Polaris atv reverse question....

[Bushmaster]

Just came back from an afternoon quad ride, taking advantage of the warm weather. My buddy has an '03 Polaris 500 and it wouldn't shift into 4 wheel drive. The on demand switch was on but no go. Does it require electric power to shift ? His battery is weak/dead, has to pull start it, no juice thru to winch etc.

[B-radshaw]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

Just came back from an afternoon quad ride, taking advantage of the warm weather. My buddy has an '03 Polaris 500 and it wouldn't shift into 4 wheel drive. The on demand switch was on but no go. Does it require electric power to shift ? His battery is weak/dead, has to pull start it, no juice thru to winch etc.

Are you asking why the 4x4 did not work in reverse or did not work in forward or reverse? In order for it to work in reverse you need to push the reverse over ride button on the left handle bar while you are driving in reverse in order for the 4x4 to engage.

[KBF]

I would think with it running the winch still ought to work. Might have a couple different issues going on. Not sure how the winch is wired. I'm guessing straight to battery. Ground issue????

[Bushmaster]

4x4 doesn't work at all. When you push the on demand switch on (not the reverse overide switch) does it do something electrical to get it ready for 4x4?

[jim summit]

Yes it needs a battery to power the 4x4 and the winch, the charging system can not produce enough amps to run the winch.

[Bushmaster]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

[KBF]

Originally Posted by jim summit

Yes it needs a battery to power the 4x4 and the winch, the charging system can not produce enough amps to run the winch.

Makes sense

[Klondike]

If it is anything like the newer quads then there is an elctromagnet in the front diff that gets enegergized allowing it to go into awd. There are two wiring going into the hub. If he has a weak battery then it might not work correctly. Check the two wires with an ohm meter. There should be continuity.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by Bushmaster

4x4 doesn't work at all. When you push the on demand switch on (not the reverse overide switch) does it do something electrical to get it ready for 4x4?

Yes, there are a couple small wires that work the hubs, in my 03 Sportsman there were connectors under that little hood [below the rack] on the front of the machine. Mine came apart when I jacked it up real high to install a lift kit, I found them apart when my 4x wouldn't work.

[sirmike68]

On my 2002 400 Sportsman the seal in the hub failed and filled the hub with water. Once the rust set it the hillaird clutch "magnetic" cylinders of the system would not move. New seal and cleaning fixed it.

[HyperMOA]

Is it just me or do the Sprotsmans only have 4x4 in forward? In reverse the unit doesn't have 4x4 because of a overrunning clutch or something. I'm really straining the ol brain but I'm fairly certain the 4x4 didn't operate n reverse on those quads. Also the reverse override was what allowed you to get full RPM in reverse if I remember correctly, otherwise it would only rev up a couple hundred RPM over idle. Its been quite a few years since I was on a Sportsman so I may be 100% full of BS.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

Is it just me or do the Sprotsmans only have 4x4 in forward? In reverse the unit doesn't have 4x4 because of a overrunning clutch or something. I'm really straining the ol brain but I'm fairly certain the 4x4 didn't operate n reverse on those quads. Also the reverse override was what allowed you to get full RPM in reverse if I remember correctly, otherwise it would only rev up a couple hundred RPM over idle. Its been quite a few years since I was on a Sportsman so I may be 100% full of BS.

Pretty sure there is still 4x in reverse as I've reversed out of some sketchy spots without any issues. The reverse override is more like a governor, you get some power, but not much until the button is pushed, and held in.

[sirmike68]

My 02 needs to have the override button pushed to get 4x4 and to overcome the rev limiter to attain full power in reverse.

[tullfan]

Does the speedo still work? The 4x4 uses a gound through the speedo assy to work. If the two little brown wires under the headlight pod do not have ground, no hub engagement will occur. They run the circuit through speedo as a safety measure. You can bypass the speedo by grounding both left and right brown wires but you will have no saftey measures to protect the hilliard clutches in the hubs.
Tullfan

[otto389]

My speedo on my 2000 hasn't worked since the thing was about 8 months old, but the 4x4 worked.....until last year that is..lol.

[220 Swift]

No 4x4 in reverse sounds famîiar