I watched your video and others before taking my actuator apart . Turned out my problem was the little electric motor not working at all . I took the motor apart , the armature was coated in crud, cleaned all up , put it back together which solved my problem . Works fine now. Keep up the informative posts 👍
knight atv sells a module that completely replaces the actuator with a mechanical lever you can turn from the handle bars. I've replaced mine with that.
The limit switches are manufactured by Cherry Electronics... Part # for the switch on the motor end of the card, (SW2) is DH2C-C6PA and on the other side, (SW1) the part # is DH2C-C5PA
Hey Jerry, just thought I would let you know that I had the exact same issue with my actuator. Turns out that the one limit switch was stuck. I solved the problem by disassembling the unit and by spraying the circuit board with penetrate, then manually manipulating the limit switches. This freed up the offending switch, and solved the issue. Time for a Rollng Rock. Keep 'em coming Jerry. Bruce from north Ontario
Hi there! Were you ever able to find replacement switches? If so, where did you get them? I have contacted several electronic parts suppliers and have had no luck. Thanks!
Some hopefully helpful points about diagnosing an actuator. My experience is with the unit on a 2013 TRV which has both the 2WD/4WD selection and the 4-Lock/4-non-Lock selection. Yours, the 2/4-only version, and mine both use the same 4-pin connectors, AND the connectors and harnesses on both actuators use the same wiring scheme. (Some wiring differences on the vehicle-side connector.) The wires on the actuator itself are as follows: Red: switched, fused 12v from ignition switch and fuse box. Only ON when key is ON. Black: permanent Ground White: yours, not used; mine, 4-lock ON/OFF White/Yellow: 2WD ON/OFF from handlebar switch The actuator selects 2WD or 4WD by interpreting the signal on the Y/WH wire. The switch on the handlebar can either ground this wire or let it "float" off ground. (The switch does not connect it to 12 volts.) The circuitry in the actuator (transistors, diodes, the relay and the microswitches) then figures out where the slider is and in what direction the motor needs to turn in order to move the slider the other way. That's all it knows how to do: move the slider the other way. The relay ultimately makes the motor go clockwise or counter-clockwise, its switching controlled by the other circuitry. The two microswitches are connected to act as range-of-motion limiters and are electrically installed between the relay and the motor. It is virtually impossible to diagnose the condition of the microswitches (or little else except a dead short of the Y/WH wire to ground) by "looking in" at the connector. The activity you did see on your meter probably indicates that the switches are OK. Cherry switches are very high quality and judging by the condition of the rest of the actuator, especially the super-clean motor, they are almost certainly not the problem. I've seen a few actuator videos and nobody ever mentions what I think is the importance of the mechanical timing of the actuating device and the microswitches. I think it's important that the lever doing the 2/4 shifting has to finish its travel (push the pin into the differential)before the microswitches turn off the motor. Here is how I think this is done. At first glance, it appears that on command, the motor spins, the gears turn and the lever pushes the pin into the differential. This is sort of true, but not quite. Look at 1:25 of the video. The large gear at the left of the assembly is the last one in the chain. Note the spring in what I will call the carrier. On a shift into 4WD, the worm gear on the shaft with the large gear will pull the carrier, which rides on tracks, towards the large gear. Look at 1:25 again, at the actuating device in the background. Notice the two semi-circular segments in the rear end of the device. It is very important that when the carrier and this device and the spring are assembled together, these two segments must be captured between the left end of the carrier and the left end of the spring. There must be no spring coils between the semi-circular segments and the carrier. The left end of the spring must be pushing against the segments which in turn will be pushing against the inside of the left end of the carrier. NOW what happens on a shift command is that the carrier will be drawn to the left towards the large gear. The carrier will push against the right end of the spring. The left end of the spring will push against the actuating lever, and these three components will move together to the left. At some point, the actuating lever will contact the shift pin of the differential, but the spring is stiff enough to overcome this added load so the carrier, the spring, and the lever will continue moving left, bringing the pin with them. But now the pin bottoms out in the differential and the lever stops moving. The spring now starts to compress because the lever is stopped and the carrier is still moving because the motor is still turning. Finally, the carrier advances far enough that its "finger" trips one of the microswitches and 1) the motor is turned off, and 2) the motor control circuits flip so that the next command turns the motor in the reverse direction. If there are any spring coils between the segments on the end of the actuating lever component and the end of the carrier, this sequence will not work properly. This might explain why the carrier appears to want to pop out of the case when you open it, although there will certainly be some inherrent tension in that assembly even when correctly put together. The mechanicals are very important. Thanks for the vid. Some very useful shots.
how do you test the limit switch to see which one is faulty ? Any idea where to find those switch , the actuator isn't suppose to be serviceable they said...
