# 2-4 wheel drive switch/actuator



## BigBearOnOutlaws

okay i took my actuator apart and found my magnet broke i fixed the magnet and hooked the actuator up to a 12v battery and it works like a dream, put it back on and hook it up and it doesnt work, switch is getting 0v in the 2wheel drive position, and 4.86v in the 4wheel drive position.....is the switch supposed to have 12v?:thinking:


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## IBBruin

A manual is your best friend. If you own a Kawasaki you should get one. The switch does not control positive voltage, it switches negative. If the switch is open it's in 4WD. If the switch is closed, it's 2WD. I'm not in a position to look up wire colors for you right now but if you had a manual, you could.


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## NMKawierider

BigBearOnOutlaws said:


> okay i took my actuator apart and found my magnet broke i fixed the magnet and hooked the actuator up to a 12v battery and it works like a dream, put it back on and hook it up and it doesnt work, switch is getting 0v in the 2wheel drive position, and 4.86v in the 4wheel drive position.....is the switch supposed to have 12v?:thinking:


At the switch its only 4.8v. At the actuator its 12v cause there is a relay under the seat. Check the fuses too. That motor loosing the magnet might have blown one.


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## IBBruin

BigBearOnOutlaws said:


> okay i took my actuator apart and found my magnet broke i fixed the magnet and hooked the actuator up to a 12v battery and it works like a dream, put it back on and hook it up and it doesnt work, switch is getting 0v in the 2wheel drive position, and 4.86v in the 4wheel drive position.....is the switch supposed to have 12v?:thinking:


The switch supplies 12 volts NEGATIVE to the actuator controller when it's closed. That's why you are reading zero volts in 2WD (switch closed)


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## IBBruin

Think of it like this. You have 4.8 volts coming out of the actuator controller looking for a ground (negative). When you select 2WD, you supply that ground (negative) by closing the switch.


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## BigBearOnOutlaws

its on a 650 where would the relay be located, and i dont really know what to look for?


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## gtralt

Did you fix yours? I'm fighting the same problem right now on my Prairie 700. I took my actuatoe off and gave it 12V and it worked fine, I did the switch test and got 5v in 2wd and 0v in 4WD. and still will not go into 4WD. I just used 4WD a week ago and it was sluggish going it, like it took a little longer to engage.


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## BigBearOnOutlaws

no i got ******ed off and took 2 conectors and ran a positive to the red wire plug on the actuator con nector and a ground to the black and wired it to a momentary switch...works great for now till i want to tear it apart some other time lol


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## MeanGreenMan

The motor part of the actuator is just the half of the story. The potentiometer (pot) part is another half and that's the part it goes wrong more than anything else. The pot tells the Controller the radial location of the motor shaft. If that's bad, the Controller doesn't know where the actuator is pointing at and would cause the 2/4WD light to flash. Usually water/corrosion messes up the pot.


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## phreebsd

you can swap that out!
its been done. the part is like 7 bux


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## Roboquad

I was just fooling around with mine. replaced the block on the end, heard a noise when I moved it and it wont go in 4wd. flashing again.... and went into limp mode. I did the reset by the book and it will not come out of limp D**K mode. no change in flash speed this time round. Anyone want an 06 650? F This bike


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## swampit78

Mine is acting funny too. 2wd/4wd was flashing so i bought a new 4wd actuator , no change. Pulled the kEbc and cleaned/greased it and its working great , still no change. 2wd/4wd light is still flashing. Their is something under the seat i was told about but not real sure what to be looking for .


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## NMKawierider

swampit78 said:


> Mine is acting funny too. 2wd/4wd was flashing so i bought a new 4wd actuator , no change. Pulled the kEbc and cleaned/greased it and its working great , still no change. 2wd/4wd light is still flashing. Their is something under the seat i was told about but not real sure what to be looking for .


You still have something wrong with one of them. This might help:
________________________________________

*Actuator Control System Trouble Shooting,*
*
When the actuator fails, the controller enters failure mode and the indicator light illuminates 2WD,4WD alternately.

1. If it alternates really fast at .5 seconds on 2wd and .5 seconds on 4wd then the problem is Selectable 2wd/4wd actuator.

2. If it alternates from 2wd/4wd at 1 second intervals, the problem is the Engine Brake Actuator.

3. If it alternates from 2wd/4wd at 2 second intervals, the problem is both the selectable 2wd/4wd actuator and Engine brake actuator. *


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## swampit78

Ok ill take a look and see what i come up with. I almost positive its flashing in 1 second intervals. Thank you


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## Fast6

IBBruin said:


> Think of it like this. You have 4.8 volts coming out of the actuator controller looking for a ground (negative). When you select 2WD, you supply that ground (negative) by closing the switch.


I have 12.8v at the switch when in 4wd and .04v in 2wd ...but if the voltage is coming through the actuator Shouldn't there be no voltage if the actuators were unpluged? I'm checking at the main connector at the module under seat and at the switch when disconnected. Also when the bike is running, and you put it in 4wd the motor dies like you were hitting a kill switch?
Any thoughts...I had a bad actuator on the clutch (engine brake) it had an open circuit on the blue / yellow wires ....replaced and my lights stopped flashing 2wd / 4wd. but took out the front diff 4wd actuator to compare ohm tests and check it. Not sure if i'm just not getting it in the correct way to set the pot. properly. Just don't get the 2wd/4wd switch killing the engine like a kill switch.....?? short to ground?


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## NMKawierider

Fast6 said:


> I have 12.8v at the switch when in 4wd and .04v in 2wd ...but if the voltage is coming through the actuator Shouldn't there be no voltage if the actuators were unpluged? I'm checking at the main connector at the module under seat and at the switch when disconnected. Also when the bike is running, and you put it in 4wd the motor dies like you were hitting a kill switch?
> Any thoughts...I had a bad actuator on the clutch (engine brake) it had an open circuit on the blue / yellow wires ....replaced and my lights stopped flashing 2wd / 4wd. but took out the front diff 4wd actuator to compare ohm tests and check it. Not sure if i'm just not getting it in the correct way to set the pot. properly. Just don't get the 2wd/4wd switch killing the engine like a kill switch.....?? short to ground?


All I can tell you is you should not have 12 volts at the handlbar switch. That is only control voltage and it does not exceed 4.8 volts. It is generated by either the CDI or the ECM for control power for the actuator control module. If there is an error, that power gets cut and it goes into limp mode. Between the actuator controller and the actuator motors you will have 12 volts on certain lines depending on the direction the motor is to rotate..and the position of the pot. which will allow the action to execute or not. So something's crossed-wired somewhere.


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## Fast6

No wires have been touched, the KEBC went bad and was replaced but I'm thinking the control module may be bad. I am getting a speed reading of approx 4-6kmh when bike is idleing...but if I unplug the control module the speedo reads correct - o kmh when idleing....just going back through testing all ohm readings from main harness at control module.


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## Fast6

With the blue connector unpluged (the one for the 2wd/4wd switch, at steering stem) I get constant 12.8 v when ignition is on even with both actuators and module unplugged???


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## Fast6

**Update- Ended up being the middle yellow Bus Connector !!!! As I was diagnosing the electrical connections and moved it the voltage changed. The yellow Bus looked fine but still turned out to be the culprit!! On mine, the yellow middle Bus has all black wires. What a stupid design !!!!!!


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