Hi. I have a taotao 250D that i recently got running. however, whether i use a charger, or jump it off my car... it will start up, and run for awhile, then the next day or sometimes hours later, it won't turn over and sounds like the battery is completely dead.

the battery is brand new. i'm not exactly an atv expert by any means. so i don't even really know how its supposed to recharge. can someone break it down for me please? possibly send me in the right direction.

side note, not sure if related, but i replaced the gear indicator lights, and when i try to start it, the "r" light flashes as the engine turns, shouldn't it illuminate with the turn of the key?

 

Charge up the battery overnight. Then start up the quad and run the engine at roughly 3000 RPM with headlights off. Use a meter to measure the battery voltage right on the battery terminals. It should be 13.5 to 14.5 volts DC. If it falls in this range your battery charging system is working. If reads 12.6 or below your charging system is not working.

Turn off the quad and pull out the main fuse. Let the quad sit overnight with no charger attached. Reinsert the fuse the next morning and try and start the quad off the quad battery. Did the battery go dead overnight?

Your battery should be recharged by a set of windings in the stator that produce low voltage 3 phase AC power when the engine is running. The voltage rectifier/regulator convert the AC to DC, then regulates the voltage to 13.5 to 14.5 volts DC.

 

Thanks for the reply. The last time i messed around with it i charged it over night, and when i started it, had 14.3 volts. According to your post, I am to assume the charging system is working properly. Could the voltage regulator give me the symptom of the engine trying to turn over, and then slowly dying(much like a dying car battery trying to start a car)?

 

As long as your regulator keeps the 13.5 to 14.5 voltage on the battery when the engine is running at speed then the regulator is working. With this voltage applied to the battery it will charge up. Since the 14.3 volts you measured was while "messing around" I would measure it one more time to make sure you don't go down the wrong troubleshooting path.

You report that the battery sounds as if it going dead. To verify this measure the battery voltage right on the battery terminals while cranking the starter (and while it is sounding sort of dead). If the battery voltage drops below 11 volts then your battery is bad or dead. Since it works for a while after you charge it up I suspect it is just going dead.

In my last post I suggested charging the battery then remove the main fuse and let sit overnight. Then insert the fuse and try to start up the quad the next morning. The idea behind this test is to determine whether battery is going dead because something on the quad is drawing current all the time, or the battery is self discharging. If the battery remains charged all night long with the fuse removed, and it goes dead with the fuse left in all night, then there is an external load draining the battery. If the battery goes dead with the fuse out there can't be any external load so the battery is just plain bad.

 

sorry for the delay in response... i just got my internet back.

since posting, i have bought a charger(was using neighbors), charged battery. removed fuse, and measured hours later 13.08 was the reading. i will be measuring again in the morning.

this is an ongoing process, and i NEED this bike running before the other snow gets here. thanks!!!

 

okay, this morning i measured voltage again. this time the reading is 12.95. i assume that means the battery is draining with no load placed on it.

the battery in question was purchased about three months ago, but i am still in the window to return it.

why would a brand new battery have a problem holding a charge?

 

Anything above 12.6 volts is OK. Fully charged batteries will often measure higher than 12.6 volts, but this excess voltage is not important. Once you load it (or let it sit) the voltage drops down to 12.6 volts.

But the question is does it put out enough current to turn the starter motor. Batteries have to put out voltage *and* current. If it doesn't crank the starter over at normal speeds, then measure the battery voltage right on the battery terminals while cranking the starter. Is it less than 11 volts?

By measuring the voltage right on the battery terminals we are eliminating any bad connections that might be present in the wiring down to the starter and back. If the battery voltage is good then the next step is measuring the voltage at the starter while cranking it over.

 

lynn,
thanks for all your help. i guess the initial charge on the battery wasn't enough. i had charged it for almost two full days when i had the reading of 12.95, and then after my last post tried to start the bike... it turned right over and stayed running.

since then, i have ran it up and down my street, turned it off and tried to restart it(thats when it would act dead) so far, it seems to start right up everytime. i wanted something that wouldn't leave me stranded. thanks to your insight, i may finally have that.

now, i guess i can focus on the cosmetic stuff, fixing my fender, replacing my brake light, and getting my indicator lights to operate.

many thanks again!

 

I have a Chinese 150 that has a new battery. I left it a few days and now the battery is completely dead. Going to check the battery after charging to see if it holds a charge. In the meantime, how would I check to see if I have an open current draining with the ignition off? Thanks guys.

 

This is easy.

1) Remove the main fuse. Now the battery is disconnected from everything but the starter solenoid (which never fails by drawing a little leakage current).

2) Take your meter and set it to measure current (in amps) on the *10 amp* scale. On most meters you have to move the red lead to a different jack on the meter to measure current, as well as set the rotary switch to the "10 amps" setting. Make sure it says "amps" and not milliamps (10 amps is 10,000 milliamps).

3) Insert the meter probes across the fuse terminals. In other words your meter is now wired in place of the fuse. Any current that flows from the battery will show up as a reading on your meter directly in amps. With the ignition switch off you should measure zero amps.

4) Verify that your meter is working. *Don't skip this step.* Turn on the ignition switch and turn on the headlights. Now you should be drawing current. The headlight should light up and you should see a reading of a few amps on your meter.

The reason this step is important is that all meters have fuses in the current measuring circuitry. Those who are inexperienced at using meters often set the meter to measure amps and then try to measure the voltage out of a power supply. This silently and instantly blows the internal fuse. Usually the meter stays this way since it will still measure volts and ohms just fine. I'm pretty sure that 50% of the meters in the world have blown current measuring fuses. This includes one of my meters where I blew the fuse about two years ago. I still haven't replaced the fuse, but at least I know about it.

If the fuse is blown you will read zero amps of current draw, but this will be a false reading since current can't flow if the fuse is blown.

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If the current isn't flowing into the quad wiring then the battery must be self discharging. If current is flowing into the quad wiring system with the ignition switch off then start unplugging connectors till it stops. That will lead to the culprit, or to the device leading to the culprit. Report back what you find if you do find something draining current.