I had the same problem, my switches worked fine. It appeared the stop lever wasn't hitting the limit switch before it would bind up the worm gear and stop working. Curious to know what you find.
I thought my 2005 500 was stuck in 4wd. However I realized that when the rear diff lock is on it will be in 4wd. When locked you can flip the 2wd/4wd switch back and forth and nothing happens. If unlocked in 2wd and you flip the lock diff lever it will also switch to 4wd even though the switch is still in 2wd.
Hey I have the same atv just put a new fuel pump inside the tank got it all back together and running but it won’t stay running idling I keep my hand on the gas and it will run but as soon as I stop giving it gas it cut off do you know what it could be
If that housing didn't jump up as a result of it over turning that gear WOULD strip like most people's probably do. However in RC cars that gear is referred to as a spur gear and they have a pitch and number of teeth that varies depending on your car/motor. This means there are A LOT of those gears available and more than likely one that would match up with the one inside that actuator. If you really wanted to take it a step further you could find an aftermarket spur gear that is metal and replace the plastic one with one of those.
Ik this is an old video and all but I have a 2007 or 08 arctic cat 500 and my 4x4 ain’t working and I think I may have the same problem but is there something I can do to fix it because they don’t sell the actuator I need anymore
I have a 400 h1 2009 my actuator engages in and out of 4x4 so do the deff lock but it sounds like the actuator engaging slow not like before the actuator had a fast quick sound to it so I'm not sure if the actuator is getting bad it's been like that for a year now
Any switch should have next to no resistance when they are working properly. Anything from a few ohms to 0 ohms should be perfect for a limit switch. But for a switch that's actually carrying a considerable amount of current should have a few milliohms to a few tens of milliohms max. Hope this helps. Cheers :)
i found it. this is for the limit switch. Cherry Electronics Part # DH2CB1PA also, i have ordered a replacement for the relay on the board. it's part number is OMRON G8ND-2 its a common automobile relay.
I find it strange that both the limit switches don't go from open circuit to dead short. Usually that's the case with limit switches. I mean it's not like it's an electric window switch that has more than 2 positions and different resistances for each mode (up / down / auto up / auto down).
yes me too, i have new limit switches i just haven't connected them to a meter and see what kind of values they have. I will do that once this project is finished
Your meter is trying to "see" the switches through a bunch of circuitry. The switches are not connected directly to the pins of the connector. (In fact, only one of those four wires, Y/WH, carries the 2WD/4WD command to the actuator unit.) This is an invalid test. Even if you put your probes right on the solder terminals of the switches themselves, on the back of the board, you may not know if any other components are in parallel with that set of contacts. But this is certainly worth a try. You'll definitely see a dead short when the switch is closed. You should also realize that one pair of contacts in each switch will be shorted while the switch is at rest. Then when you activate the lever, one of the previous contacts (the "Common" or "wiper") will be shorted to the third pin, releasing the first. The only way to conclusively test the switches is to isolate them by carefully cutting some board traces (tricky if you're new at it) or de-solder and remove them from the board. The board looks to be in good shape, including no water damage or physical damage. Highly unlikely there is anything wrong with the switches. Is the "finger" long enough (not cracked off) to actually touch the switches and operate them? Read my Comment above for possible mechanical problem during re-assembly.
does cat make a 2010 mudpro 650h1 thats efi? im looking at a 2010 mudpro 650 h1 the guy dont know if its efi or carb. i told him to look at it or take a pic and sen it to me. and am waiting on him to tell me. nice videos im gonna watch em all as i will be getting in to a similar bike
well it is not that hard invest some money in a good auto ranging multimeter and get broken stuff at yard sales and start taking stuff apart and then watch lots of TH-cam videos
I watched your video and others before taking my actuator apart . Turned out my problem was the little electric motor not working at all . I took the motor apart , the armature was coated in crud, cleaned all up , put it back together which solved my problem . Works fine now. Keep up the informative posts 👍
knight atv sells a module that completely replaces the actuator with a mechanical lever you can turn from the handle bars. I've replaced mine with that.
The limit switches are manufactured by Cherry Electronics... Part # for the switch on the motor end of the card, (SW2) is DH2C-C6PA and on the other side, (SW1) the part # is DH2C-C5PA
And what are the designations D4 and Q1 ?
Hey Jerry, just thought I would let you know that I had the exact same issue with my actuator. Turns out that the one limit switch was stuck. I solved the problem by disassembling the unit and by spraying the circuit board with penetrate, then manually manipulating the limit switches. This freed up the offending switch, and solved the issue. Time for a Rollng Rock. Keep 'em coming Jerry. Bruce from north Ontario
Hi there! Were you ever able to find replacement switches? If so, where did you get them?
