I just bought a well used 2000 Sportsman 500. When I bought it, the speedometer worked fine and was told the 4wd worked fine. Sometime during the first ride I took it on, the speedometer quit. I mean no odometer, speedometer, light, or anything. That happened before I was able to test the 4wd. Needless to say, the front hubs didn't help me out of the hole I put it in. The hubs didn't lock after the speedometer quit, and I don't know if they worked before that.

Now tonight, I checked voltages on the large plug on the back of the speedometer. They read like this (with respect to the black wire):

Red/white = 0v
Brown = 12v
yellow/red = 12v
brown/white = 0v
grey/orange = 12v

That is with the engine off, key on and it didn't matter whether the awd switch was on or off. It also didnt matter if the lights were on or off.

Does this mean for certain my speedometer is the cause of the awd failure?

Is there something else I can check before buying a new speedometer?

One other question:
What voltage should be going to each hub? (I'm getting nothing).

Thanks!

 

The speedometer is your problem I wrecked my polaris sportsman a few months ago and broke off my headlamp and speedometer so instead of riding with it broke i just took the whole thing off and finished the day riding but i went off into a creek and then found out that my 4x4 did not work at all. When I got back to my truck i plugged the wires back up to the speedometer and went and tried my 4x4 out again and it worked. So i would have to say that is your main problem but im not sure y you dont have power to it. I am also not sure but i think the polaris has a fuse on it someplace that runs the speedometer but im not sure have not had a problem to look for it yet but good luck and hope I helped you out.

 

Your whole 4x4 unit might be screwed. the exact same thing happened to me. I got it replaced, and everything went back to normal

 

What do you mean by the the whole 4x4 unit? I know my front driveshaft is driving, but the hubs are not engaging. Seems electrical to me.

 

The 4x4 unit is electricaly activated, if it goes it takes everything else with it.

 

Thanks for the reply, but it's not the entire system. Speedometer is probably bad, but I wondering if someone had a way to bypass it to verify the awd?

 

On your polaris you can leave the 4x4 on all day if you want it doesnt actually work untill it senses that the back tires are slipping at 20% then both front tires lock up. There is no way for the machine to know this if your speedometer does not work. You need to find a fuse or a bad wire that is causein the speedometer to stop working or call a local polaris dealer and ask them if they think the whole thing has gone bad.

 

I know how the awd is SUPPOSED to work. I am 99% sure the speedo is bad. I am just trying to verify that the front hubs WILL engage. I don't want to throw $225 at a new speedo just to troubleshoot this thing. I know there is a simple coil in each hub that gets a certain voltage to magnetically engage each hub. I just figured someone on here has already figured out to manually bypass the speedo. I just downloaded schematics tonight and I'll figure it out. I will certainly not call a dealer that will just want to sell me a new speedo.

 

I'm done for tonight, but I'm getting close. The red/white wire that has 0v is a big circuit. I noticed it also powers the 12v acc plug. Mine is SHORTED. Both legs of my acc plug are a direct short to ground. It's a wonder I didn't get a fire or burned wire somewhere (or maybe I do). I will start tomorrow unplugging one by one, things that attached to that circuit to narrow it down. Thanks.

 

Here is a link that might help you out..... >>4x4 FIX<<