[Rayray1975]

I mistakenly thought the ES power control motor was the starter (I know, I know), so I could tap it and get the engine to turn over. Well, that got harder and harder to do, so I hit it harder and harder. Turns out I shattered one of the internal magnets and it was completely locked up. (That's when I figured out it wasn't the starter and bought a new starter) I bought a new OEM one from Partzilla and put everything back together I had taken off. (reduction gears, angle sensor, etc, the items contained in the front plate). That was the only thing I physically damaged, so I assumed it would just fire right back up (electric shifted fine before). It's really odd, I can't get any error codes (holding both buttons down, turn the key on, remove fingers in two seconds, then hold them both back down again for three seconds). All I get is a solid neutral. With the control motor out, I can manually shift the bike fine to R, 1 - 5 and it reads on the header. When I install the motor, I can FORCE a shift, but it feels wrong.

I tried to reset it by holding both buttons, turning it on, immediately removing and pushing up, down, up. I can hear a tiny bit of noise coming from the motor, but doesn't travel enough to make a shift. One time when I disconnected everything and put it back together, I had good power at the buttons (more whirring of the motor), but it wasn't changing the gears. That worked for about 10 pushes then it's like the power went down. I'm completely charging the battery but it feels like I have a drain somewhere. I'm about 85% of the way through the harness verifying conductivity of each wire, but even if I get that, I still can't get the thing to talk to the tranny.

Seasoned ATV'ers, PLEASE HELP (TRX350TE)

 

[shadetree]

welcome to the forums. beating on the ele shift motor was kinda dumb..lol. ( i know..you figured it out..lol ), sounds like you have ele shift troubles still. remove the shift motor, turn the key on, use the up or down button, watch the shift motor to see if it works ?, if not ?, then your shift motor is bad from you damaging the magnets. if it does work ?, then you have other problems in the shift area, transfer gears messing up ?, shift splines stripped ?, who knows ?. anything you can manually shift through the gears, but not ele shift ?, then that's where you need to start looking. down load the service manual from the site here, and start inspecting the front area. and you MUST have a fully charged battery for a ele shift atv to work right !. this means not only 12 volts ?, but full amps !. just because it shows 12 or 13 volts ?, does not mean it has enough amps to work the atv.

 

[Jeepwm69]

Welcome to the forum.

So you have a new OEM shift motor? If so, do what shade suggested and pull the motor off and see if it will spin when you hit the buttons.

If not, bad motor or wiring.

If it does, look at the gears under the shift motor and make sure they are clean (no heavy grease) and that the index marks are lined up properly.

 

[Rayray1975]

Thanks guys, the motor does turn when you use the up shift, but doesn't when you press the down shift button. This might boil down to a battery issue...I need to check the amperage.

 

[retro]

Also make sure that the angle sensor is indexed on the shift shaft properly. The flat in the angle sensor must line up with the flat on the shift shaft when you install it. I've seen them wallowed out and forced on, which ruins them.

Also note that the early Rancher doesn't throw DTC codes (holding shift buttons down don't work the same) like the newer revision does. To reset the early Rancher simply turn the key on, then turn it off and back on again. If there is a serious failure during ES self-test initialization the ES will shut itself down.

You'll definitely need a service manual to work on that bike.

 

[retro]

Thanks guys, the motor does turn when you use the up shift, but doesn't when you press the down shift button. This might boil down to a battery issue...I need to check the amperage.

Two things immediately come to mind here:

1) The shift gears are not installed correctly, index marks not matched.
2) The angle sensor may have been installed wrong, which breaks the plastic spindle.

 

[Rayray1975]

Are there index marks on each gear? I saw one on the lower that is keyed to the shaft the angle sensor is mounted to. The sensor itself is ok’ I was careful and it has good continuity.

 

[retro]

Just the lower gear has index marks. If you can't see the marks very well (I know I can't) you can count the teeth on that lower gear (14 or15 teeth?). Determine which tooth is in the exact center of the gear, then match that center tooth so it engages with the next gear above it. Installed in this manner that lower gear can swing an equal distance either direction from center. Those index marks will be lined up now... Thats how it works.

 

[retro]

Shift the trans manually using the shift wrench before installing anything... Watch to make sure the shift shaft returns (it returns by a spring you can't see) each time you release the shift wrench. The trans must be in neutral (and the shift shaft returned to its' neutral location) when you index that lower gear.

 

[Rayray1975]

I’ll do that, thanks. I’ll grab a new battery and finish the wiring continuity mapping as well. I’ll let you know how it goes, thanks retro.

