[dashaint]

today i went up some piles of dirt, down on the otherside went nose down and to the left, front left had no traction as was in a hole, front right was in a good spot to pull out of it... but it wouldnt turn... 4 wheeler came over on me and had to bail off. then i had to winch it out because it wouldnt start again at that angle... which upset me a bit as well. But now i really want to convert my front diff to a locking one... because i feel it would have pulled right out of that and also add power steering later, but one step at a time.

anyone know what i'd need in order to convert it to a locking differential? i know the eps model has locking diff, power steering and digital guages... and i'm guessing a push button diff lock somewhere.

any help/guidance/info/part #'s is much appreciated.

 

[Nomad]

The eps does not have diff lock. The se does.

 

[schmeg]

To add power steering and a locker, it would probably be financially not feasible verses just selling/trading up to an SE. Or a Grizz.

 

[dashaint]

then i'll focus on the locker.. also i read somewhere that maybe holding the front brake a little may engage both axles as its torque sensing. will try next time i have just one front spinning.

 

[dashaint]

tomorrow I'm going to get an actuator from a scrapyard 660 grizzly and all the wiring and switch... or maybe the entire 4 wheeler., probably won't cost me $20 i bet, i think it'd be worth a shot to see if putting the actuator on mine will turn mine into a locker. maybe it's an internal thing, maybe it's just the actuator.. i can't locate a service manual to tell exactly any internal difference between the kodiak and a se kodiak.. either one, so this is next best way to tell i figure. i took photos of the junk yard one and mine... aside from dirt and time it looks the same where except the linkage on mine and actuator on the other. if i'm right i have locking diff, wrong and i have what i had lost $20 and have some extra parts.

side by side comparison attached

 

[dashaint]

actuator on it and one from a 2014 viking/grizzly/rhino

 

[Nomad]

Keep us post on how you get along with this.When I was buying my eps, the salesman neglected to point out the no diff lock . Had I known, I would have bought the se. Having said this, Hondas had no diff locks for years and people got by. I plan on putting zillas on mine.

 

[dashaint]

it's likely going to be a couple weeks, had to put it in the shop today for radiator leak. under warranty so.. that's good i guess. i did talk to a mechanic at the yamaha dealer, he thinks i'll need the diff too from the other. i'm still not convinced. i will get it and do this and find out. will post and let ya'll know.

 

[dashaint]

Okay, so i got a diff from an 08 Big Bear 660 and tried putting the 3B4 actuator / servo onto 2016 kodiak diff, it bolted right up but the diff does not have a locker. just had to confirm. Also it cost me a lot more than $20.. as i bought the diff, the wiring harness, the switch, the cdi, relays.. everything. Cost me $240. All i needed though is the diff with the 3B4 and the connector plug and enough wiring to reach the top. could've saved $100 by not buying the CDI. (guess i'll try to sell it on ebay and make some money back.)

The other diff had a ujoint yoke on it, i removed that and put on the yoke from the kodiak.. all bolted together nicely. shafts fit perfect and all.

next came wiring, I contemplated all the wiring and relays and cdi etc but it was too much of a mess to figure out. even with a service manual and wiring schematic it would be a nightmare to get it all working with the big bear selector switch and everything involved. I found that all I needed was the 2 far left pins from the servo. 12v and ground connected one way it spins one way, reverse the wires and it spins the other way.

To get the 12v and ground I spliced into the adapter where my winch plugs in instead of splicing into factory wiring. then i got a double pole double throw toggle switch from radio shack, it resets back to center when released. https://www.radioshack.com/products/20a-dpdt-momentary-flip-switch?variant=5717529733
12v on one side, ground on other side, then run 2 wires from diff to the switch on one end of switch.. splice another set onto the same wires and flip them and put on other side of switch. mount switch somewhere. works like a champ in/out of 2wd/4wd and can lock it. just a matter of holding the switch. here's a pic of how to do the switch.

Diff lock works.. much harder to steer in diff lock, but i love it already. did some 4wd diff lock donuts just trying it out. wish I had power steering now... still very happy with result. I will get power steering on this next. watch and see.

I hope this has been somewhat understandable and I hope this helps someone like me that wants diff lock for cheap.
https://www.radioshack.com/products/20a-dpdt-momentary-flip-switch?variant=5717529733

 

[dashaint]

Demonstration video here https://youtu.be/LZ7ypodXNZ0

 

[Nomad]

So if one was to find a front locking diff and servo from a griz 660 or 700, it should be a direct bolt in?

 

[dashaint]

Not sure but the big bear mine came off of was a 2008, the biggest i could find online is a 400, so it may have been a 400. So id say any big bear, grizzly, or kodiak from 07 up may have the right diff. Possibly vikings and rhinos, id just compare pics like i did and u should be good. If it has the 3b4 style actuator you should be good, those are best ones i read somewhere.

