Ok, so this is the second time this has happened! 2004.5 Sportsman 600 Twin. The first time was just over 2 years and 60hrs ago. Parked and shut the machine off for lunch and white smoke came out under the hood. No power to anything. Got it home and found that the key switch had shorted from the v-reg wire to the brown ground wire. Melted the ground wire all the way to the connector under the hood. Replaced the ground wire and switch ($85 from Polaris), tested everything I could think of and moved on.
Fast forward to last weekend in the middle of the trail. Key switch started acting up. It would start but as soon as I let off the switch it would stall. If I held the switch between run and start if would stay running and after a while I could let go and ride the machine. Until it stopped on the trail and I got a puff of smoke from the headlight pod. No power to anything. Pulled the pod and found the ground wire melted again. Towed out and home. Same issue. Switch is shorted and the brown wire melted.
I have included photos of the switch. I cut the part around the plug off the switch for the photos. I really don't want to go through this again. I plugged in a new switch and I have power. Once I get the ground wire replaced I will fire it up and test the charging system. Any suggestions would be helpful!