 

[Rayray1975]

Update: new battery, put everything back together. The bike will shift to first with auto shift, but not to second and won’t downshift with the button. Any ideas?

 

[shadetree]

Update: new battery, put everything back together. The bike will shift to first with auto shift, but not to second and won’t downshift with the button. Any ideas?

angle sensor is bad or not installed right ?, or transfer gears messing up ?, or stripped splines on shifting shaft ?, ele shift motor is bad ?, dirty button contacts under button ?.

 

[shadetree]

do this, try shifting through all the gears with the emergency shifter while rocking it back and forth, if it shifts through all gears with no problem ?, then you should be having a look behind the front cover at the shifting part area to see what is broken ?, bad ?. this is where i would be looking .

 

[retro]

Adjust the clutch then try shifting it using the switches again. If the clutch is way out of adjustment (not releasing fully) the shift motor cannot complete a shift... the shift motor is not powerful enough.

If it upshifts through the gears after adjusting the clutch, but won't downshift, check your down shift button and the handle bar connector plug (on the harness side), and unplug the ECM and check for continuity on the 5v supply and down switch signal return wires. This is covered in the FSM I'm pretty sure.

 

[Rayray1975]

I’ll do it this afternoon! Thanks guys, fingers crossed!

 

[shadetree]

I’ll do it this afternoon! Thanks guys, fingers crossed!

do what retro said first ^^^, then if that don't fix it ?, yu'll need to do what i said..dig deeper !!..lmao.

 

[Rayray1975]

Ok, here's the update. I ensured the new battery was 100%, performed the clutch adjustment (broke the retaining nut, rotated the slot clockwise a few turns, WD-40, contact cleaner to remove dirt/mud, then rotated it counter clockwise until I felt resistance, then backed it off clockwise a quarter turn, then cinched down the retaining nut). Turned the key on, and shifted with the up button all the way to fifth with rocking the bike! I was so stoked. However, I could not get it to downshift. I heard the motor trying, moving it some, but not enough to make the shift. I then backed off the clutch adjust some more to see if it would get me enough travel (my assumption was that I wasn't getting enough travel on the bottom gear to make the shift), and the travel went less and less. Apparently it's a pretty big draw on the battery to do this if the bike isn't running. Anyway, I had to take the motor off and manually shifted the bike back to neutral. Charged to 100% again and before I tried to upshift, I turned the key on and was able to successfully shift into reverse with the down button. It then shifted back to neutral but seemed to lose steam and wouldn't shift up anymore. Imagine my disappointment. I can't figure out why I have a power leak, and why downshift won't work even though I know the down shift button works by not only a conductivity check but the fact that it will shift to neutral. Now, after reassembling everything, I can't even get it to shift up. I took the motor off, turned the key off, then turned it back on and it will motor on like a beast pressing up, but pressing down get's no love. If I press down twice or more though (with the motor out and in my hand) it won't shift up again. I'm frustrated, but determined to not let this beat me. I can take videos or pics as needed for you guys to coach me through this fix.

 

[retro]

First question: Why aren't you starting the motor up before trying to shift using ES? You won't get far without the motor running. From now on, start it up before testing the ES.

Judging by your explanation of what is happening you have a connection issue.

Before going any further readjust the clutch to 1/4 turn back from initial resistance on the adjustment screw. Hold the adjustment screw still as you tighten the locknut down so it does not turn.

Then remove the ground cable from the rear cover (next to the starter motor) and clean around the bolt and clean the cable end using a wire brush. Reinstall the bolt and snug that ground cable back down.

Next take the plastic side cover off from the left side so you can reach the frame ground cable and bolt. Remove the cable and clean up the frame and cable end using a wire brush and reinstall the bolt snugly.

Next question: Are there any other known issues with the bike? Everything else works fine...? All fuses verified to be good?

Note: To reset the ESP after a failure turn the key off. Then turn the key back on again.

Let us know whats up...

 

[Rayray1975]

Attaching pictures of the bike, the grounding points, the wiring harness diagram where we checked each circuit, etc. I have a video of my son on it, turning it on in neutral, starting the motor, autoshifting to first out of the garage, then shifting to second, then he kills it because it won't downshift. The video is too big to send or post though, I can take another shorter if it will help to see anything.

Well, couldn't attach via ipad, so I sent all the pictures and video to my work laptop, but on laptop I can't find an option to attach. I can email or text these photos if that will help. Retro, I'll ensure you get a case of your favorite libation if we can figure this out.

 

[Rayray1975]

Had to login to attach.