I know they connect axles, but i don’t know the exact difference
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AWD drives all wheels, but the opposite wheels on 1 axle turn at different speeds in corners or slippery terrain. The differential makes that possible.. Differential lock makes the wheels spin together, making it harder to corner on hard surfaces like roads, but gives more grip in mud and such. If 1 wheel is stuck in mud the differential sends most power to the free wheel which will spin faster, while the stuck one doesn’t move. Differential lock forces them to spin in tandum, hopefully pushing you forward instead of just spinning your free wheel.
When a car turns the outside wheel moves slightly further than the inside tire, think how runners on a track take the inside of a curve because it’s less distance. A differential sits between the two wheels and let them move at different speeds.
The downside to a differential is that if one wheel slips that wheel just spins and the vehicle doesn’t move. A locker does just that a locks the wheels so they have to spin at the same speed. Good when you need traction like mud or snow, bad if you are on dry roads. Most lockers only kick in when needed, either by a computer or the driver.
AWD adds a 3rd differential between the front of the car and back. Allowing power to go to all wheels.
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