I'm in the process of rebuilding a 2003 Polaris Sportsman 400. Everything is back together. I took it out for a test ride and noticed the AWD didn't seem to be working. (I replaced both sets of front wheel bearings.) The speedo works properly. The AWD worked before the rebuild. Everything mechanically and electrically works on the ATV. The AWD switch light is on when it's supposed to be. I put the ATV on jacks and ran it with the AWD on. The rear wheels turned and the front wheels turned BUT I could stop the front wheel rotation by hand. It didn't seem like the front wheels were engaged. Does anyone have any ideas or tests that I could perform. I do have a service manual and everything seems to test ok according to the manual. Thank you.

 

I'd recheck your work especially on the armature plates to make sure they engage the hilliard properly. Plus what did you torque the hub nut? Shows a couple stages. I always preloaded the bearings to about 15 ft pounds backed off the nut,final torque to 10-12 ft pounds.

 

Yes, I was very careful about the torque setting. I went by what the service manual said. I even put in new armature plates. They were engaged into the Hilliard. I'm stumped. Do you know how much rear wheel spin has to happen before the front wheels engage?

 

Normally about an 1/8 of a turn on rear wheels before the front wheels kick in. If both wheels won't stay engaged make sure you din't accidentally pull the connectors under the front panel leading to the coils. Also check the ohms resistance on the coils. If the coil are ok,should ohm out around 25-27 ohms. If awd was working before you changed the bearings still sounds like something you may have done. Also possible you lost ground path through the speedo. You can jump the brown/white to the common brown in the speedo harness that bypasses the ground path through the speedo. Also some have made a better ground at the connectors like in this video.

 

Both AWD coils came in at 25 Ohms with voltage going to both coils. I've read a few different post about this topic. Just so I'm clear. If I jack the ATV off the ground, start it and run the atv, the AWD switch is on, all four wheels should turn if the AWD is working correctly. Is that correct? I've seen posts saying that the atv has to be on the ground with the front wheels not spinning and the rear wheels spinning to get the awd to engage.

 

All 4 wheels off the ground, the front wheels should fully engage when in awd position.Just gives a false sense of rear wheel slip. Same as what one will do on slicker than snot ice.Watch carefully at the rear wheels. They barely turn first then the front tires kick in.

 

Well. I'm going to open the hubs today and see what's going on.........

 

I pulled the front right hub apart. Everything looked good, no metal. I turned the key on and the armature plate holds firmly against the coil. I turned the key off and the armature plate fell off the coil. I know everything electrically seems to be working.

 

Best way to test if the awd function is ok to pull against a tree,post or mud hole and let the rear wheels slip.If the awd is ok the front wheels should lock in.Off the ground tests usually are pretty accurate but under a load is the best way to tell.

 

Just went out and ran it thru the mud. The front wheels are still not engaging. The Hilliard didn't look like it was bad when I took it apart. The only thing it could be is the Hilliard. There is definitely magnetism at the plate. The ohms were good at 25 and there was voltage going to the coil. The AWD light is illuminated on the AWD switch.