A friend of mine has a either 1993 or 2003 which I think is a 2003 500 sportsman. We flip the handle bar switch and it won't go into 4 wheel drive. I have looked on the Polaris web site and cant find anything and I would like to know where to start looking for the reason of no 4 wheel drive. I am a little mechanical inclined but know nothing of Polaris mechanics other than looking, tracing and finding. Is there a fuse block that would have a fuse for the switch or is it direct? I haven't touched the machine other than ride it a short distance and tried the switch which won't work. Some help I would appreciate.

 

First thing you could try is to just have all four wheels off the ground and see if the front wheels turn! This system works when the rear tires slip about an 1/8 of turn and the front kicks in then kicks out when the rear tires gain traction. Plus you can check connections under the front panel that go to the hubs (gray and brown wire) there will be two of theses and see if there is 12 volts at the gray wire(brown is ground) If there isn't power(with the key on,on gear and the awd switch on,then could be a bad transmission gear switch.You can also have internal hub mechanical problem,etc. You can also check You tube for some videos on the front hubs,plus a manual would be best if you have to track down electrical or mechanical problems. Another way is place the front end up against a pole and see if the front tires grab. The four wheel drive doesn't just work when you hit the switch! It's designed to kick in and out when you need it! OPT

 

ok, will give the suggestions a try. I know the front wheels aren't engaging. I was pulling trees from a pile of wood the other day and the rear wheels were digging in a good hole, the front wheels weren't doing any thing. I flipped the handle bar switch back and forth and nothing. Also my cousin who owns the atv said he knew it was 4 wheel drive but hasn't figured out how to get it to work since owning it. His dad also claims its a 4 wheel drive but he also hasn't got it to work. I just didn't know where or how to start trying to trace the reason down for not working.

 

Forgot too to tell you to check if there is any hub fluid in the hubs! Just pull the 3/16" allen plug and see if they are dry or the fluid is dark and thick! Try a simple hub fluid change first (Polaris Demand Drive hub fluid. Fill at 12 o'clock position, turn to 3 or 4 o'clock and drain excess,then reinstall plug. OPT