can try another ECU on, and see if it fixes the problem, if it doesn't, you are not down the price of an ECU.