I did a search and couldnt find much on the 4x4 of a sportsman500
I need some advise,only one front wheel is turning in 4x4 I had the coil replaced 2 yrs ago on the one that works but it seems now the other one is gone,is this hard to replace.
also Ive noticed the 4 wheel wont engage right away,almost like it has to warm up before the only front one will work..any advise
also the light doesnt show when it is in 4 wheel mode,which isnt a big deal to me,I dont run this machine much maybe a few days a yr tops,last time I really rode it hard was on a duck hunting trip and we had to go through some god awful mud and gumbo ..it is a 96 sp 500 4x4

 

All Polaris' use the same principal for the AWD, the biggest difference between the years is the addition of electronic gizmo's to get the AWD to work.

For starters - the Basic - have you changed your hub fluids??
If not, this may be your problem - I recommend the Polaris Hub fluid, although they say Type F Automatic Transmission fluid will do in a pinch.

You can do a search on AWD if you get tired of waiting on answers - there's tons of AWD posts.