Can jump starting an ATV from a car cause problems for the ignition system?
I have a 203 Big Bear 4x4 that is not getting any fire. It ran fine, was parked for about a month, and the next time we tried to start it the battery was dead. We tried to jump start it off of a truck.

If this could have caused the problem, what would it most likely be?

Thanks.

 

NEVER jump start an ATV or streetbike off of a running vehicle. You will fry something (I think its your stator). Jumping off a non-running vehicle has been known to work though.

 

Well, the stator has been the suspect. It's not the CDI, because I tested it on another Big Bear. I guess I will test the stator and see what readings I get.

Thanks.

 

Np, When the car is running the battery produces too many amps for a little atv battery to handle so it goes to the stator.

 

I never heard of the amps thing before. Voltage is the biggest problem. As long as the car battery is 12V it will be fine. Amps never really go anywhere on their own they are just waiting to be used. Just like how a 12V 55w headlight uses 5 amps when hooked up to a 100 amp, 12V battery, but if you give it 24 volts it will burn out. The voltage regulator/rectifier by design won't let power back into the stator. In most 4 stroke ATV motors the stator sends 3 phase AC power to rectifier (thats why they always have 3 yellow or white wires) It then uses diodes to trap this power and bridge it togeteher into a single DC line. The regulator then keeps this in the proper 12 or 14 volt range.

To put it in a simple way, amps will only react to draw. The 12V line to your starter switch is connected to the same 12v line that runs to the starter itself.. yet wire to the switch is maybe 22 or 24 gauge but the one to the starter is like 8.

In your home, your alarm clock is pluged into the same 120V 15 amp outlit as your power saw in the basement right? the clock doesn't burn up because its only pulling as many amps as it needs.

Devices don't mind extra amps being there. The problem is when something goes wrong and it draws too many amps. Amps aren't pushed they are drawn in. Thats why your fuses are rated in amps. The power is there for the taking.. but isn't used. When you have a shorted wire or your starter locks up it pulls too many amps and pops the fuse. If your starter fuse is 30 amps thats the MAX amount of amps it will ever pull before poping the fuse. It doesn't matter if you are jump starting it off a 1000 cranking amp diesel truck or your mom's VW. If there was some design problem with the starter using 30 amps they would put a 20amp fuse in.

As long as both the car system and ATV are made for 12V DC they will play together fine.

 

--I thought I would post a 2nd time for the no spark problem.

A few tips for you to keep in mind:

The stator itself is packed together with the ignition parts but they are not directly connected. A mid 80s and newer CDI fired motor will work fine even if the power generating coils are bad (the three yellow or white wires). Do careful tests of the CDI exciter coil, pulse sensor and spark plug coil. I know Ricky Stator sells pulse sensors if you need one.. its cheaper than buying a whole new stator unit from Yamaha.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty sure I get what rruser is saying. Basically, the headlight and the starter are hooked into the same system, and each only draws the amps that it needs. You can't force something that draws 10 amps to draw 30 amps. But, if you up the voltage, you are gonna fry things.

I'm gonna try switching out the pulse sensor with another Big Bear (I need to change the oil in it anyway). Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Thanks.

 

Just to update........... I replaced the stator, and it runs like new now. I had someone test the old one, and it was definatly burned up. I don't know if it was from jump starting from a running truck or not, but I know I won't do it again.

FYI...... My father lives down in South Texas, and has found an electronics shop that can hand wind the old stator with new wire, and basically rebuild it. I should know by the end of the week wether or not it will work when they are done with it. I will post when it is tested. They are going to do it for less than $100. Seems like a good deal compaired to buying a new stator.
Maybe my fellow ATVers can find a shop in their area to do the same.

 

A stator is just a coil of wire. The diode rectifier turns the 3 phase voltage from the stator to DC power for the battery and in turn the starter. It typically takes 14 volts to charge a 12 volt battery. Therefore all 12 vehicles run at the same potential. If you had a burnt up stator, it was not from an outside source. If you had hooked up the jumper cables backwards all bets are off.

 

i never tried to jump start my quad from a car but i wondered this. i made a set of jumper cables out of speaker wires. i made these to jump my quad from another quad i i needed it. i jumped other people's quad several times and it worked very well. i even used a jump pack to jump start my wifes warrior and it worked well. i would have to agree with rruser. i dont think there amount of amps in a battery would casue a risk to your quad as long as they are the same volts.