This week's problem is my kids' little Eton 90cc quad. I put a new battery in it this winter because the old one would no longer keep a charge at all. It was several years old and had seen better days.

The problem with it now is the new battery never holds a charge. If I set it on a battery tender overnight (.75A) it fires right up the next morning.

After about an hour of use, the battery is no longer strong enough to start it back up.

Not sure where to even start tracing things with the multimeter. To me it sounds like a problem with the charging system.... so does that usually imply a bad stator? I really feel like just buying an el cheapo' CDI, solenoid, stator and voltage regulator and having them on hand the next time I have time to dive back into this mess. Worse case in this scenario is I have the next part to fail later right?

Suggestions? I have read and read all the experts’ advice, but I really want to have some stuff on hand when time allows to finally fix it up. Instead of waiting a week to diagnose, waiting a week to ship, and then waiting a week to get time again to put it back together!

 

so after you've charged/tendered the battery, and it starts, what is the voltage at the battery when idling? measure with your multimeter. now, rev it up and see what the battery is showing as far as volts. what does it say now? that can tell us if the stator is putting out or not. it could have a slow draw/drain on it somewhere, but let's check the charging circuit. i see no problem with having the "extra" parts on hand. just so long as they're the right ones. .

 

Thank you Jaster! That gives me a good starting point for this evening or weekend.

 

Wow. I just checked online and the parts for the 90cc Eton are much much more expensive then I thought. Jaster, I agree completely with you know that I better wait to determine the right parts to order. On the 110cc Terminator, I could have picked up all of that stuff dirt cheap....