I have contacted several electronic parts suppliers and have had no luck.
Thanks!
Some hopefully helpful points about diagnosing an actuator. My experience is with the unit on a 2013 TRV which has both the 2WD/4WD selection and the 4-Lock/4-non-Lock selection. Yours, the 2/4-only version, and mine both use the same 4-pin connectors, AND the connectors and harnesses on both actuators use the same wiring scheme. (Some wiring differences on the vehicle-side connector.)
The wires on the actuator itself are as follows:
Red: switched, fused 12v from ignition switch and fuse box. Only ON when key is ON.
Black: permanent Ground
White: yours, not used; mine, 4-lock ON/OFF
White/Yellow: 2WD ON/OFF from handlebar switch
The actuator selects 2WD or 4WD by interpreting the signal on the Y/WH wire. The switch on the handlebar can either ground this wire or let it "float" off ground. (The switch does not connect it to 12 volts.) The circuitry in the actuator (transistors, diodes, the relay and the microswitches) then figures out where the slider is and in what direction the motor needs to turn in order to move the slider the other way. That's all it knows how to do: move the slider the other way.
The relay ultimately makes the motor go clockwise or counter-clockwise, its switching controlled by the other circuitry.
The two microswitches are connected to act as range-of-motion limiters and are electrically installed between the relay and the motor.
It is virtually impossible to diagnose the condition of the microswitches (or little else except a dead short of the Y/WH wire to ground) by "looking in" at the connector. The activity you did see on your meter probably indicates that the switches are OK. Cherry switches are very high quality and judging by the condition of the rest of the actuator, especially the super-clean motor, they are almost certainly not the problem.
I've seen a few actuator videos and nobody ever mentions what I think is the importance of the mechanical timing of the actuating device and the microswitches. I think it's important that the lever doing the 2/4 shifting has to finish its travel (push the pin into the differential)before the microswitches turn off the motor. Here is how I think this is done.
At first glance, it appears that on command, the motor spins, the gears turn and the lever pushes the pin into the differential. This is sort of true, but not quite. Look at 1:25 of the video. The large gear at the left of the assembly is the last one in the chain. Note the spring in what I will call the carrier. On a shift into 4WD, the worm gear on the shaft with the large gear will pull the carrier, which rides on tracks, towards the large gear. Look at 1:25 again, at the actuating device in the background. Notice the two semi-circular segments in the rear end of the device. It is very important that when the carrier and this device and the spring are assembled together, these two segments must be captured between the left end of the carrier and the left end of the spring. There must be no spring coils between the semi-circular segments and the carrier. The left end of the spring must be pushing against the segments which in turn will be pushing against the inside of the left end of the carrier.
NOW what happens on a shift command is that the carrier will be drawn to the left towards the large gear. The carrier will push against the right end of the spring. The left end of the spring will push against the actuating lever, and these three components will move together to the left. At some point, the actuating lever will contact the shift pin of the differential, but the spring is stiff enough to overcome this added load so the carrier, the spring, and the lever will continue moving left, bringing the pin with them. But now the pin bottoms out in the differential and the lever stops moving. The spring now starts to compress because the lever is stopped and the carrier is still moving because the motor is still turning. Finally, the carrier advances far enough that its "finger" trips one of the microswitches and 1) the motor is turned off, and 2) the motor control circuits flip so that the next command turns the motor in the reverse direction.
If there are any spring coils between the segments on the end of the actuating lever component and the end of the carrier, this sequence will not work properly. This might explain why the carrier appears to want to pop out of the case when you open it, although there will certainly be some inherrent tension in that assembly even when correctly put together.
The mechanicals are very important.
Thanks for the vid. Some very useful shots.
I have a bad sw1 limit switch could you tell me where to get it with a part number
Good video--I have a 2010 450cc AC that will randomly go into 4 WD and or 4 WD lock. Would you suspect a short in the wiring?
Any part number on the switches? Both my tabs broke off
how do you test the limit switch to see which one is faulty ? Any idea where to find those switch , the actuator isn't suppose to be serviceable they said...
I had the same problem, my switches worked fine. It appeared the stop lever wasn't hitting the limit switch before it would bind up the worm gear and stop working. Curious to know what you find.
I thought my 2005 500 was stuck in 4wd. However I realized that when the rear diff lock is on it will be in 4wd. When locked you can flip the 2wd/4wd switch back and forth and nothing happens. If unlocked in 2wd and you flip the lock diff lever it will also switch to 4wd even though the switch is still in 2wd.
Hey I have the same atv just put a new fuel pump inside the tank got it all back together and running but it won’t stay running idling I keep my hand on the gas and it will run but as soon as I stop giving it gas it cut off do you know what it could be
Hey, did you ever find a place online to order any actuator guts? Looking for circuit board pieces for my trv 500. Thanks.
