Or whenever........... :-)

Anyway, my 97 ac 454 2X4 is having problems again. I went riding with some friends the other night, and at first I noticed the lights were really dim (more than normal). I didn't really think anything about it untill the atv started dying on me, at this point the lights went completely out. Now the starter won't work and when I pull start the atv, it will run untill I hit the brakes. Everytime the brakes are applied the damn thing dies. I am going to guess it is something electrical but what?

thanks,
Morgan

 

sounds to me like your battery trying giving it a charge and see how it runs.

 

the battery is only 3 weeks old.

 

Well if it was me I would still try charging the battery, sometimes batteries don't come completely charged. Its worth a try.

 

Sounds like the battery to me too, check for a short or a bad ground that could be draining the battery prematurely....

 

With everything shut off, disconnect the positive terminal and put a meter inline and if current is flowing then there is a short in the system someplace...

 

I believe the battery is only used to start the engine and run large power drain devices like a winch while the engine is running. So by the way you explained it...if you pull start it it will run until you hit the brakes (which are not a high power drain device) and then it dies. Sounds like a short or a charging system failure. Maybe your old battery was good and did not need to be replaced?

The charging system and voltage regulator should be putting out arount 14volts which is plenty to run the machine and the brakes and the lights but not the amperage needed for a winch if you have one. That comes from your battery.

So as was already suggested you need to put a volt meter in line with the battery to see how much voltage your charging system is putting out. Should be at least 13volts. I can look in my service manual for the exact numbers if you want.

SJ

 

Ok guys, I think it isn't charging [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I put a meter on it and the battery was sitting at 7 volts and didn't go up when the bike was running. What now? How do I fix this?

 

I believe the break even RPM is around 2000, meaning that the magneto is not charging the battery under 2000 and only charges when the RPM's go over 2000, similar to an automobile generator of days gone by, before the altinator took its place.

Charge your battery on a charger (slow charge, 2 amps or less for 12 hours or so). After you take the charger off, let is sit for an hour before checking the voltage with a meter. If after 12 hours of sitting, if the reading has gone down then you either have a bad battery or a short. If it doesn't go down and after you ride it then what is happening is that you are not over 2000 rpm to maintain the charge, and you would need to trouble shoot, voltage regulator, magneto, coils etc.

 

Oh and check the battery itself to make sure the cells are full, if not then put some acid in it (not water).