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boatcaptben

2003 foreman trx 450 fe3

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so i have an issue. went to ride last week and started out and got to 4th gear then went to downshift and got nothing. wont shift manually or electrically. screen blinks flashes "4" when turn key on. replaced shift motor thinking that may be the problem. no luck still no power to shift motor. any thoughts?

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my first thought is a bad angle senosr. second thought, dump it, buy a manual shift model..problem solved !..lol.

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Could be many things...............

Foreman 450FE has a built in diagnostic system to pinpoint problems via flash codes displayed on the speedometer

Download the Honda Factory Service Manual for your ATV from the service manual page on this forum and start on page 21-4

It has the compete walk thru flow chart for electronic shift control and built in diagnostic code interpretation

Let us know what you find out

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1 hour ago, boatcaptben said:

haha sure wish i would have got the manual shift. not an option now. 

 

It is never to late to make a wrong right !!! 

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Hi @boatcaptben, welcome to ATVHonda!

 

When you turn the ignition switch on and see 4 flashes of the gear indicator on the display that indicates a fault in the gear position switch circuit. So either a wire is broken in the gear position switch harness, or the harness connector is wet/dirty/corroded, OR the gear position switch is bad (or was not lined up right during rear cover assembly).

 

Try this.... disconnect the gear position switch harness connector from the main harness, clean those contacts on both halves and coat everything inside the connectors with dielectric grease, then plug the GP switch connector back in. Rock your 450 back and forth continually while you shift down to neutral, then up to 1st, then 2nd, and then back down to neutral using a 12mm wrench on the manual shift shaft to shift the transmission. After each shift turn the ignition switch on to see if the gear indicator still flashes or if it displays the proper gear. If it displays the proper gear its probably fixed. But if the display continues to flash 4 times after each shift you'll have to run through the test procedure for the gear position switch to verify that it is bad before replacing it. Start reading on page 21-15 of the Honda 450 Foreman service manual and hollar if ya have any questions.

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Not 100% sure but I think he said he was in fourth gear when it quit so it might just be the number four thats flashing and not

the number of flashes for the data error code

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2 hours ago, retro said:

Hi @boatcaptben, welcome to ATVHonda!

 

When you turn the ignition switch on and see 4 flashes of the gear indicator on the display that indicates a fault in the gear position switch circuit. So either a wire is broken in the gear position switch harness, or the harness connector is wet/dirty/corroded, OR the gear position switch is bad (or was not lined up right during rear cover assembly).

 

Try this.... disconnect the gear position switch harness connector from the main harness, clean those contacts on both halves and coat everything inside the connectors with dielectric grease, then plug the GP switch connector back in. Rock your 450 back and forth continually while you shift down to neutral, then up to 1st, then 2nd, and then back down to neutral using a 12mm wrench on the manual shift shaft to shift the transmission. After each shift turn the ignition switch on to see if the gear indicator still flashes or if it displays the proper gear. If it displays the proper gear its probably fixed. But if the display continues to flash 4 times after each shift you'll have to run through the test procedure for the gear position switch to verify that it is bad before replacing it. Start reading on page 21-15 of the Honda 450 Foreman service manual and hollar if ya have any questions.

it wont shift at all not even manually 

 

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1 hour ago, AKATV said:

Not 100% sure but I think he said he was in fourth gear when it quit so it might just be the number four thats flashing and not

the number of flashes for the data error code

yes the number four is on screen and flashing

 

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2 hours ago, retro said:

Hi @boatcaptben, welcome to ATVHonda!

 

When you turn the ignition switch on and see 4 flashes of the gear indicator on the display that indicates a fault in the gear position switch circuit. So either a wire is broken in the gear position switch harness, or the harness connector is wet/dirty/corroded, OR the gear position switch is bad (or was not lined up right during rear cover assembly).

 

Try this.... disconnect the gear position switch harness connector from the main harness, clean those contacts on both halves and coat everything inside the connectors with dielectric grease, then plug the GP switch connector back in. Rock your 450 back and forth continually while you shift down to neutral, then up to 1st, then 2nd, and then back down to neutral using a 12mm wrench on the manual shift shaft to shift the transmission. After each shift turn the ignition switch on to see if the gear indicator still flashes or if it displays the proper gear. If it displays the proper gear its probably fixed. But if the display continues to flash 4 times after each shift you'll have to run through the test procedure for the gear position switch to verify that it is bad before replacing it. Start reading on page 21-15 of the Honda 450 Foreman service manual and hollar if ya have any questions.

wont shift at all manually 

 

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Download the factory service manual from service manual here on the forum 

See how many times the number 4 flashes- that will ID what part or circuit is bad

Look up  the number on the chart in service manual and go from there

 

When you have a fault you cannot electronically shift-it locks it out

So have someone help rock machine back and forth while you manually shift it back into neutral

Let us know how it goes

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1 minute ago, AKATV said:

Download the factory service manual from service manual here on the forum 

See how many times the number 4 flashes- that will ID what part or circuit is bad

Look up  the number on the chart in service manual and go from there

 

When you have a fault you cannot electronically shift-it locks it out

So have someone help rock machine back and forth while you manually shift it back into neutral

Let us know how it goes

it wont shift manually

 

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Thats why I said to try rocking the machine while trying to shift manually

If you rock it, it allows the gears to engage/disengage a little easier- sometiimes you even have to do it on a foot shift if you shut it off in higher gear

keep in mind you have to downshift, as its in 4th gear

 

Edited by AKATV
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If you have tried rocking it back and forth while trying to manually down shift, you might have a problem with the shift fork maybe....

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Just now, TBRider said:

If you have tried rocking it back and forth while trying to manually down shift, you might have a problem with the shift fork maybe....

yes i have tried rocking it back and forth

 

 

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Ok for starters count the number of times the 4th gear indicator flashes so you can ID the electronic shift fault and we can go from there

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You might want to pull the shift motor again off and try to manually shift then, since you had it removed/replaced, the shift gear pawls might not be lined up properly

Also, when you pull the shift motor its easier to manually shift i,t as you dont have to fight against the reduction gearing

Edited by AKATV

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Does the manual shift wrench swing like the shift ratchet pawl is not rotating the shift drum? More than likely the bolt on the end of the shift drum has loosened up and backed out. You will have to take the front cover off the motor to fix it.

 

shift-detent.png

 

 

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5 minutes ago, AKATV said:

You might want to pull the shift motor again off and try to manually shift then, since you had it removed/replaced the shift gear teeth might not be lined up properly

Also, when you pull shift motor its easier to manually shift it as you dont have to fight against the reduction gearing

the manual shift lever moves up and down fairly easily but does nothing

 

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Just now, retro said:

Does the manual shift wrench swing like the shift ratchet pawl is not rotating the shift drum? More than likely the bolt on the end of the shift drum has loosened up and backed out. You will have to take the front cover off the motor to fix it.

 

shift-detent.png

 

 

yes it moves easily. not engaging anything

 

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Gotta take the front cover off to fix it then. Its relatively easy just read & follow the service manual. We will help ya wherever we can.

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15 minutes ago, AKATV said:

Ok for starters count the number of times the 4th gear indicator flashes so you can ID the electronic shift fault and we can go from there

turn key on and it flashes 444 444 444 444 etc so three flashes 

Edited by boatcaptben

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1 minute ago, retro said:

Gotta take the front cover off to fix it then. Its relatively easy just read & follow the service manual. We will help ya wherever we can.

great i will give that a shot tomorrow thank you

 

 

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3 flashes is an Angle Sensor fault. That error is normal in this case though, because the issue is a mechanical one.... its stuck due to the linkage/ratchet have come apart.

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