Need a little help diagnosing AWD
#1
Need a little help diagnosing AWD
2000 Xpedition 425. This machine has a new front prop shaft, wheel bearings, and hub fluid filled to the correct level. I currently have the atv jacked up with all four tires off the ground for testing. The right front wheel is getting power all of the time. I grabbed the wheel to make sure it wasn't just barely turning and there was no stopping it. The left front wheel will not engage at all. I have tried the AWD in both positions along with pushing the override button in each position. There is never a change.... always getting a turn on the right front and nothing on the left. Has anyone seen this before? Thanks
#2
#3
Either an electrical or mechanical problem. Check that you have voltage on the strut coil gray wire.If you have voltage,make a common ground on the awd ground wires like in this video.
If you still don't have awd on the offending side,then the problem could be a weak or damaged coil, coil sleeve not being able have enough magnetic pull to keep the armature plate engaged.If in doubt on the strut coil check the resistance on the gray and brown/white wires. Should be around 25-27 ohms. Inspect the face of the coil sleeve and inner pole of the strut for damage also. If these are ground down awd won't engage.
#5
Last edited by old polaris tech; 08-30-2017 at 08:56 AM. Reason: service manual..
#6
Either an electrical or mechanical problem. Check that you have voltage on the strut coil gray wire.If you have voltage,make a common ground on the awd ground wires like in this video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gYeL91odtk If you still don't have awd on the offending side,then the problem could be a weak or damaged coil, coil sleeve not being able have enough magnetic pull to keep the armature plate engaged.If in doubt on the strut coil check the resistance on the gray and brown/white wires. Should be around 25-27 ohms. Inspect the face of the coil sleeve and inner pole of the strut for damage also. If these are ground down awd won't engage.
I wanted to take it out this weekend to help a friend on his land. Will disconnecting both of the coil connectors disable the AWD where I have a 2wd machine and not cause any issues? There is not time to get parts in by the weekend and I'd rather run in 2wd until I can get it operating as it should. Thanks again for your help.
#7
If you look at the hub coil power and ground wires they're the size of telephone wires,very small and brittle. Easy to loose ground path on the wires from the awd switch to the two connectors under the front panel and then down the strut to the coils. A better common ground on the ground wires can at times solve awd problems.Even worse on later models that the awd ground path went through the speedo especially if the speedo ever goes out.Most times you loose awd when this happens. Bypassing the speedo by jumping the ground wires can at least restore awd function. Dropping power to the hub coils and running in 2 wheel drive may not always work right. If you have problems on one wheel not disengaging,it may still have problems by locking up when you least expect it to. The awd is electro/mechanical. If the mechanical side has problems such as a magnetized armature plate ,disabling the power to the coils may not always help.
Last edited by old polaris tech; 08-30-2017 at 02:35 PM. Reason: Disabling power to the awd system..
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#8
After an evening of wrenching I have more information I took everything apart, cleaned, and reassembled. Neither of the front hubs are engaging and it's acting as a 2wd all the time. The coil connectors are getting about 10.5V. I activated the coil and there was very little if any magnetic ability produced. I could very easily remove the armature plate with my fingers. I attempted to try the grounding as shown in the video and the splice got hot real fast so I shut it down and didn't try again. I'm going to have to do more reading on the grounding and see where I went wrong.
#9
I only grounded one connector as a test. Could all four wires not being spliced caused the splice to get hot? If it's just a ground I wouldn't think it would matter if both sides were grounded together or separately. I noticed the lights on the speedo went off as soon as I flipped on the AWD also.
#10