06 sportsman 500 efi awd issue
 

Just picked up the above machine with 247hrs on it. So far I've replaced rear wheel bearings, both ball joints, front cv boot and stator. The issue I'm now having is that the awd light works, speedo works, but the awd will not engage. I've pulled the connector to check for 12v but it only fluctuates between 6-9v which leads me to believe I have a bad ground. If I hook 12v directly into the front diff, it still doesn't engage. I'm about to start pulling the front diff to tear into it but was wondering if anyone knew where I should look for the bad ground(so I don't have to run a new ground) and what else I should look for once I get the diff pulled. The input shaft is pretty sloppy so I will pick up a rebuild kit.

Jump the brown/white wire in the speedo harness to the brown wire or to another brown or frame ground. See if this helps. This bypasses the awd section in the speedo where a lot of problems happen. If you're going to rebuild the input shaft I'd go further and replace the plastic roller cage with an aluminum one. If it hasn't cracked yet probably will later on. Plenty of them on ebay,etc.

Once I pull it apart I will hopefully have a better idea of what I'm up against. Where would I go looking for the ground on the machine for the front diff wire? Or would I be better off splicing into the wire and re grounding?

The brown/white wire in the speedo harness is the ground for the front diff. You'd just be jumping it to a common ground (brown) bypassing the speedo that usually handles the grounding and completes the circuit.Or you can jump the brown/white to a good frame ground. Which ever is easier. Also check close at the dif where the wires enter for any bare frayed wiring that could be causing intermittent problems. This is just a way to try to get a positive ground. Again your problem maybe caused by the plastic roller cage,worn armature plate,etc. If the front diff engages OK after the regrounding,then that was the problem. If it doesn't help then you may still have to tear into the diff to see if it's a mechanical problem.

I ran 12v right into the diff and it still didn't engage, I've started pulling it out. Hopefully should have it out by the end of today. Was gonna do it this morning but I'm tired from nightshift and need to get to sleep. I did just get the prop shaft out though

Just drained the fluid and there was barely any in there, also a nice rusty colour.

Ok, just disassembled the front diff, bearings are pooched and the rollers are rusted and pitted. The armature plate has a wear groove in one side. The cage looks fine but I'll clean it up and take a closer look. My next question is will the john Deere parts fit this one? My differential has the 4 bolt pattern in the input shaft plate as opposed to the 3 bolts I've seen so far.

Just replace the roller cage with an aluminum one from ebay along with a new armature plate and other parts needed.

Quick question opt, when I install the new seals, do j press them in right up against the bearings?

Just flush with the castings.