Gotta love it when you find stuff like that out.
good video, i have 13 500 core and mine goes into 4wd but makes a recurring noise like its constantly engaging
what could i do
My arctic cat 500 2005 actuator died in me and I can't get another one since there no longer in business. Do you know where I can get another one?
is there a source for just the circuit board with the electric motor mounted? Also any guys out there real good at repair/refurb of these actuators?
Did you ever find a new circuit board for your actuator
If that housing didn't jump up as a result of it over turning that gear WOULD strip like most people's probably do.
However in RC cars that gear is referred to as a spur gear and they have a pitch and number of teeth that varies depending on your car/motor. This means there are A LOT of those gears available and more than likely one that would match up with the one inside that actuator. If you really wanted to take it a step further you could find an aftermarket spur gear that is metal and replace the plastic one with one of those.
Ik this is an old video and all but I have a 2007 or 08 arctic cat 500 and my 4x4 ain’t working and I think I may have the same problem but is there something I can do to fix it because they don’t sell the actuator I need anymore
I have the same problem
I have a 400 h1 2009 my actuator engages in and out of 4x4 so do the deff lock but it sounds like the actuator engaging slow not like before the actuator had a fast quick sound to it so I'm not sure if the actuator is getting bad it's been like that for a year now
how do you get the little electric motor that is used to shift it it 4x4
Any switch should have next to no resistance when they are working properly. Anything from a few ohms to 0 ohms should be perfect for a limit switch. But for a switch that's actually carrying a considerable amount of current should have a few milliohms to a few tens of milliohms max. Hope this helps. Cheers :)
anyone have a part number for that limit switch by chance so i can order a few of these?
i found it. this is for the limit switch. Cherry Electronics Part # DH2CB1PA
also, i have ordered a replacement for the relay on the board. it's part number is OMRON G8ND-2 its a common automobile relay.
Hi! Were you ever able to order those limit switches? I've tried everywhere without any luck. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
I find it strange that both the limit switches don't go from open circuit to dead short. Usually that's the case with limit switches. I mean it's not like it's an electric window switch that has more than 2 positions and different resistances for each mode (up / down / auto up / auto down).
yes me too, i have new limit switches i just haven't connected them to a meter and see what kind of values they have. I will do that once this project is finished
Sweet. Can't wait to see the results!
Your meter is trying to "see" the switches through a bunch of circuitry. The switches are not connected directly to the pins of the connector. (In fact, only one of those four wires, Y/WH, carries the 2WD/4WD command to the actuator unit.) This is an invalid test. Even if you put your probes right on the solder terminals of the switches themselves, on the back of the board, you may not know if any other components are in parallel with that set of contacts. But this is certainly worth a try. You'll definitely see a dead short when the switch is closed. You should also realize that one pair of contacts in each switch will be shorted while the switch is at rest. Then when you activate the lever, one of the previous contacts (the "Common" or "wiper") will be shorted to the third pin, releasing the first.
The only way to conclusively test the switches is to isolate them by carefully cutting some board traces (tricky if you're new at it) or de-solder and remove them from the board.
The board looks to be in good shape, including no water damage or physical damage. Highly unlikely there is anything wrong with the switches. Is the "finger" long enough (not cracked off) to actually touch the switches and operate them? Read my Comment above for possible mechanical problem during re-assembly.
@@TestDontguess did the new switches fix the problem?
Replace both switches.
not that much resistance? the meter said 3.xx meg ohm (???)
does cat make a 2010 mudpro 650h1 thats efi? im looking at a 2010 mudpro 650 h1 the guy dont know if its efi or carb. i told him to look at it or take a pic and sen it to me. and am waiting on him to tell me. nice videos im gonna watch em all as i will be getting in to a similar bike
Mines a 2007 I believe that was the last year for carbs
jerry bskorner awesome sir thanks now you deserve a nice cold beer;D
Hey man do you have any info on where to find a motor for this?
Take the motor apart and clean it out, crud in there. Worked for me .
Great video, good information
It's amazing how you figure this stuff out man. I see a circuit board and just go cross-eyed!
I'm glad you know what your doing as I can't get my head around all this Electrickery.
well it is not that hard invest some money in a good auto ranging multimeter and get broken stuff at yard sales and start taking stuff apart and then watch lots of TH-cam videos
Good stuff man, nice work! Cheers!
Fuck me,,, ,, Who knew that you can,,, Service that limit switch "cool shit" Jerry!!
we will see once i get back around to the project, i've had new limit switches for a awhile now
MFBT!!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good video but you forgot to drink beer
You are a genious !