I am pretty good at figuring these little things out, but I am once again stumped...

Brand new battery, cranks every other atv I have just fine, except this one...so I know its not an issue with the battery. But the thing acts like thew battery is dead, cranks over real slow, or not at all. Until I hook a set of jumper cables run off my truck to it, then it turns over just fine. Any suggestions on how to get it starting a little easier without using my truck every time?

 

My electrical knowledge is pretty limited.. Lynn will be much more help...

Have you tried hooking a volt meter to the battery and see if/what the volts drop to while cranking?

 

Yep. I totally agree with MWQ.

You must measure the voltage at the battery terminals while the starter is engaged. If the battery cannot put out enough current the voltage will collapse and the starter will stall. Even though this battery supposedly works on other quads you still need to measure the voltage while cranking on the quad that won't turn. Measure the voltage right on the battery posts that stick out of the battery (and not the wires lugs that bolt to the battery posts) while attempting to crank the starter. This gives a major clue to the puzzle.

If the voltage is more than 11 volts at the battery then we look elsewhere (like bad connections for example - which can be further isolated with some more meter measurements). If the voltage is less than that then your battery is discharged, bad, or the starter is drawing too much current. Based on this result we can go in different directions. Divide and conquer... But you need to start at the beginning...

 

i had the same problem with a ride on lawnmower in the shed (not the same i know) but i decided it was the starter took it apart, cleaned it out nicely and with a few extra hands holding back the brushes in the starter go the whole thing together again. but check EVERYWHERE else before taking off the starter because it can be very annoying putting it back together again!! i nearly took the hammer to it but if buy the end of it, it is the starter before buying a new one try cleaning it out yourself and keep all the parts because there are places that fix up tractor starters so im sure they could be convinced to turn their hand to yours.

 

Alright. I'm putting the charger on it tonight because I know I ran it down trying to figure it out. Will update in the morning with meter readings.

 

Any updates on this one? I think i'm having the same problems, except I know the battery is good. I took it to get tested today and has plenty of cranking amps.

 

The way to check out if your battery is or isn't a problem is to jump your quad battery to your car battery using jumper cables. Do take extra care to get the polarity right when you do this.

Now that you have no shortage of available current (with your car battery helping out), try to crank the starter again. Does it spin at normal speed? Does the quad start? If the starter spins at normal speed when jumped to the car then your battery is bad or discharged. The people at the battery store that tested your battery may or may not know what they are doing. The jump test is more definitive...

Do you have a meter?

 

I've done this before to jump the quad but not since I took off the gas tank and cleaned the carb.

As for the battery, I trust the guy I've took it to, he's tested other batteries of mine as well.

After sending this message, last night I went home and tried to start it again. Initially it tried to start like usual sounding strong from the start, then slowly winded down where it sounded like it wasn't getting enough juice. I waited a few minutes checking cables and fuses. Tried again, but this time I did what I thought I read on a different post was to jump the relay with a screwdriver. It started up, and I went on a test ride. It ran for about 2 minutes then died again. Wouldn't turn over again. I kept trying it until now it just makes a wierd motorized gear kind of sound, instead of the usual trying to start sound. I may try recording all this crazy stuff on my phone that I'm running into with this quad.

I do have a volt meter, it's not digital, and seems kinda like junk. I have no clue how to use it. I mean like since it's not digital what setting do I put it on. I know it has to be on DC, but when I put it on 250 and connect it to the battery the needle barely moves, but if i put it on 50 it moves over to the good side, and if i put it on 10 it shoots all the way over. Probably a sign I should just take it to a pro, but I can't really afford that, and my son is starting to get annoyed that he can't ever ride it.

 

I had the same problem with the same 110 tao tao, brand new battery, wouldn't turn it over. It worked fine for a couple of months after I bought it, then all at once while we were out riding it would bring it up on the compression stroke and then stop. I put the booster charger on it and it cranked great and ran like a raped ape after I got it started. All I could figure was the rings seated and the little bitty battery didn't have enough cca's to turn it over with the better compression. I did some bracket work on the quad and mounted a lawnmower battery on it and never had another problem.

 

I'm wondering if the engine is seizing up when it gets warm. After it cools does the starter turn the engine once more without having to charge the battery? When the quad starter is warm and won't turn the engine I would also try jumping the quad battery to a car battery (or another quad battery if you have one) and see if the starter spins faster. That would help determine if the battery isn't able to provide enough current, or if the engine is too hard to turn.

Analog meters work fine. You just have to figure out the voltage by looking at the proper scale graduations behind the needle. A digital voltmeter is probably a little easier, and they are fairly inexpensive at $20 for a decent one.