old polaris tech,

You are awesome. My 2002 400 Sportsman was having the same issue. I was getting ready to take it to the shop for them to fix it and saw your post and decided to try your fix. It worked like a charm!

Thanks to you and everyone else on this site for their postings!

 

Well, I worked down the wire till I found some unmelted/good wire which was about 6" out of the hub. I did an ohms test which was 23.1 and they call for between 22.8-25.2, so I'd guess I've got a good coil. Now, I'm wondering what caused the wires to over heat?? Should I go ahead and replace the bad wire and give it a go or do you think I've got problems that need to be found yet?

Also, I had to cut the silicone out that ran up the strut to get to some good wire. Is it there just to hold the wire in place or does it seal the entrance of the wire.

 

I'd replace the wires first versus the alternative of tearing into the hubs to replace the coil and see if it does ok. Resistance shows to be good on the awd coil,hopefully just a simple bare power(gray) wire was touching the strut or frame causing the problem.Make sure you run a new bead of silicone in the strut cavity and sleeve channel to seal and secure the wiring in place.

 

I'll bet it's most important that I get the exact size and type of wire for replacement. I've looked on line at automotive wiring supplies etc, but haven't found anything that small. I'll bet you know exactly what I need. And thank you for your help!!! Very much appreciated.

 

Basically this wire isn't much larger than telephone wires (24-28 gauge) which is part of the problem in my opinion. Doesn't hurt,in fact better to go with a larger gauge wire for splicing back in.

 

Since this thread is fairly current, I'm just going to jump on here.

I followed the suggestions throughout this thread, but no luck. I've checked the grey wires under the hood with the ignition on, in gear, and the AWD switch on as OPT suggested. I have no power to those wires before or after the connectors going to the hub coils.

I took apart the switch housing and cleaned it up, but no go. I have power to the switch housing at the end black wire, which I believe comes off the ignition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

on here.

I followed the suggestions throughout this thread, but no luck. I've checked the grey wires under the hood with the ignition on, in gear, and the AWD switch on as OPT suggested. I have no power to those wires before or after the connectors going to the hub coils.

I took apart the switch housing and cleaned it up, but no go. I have power to the switch housing at the end black wire, which I believe comes off the ignition.

Any suggestions?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Then see if this may help..
"Pre 2003 and almost all models that do NOT have the combined override/Speedo function button.

Trace wires from the override button (gray/white & gray/orange) Cut the gray/orange and tape up both ends. Cut the gray/white and tape up the end which goes to the override button. Connect the other end of the gray/white to the red/white (ignition supplied 12v)"
This is mainly for eliminating the reverse over ride for awd,but another step to try is to jump the brown/white wire leading from the awd switch to a good ground(brown) wire,then see if you have power to the gray wires at the connectors.Plus make sure you have power into the gray wire at the awd switch to begin with. On the wiring schematic there is a small resistor between the gray(or gray/white) wire and the brown /white that may have burnt out. "IF" none of this helps then you can jump the brown/white wire at the speedo harness itself and see if this helps,BUT you may lose speedo function if you hook the harness back up. 99 models and up the awd goes through the speedo to complete the circuit. Worst case is to replace the high dollar speedo if it is the fault.

 

Thank you for the thorough instruction, OPT. I will give it a go this afternoon or tomorrow. This -35º weather makes it hard to heat up the garage to a comfortable temp, even with the big wood stove in there. I'm hoping for a reprieve tomorrow; maybe we'll get a 0º heatwave!

 

Just thought I'd report back with my results. I stripped out the burnt wire down to the hub and reinstalled new and bigger wires (keeping the brown wires to ground) and took it for a ride. All works well now. I really appreciate your help. OPT

Darol

 

I worked on my 4wd problem today. I am sure I have no power coming out of my switch, so I used a toggle switch that the PO had installed on the "dash". There were no wires going to it, so I figured 'why not'.

Firstly, I grounded the brown wires, so I KNEW they had a good ground, then I put a 3M Scotchlok connector on the stock grey jumper wire that connects the 2 grey hub wires at the connectors and ran that to one of the poles on the switch.

I ran a wire from one of the blades on the block thingie (under the hood with the red w/white wires going to it) to the other pole of the switch.

Basically, keyed power to switch, switch out to grey wires that go to hubs. I hope that's clear.

It works just fine bypassing the stock switch like that, but I still only have 3 wheel drive and I'm showing power down at the faulty wheel, so I'm going to order an armature plate & see if that helps.
I already have new seals and fluid in there and there is no visible wear or grooves. Perhaps the Hillard clutch is sticky, but it didn't seem like it when I had the hub apart. You never know, I guess. I'll start with the cheapest part first!