all wheel drive won't engage . indicator light for awd only comes on when you start it . problem was intermittent for a couple days but now the awd indicator light doesn't come on at all after start up. I have power to the lower three wires on the switch with a test light but when I test top wire everything shuts down. Anybody got any ideas.

 

Manual shows speedo harness red/white wire activates the awd icon.Number 16 pin in the speedo connector (brown/white wire) should show 12 volts at the pin when grounded when in awd mode.This transmits power to the gear case. If it shows power,check that you have power directly at the gear case while in gear,key on.If not then jump the gear case ground wire to a good ground and see if you have power. If this doesn't help,could be problem in the awd switch itself or connector wiring.

 

Thanks for the info , I have power on the red/white wire but nothing on the brown/white wire when key is on and awd mode. does this indicate a bad speedo? or possibly a bad ground

 

With the machine off the ground,you can try sending 12 volts through the brown/white wire and see if the diff has power and awd. If it does,then the problem can be either in the speedo itself not allowing completion of the awd signal, the awd switch or wiring, OR simply a bad ground. Best to have a manual with a good wiring schematic to really track this down and using the trouble shooting guides before you go too far.2008 Polaris Sportsman 500 Service Manual PDF Download If you have the efi model,they have that manual also.

 

Thanks for the advise, I downloaded the service manual . I checked the
resistance for the AWD hub coil and there was no resistance . It was open. I
even cut the wires right by the coil hub to make sure there wasn't a broken wire
or poor connection. The resistance for the ADC hub coil was 10.5 ohms which
is close to what it should be. Would the open AWD coil prevent the AWD
indicator to not show on the instrument cluster? Or is that another problem.
Is replacing the hub coil a job that should only be done by the dealer or is
it something a person can do with the service manual.
Thanks again for your help.

 

If it's a matter of the coil shorting out,you get it as an assy with the cover plate. Gear case has to be removed.Item #1.Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Polaris, Suzuki & Kawasaki OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse You might check around to see if you can get it cheaper than 300 bucks,but this is still cheaper than the dealers price. As far as affecting the awd symbol on the speedo,don't think so as in reverse of your problem I had plenty of awd indicators light up on the speedo,but no awd. Think you have two problems on this.Plus don't overlook simple things like the gear position sensor and wiring on the transmission along with your other checks.