I was looking at an 03 Kodiak 450 to buy. I was testing everything on the ATV and when I came to a stop in 4X4 I switched it to Differential Lock mode. It worked fine but when I came to a stop and then pushed the button to turn it off the Lock light wouldn't go out and the bike stayed in Diff lock. I pushed the button back on, then off again and just a little smoke came out from under the front "hood" of the 4 wheeler. this happened twice in the guys front yard. The owner said to put it in reverse or go forward a little and the light would go out and it did. and yes it finally disengaged. I didn't buy the 450, but everything else was fine. What was the deal with the smoke from under the hood on the right side to center? It did that both times.

thanks

 

I don't know about the smoke but sometimes I need to back up a bit for my diff lock to disengauge.

 

They may be unrelated. There isnt much current for the diff loc, I doubt it would smoke, and not blow a fuse, and still work. Id look for other reasons for the smoke. The diff lock sounds normal, especially if the front diff is cold, it will need some help to unlock. I usually just turn the handlebars left and right, and that helps it lock or unlock.

 

Yup what they all said. The sometimes I have to put it in Neutral or even back up to get it out of diff-lock.

I am working on a guard for the electrical connections to the front diff-lock as it is quite exposed.

 

I usually just jerk on my bars and rock it back a little, it goes click and disengages.

 

The smoke could have been a little steam from the exaust pipe since it's routed to the right side.