 

[dashaint]

new switch

FYI going to a metal switch vs the plastic junk they sold me at radio shack. couldnt tighten it enough due to plastic threads, didnt want to strip them. nut came off first day riding. switching to this and it has screws so no soldering needed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-waterproo...627989?hash=item3a87927e95:g:LyMAAOxy4YdTTYTU

 

[dashaint]

question

I want to have the 4WD indicator light come on when in Diff Lock.

I found the wires on the diff that indicate if is in 4wd and diff locked. used ohm meter and when in 2WD the circuit is closed.. has continuity. when in 4wD or Diff Lock then they're open.. no continuity.

The indicator light that goes to the front diff operated on a spring loaded switch, as you rotate the lever on the handle bars it rotates the locking mechanism and pushes the pin in for the light. so the light operates when the circuit is closed.

The electric diff is open in diff lock and i need it to be closed in order to turn on the light.

I'm hoping there's someone out there with electrical knowledge that can answer how i can have a switch close on two wires when it senses two other wires have opened. be it a relay or whatever, does anyone know how this can be done and with what?

 

[Rollin]

I want to have the 4WD indicator light come on when in Diff Lock.

I found the wires on the diff that indicate if is in 4wd and diff locked. used ohm meter and when in 2WD the circuit is closed.. has continuity. when in 4wD or Diff Lock then they're open.. no continuity.

The indicator light that goes to the front diff operated on a spring loaded switch, as you rotate the lever on the handle bars it rotates the locking mechanism and pushes the pin in for the light. so the light operates when the circuit is closed.

The electric diff is open in diff lock and i need it to be closed in order to turn on the light.

I'm hoping there's someone out there with electrical knowledge that can answer how i can have a switch close on two wires when it senses two other wires have opened. be it a relay or whatever, does anyone know how this can be done and with what?

I don't know if you found your answer yet , but the easiest way is if you would find another wire on the diff that is ON when 4wd engaged and OFF when 4wd disengaged. If you have direct access to the switch inside the diff usually you can tell if its a single pole double throw switch (SPDT) by the number of wires coming out. Sometimes if the switch is on a cam of some sort an alternate mounting for the switch will reverse the reading from Normally Open ( NO ) to Normally Closed (NC). Again this will be the most simple and clean solution.
If this is not possible then an auxiliary relay needs to be installed , PM me and I will send you a diagram on how to wire it.

 

[dashaint]

I don't know if you found your answer yet , but the easiest way is if you would find another wire on the diff that is ON when 4wd engaged and OFF when 4wd disengaged. If you have direct access to the switch inside the diff usually you can tell if its a single pole double throw switch (SPDT) by the number of wires coming out. Sometimes if the switch is on a cam of some sort an alternate mounting for the switch will reverse the reading from Normally Open ( NO ) to Normally Closed (NC). Again this will be the most simple and clean solution.
If this is not possible then an auxiliary relay needs to be installed , PM me and I will send you a diagram on how to wire it.

I did get it going. the diff lock circuit is normally closed NC, so i had to run voltage through that circuit and out to a relay that closed when it lost voltage and was able to get the light going. I'm trying to think of how to step the voltage down now. since it's always having voltage while in 2wd and the relay seems to get hot after a while.

 

[Liveto99]

You will not have the diff locked for riding over a pile of dirt 99 percent of the time. I have an SE and only put it on to test it and to get out of a stream, I don't know if I needed it for the stream but u used it anyway.

 

[dashaint]

If i need to put it in 4wd, i'd prefer it to be locked. if i get stuck then, i'll know it gave it it's all. funny thing, i tested it out at triple creek atv park and it worked great, i went through a creek and up the other side and a can am came behind me and got stuck as he didnt have diff lock. he said none of them do... quite odd to me for such beasts to not have diff lock. kodiak had a big ol bear grin on that day.

 

[dashaint]

Update, though i got the electric diff lock to work with a switch and even added a light to when in Diff Lock... it worked for a time but became a pain in the butt due to the servo worm gear getting into a bind. I tried many things including putting in hard stops to keep the servo from turning too far, also added more plastic to the part that keeps the worm gear in place just to push down a little harder on it, it didn't matter it would still bind up and I would have to remove the servo, disassemble it then replace and refill fluid. After doing that about a million times I have officially given up on electric locking diff. I gave it my best shot.

At the same time i started this though, I got a guy that has a cycle shop to take my original diff and cable assembly and add the blade to the diff for diff lock and make a lever system that would replace factory and have 3 settings, 2wd, 4wd, and DL. he basically has it done and is shipping back my diff with the blade in it and will send me the lever and cable assembly to me by november. He will then be selling a kit and I'll list it in here for anyone that wants to do the upgrade. I know i cannot wait.

 

[reyzorguy]

ill be interested to see the cable actuated 2wd 4wd DL you mentioned for sure!