Last week went riding and I crossed a small stream that looked to be no biggie. Wound up being 2 1/2 foot of silt under it. Was in water up to rear tail lights but was just the backend, front was on bank and never sucked water in. 2 friends hurried to the other side and hooked winch up cause I had to keep throttle going to keep water out of muffler. After starting to winch it died(crappy cause I was really in there). So my other friend quicky hooked up to and we got it out. After that it was dead and had to pull start it.

The next day I found that the oil had some water in it I guess from when it shut down. No biggie, slapped some new oil in it and on my way. Finally charged battery over night and it was done by morning. Tried starting it after work today and still dead. WTH ! So I pull started it so I could go get my trash cans at end of driveway. I use my winch to hook on trailer and pull backwards and it died. Pulled it again and it died later when I unhooked it. I haven't looked too much into it but really need some feed back before I waste my time to get indepth with it.

Why would it die from sitting in the water for a short time and not want to keep a charge?

 

see if the battery terminals are coroded any.

 

Have you checked the main (30a) fuse?

 

Checked terminals and fuses, nuttin. Just wierd even after I pull start it and drive around for a while then shut it off its still dead. It tries to turn over but faintly. Just have no clue how it went that dead on me when I got stuck in the creek.

 

Pull the connector off the voltage rectifier/regulator and check for moisture

----- Gimpster -----

 

I checked that, I guess that is the thingy in the back under the right fender with the fins right? Had a lil sand in them but other than that just fine. I need to swap out a battery and check that too. Can a battery short out so suddenly like that??

 

Yes, if the plates get hot, they can warp and short together.

If you take a ohm meter, set it to volts, check across the battery terminals without the unit running, what is the voltage reading ?

Now with the 4 wheeler idling, what is the reading ?

With the meter attatched to the battery, what is the reading at 3000 rpm ?

While raising the rpm,
Was the voltage low at idle, then raise to above 15 volts and stay there ?
Was the battery voltage higher at an idle and as the rpm raised, it dropped to around 11 volts or lower
Was the voltage around 11.5 at an idle, raise to around 14.6 volts as rpm increased, then drop to around 13 volts ?

I would need some or any of these questions answered to advise on battery condition or charging system condition for further help or assistance direction to go next.

thanks

----- Gimpster -----

 

Well crap I don't have a voltage meter, I will ask around and dig one up to let you know. Thanks

 

Hey Gimpster, I still haven't tried the voltage test yet but decided to swap out a fairly new battery out of my brothers 01 Ruby and it worked. Put the one out of mine in the 01 and drove it around for a while and spread fertilizer. Kept it running for probably 35 min and when I shut it off it was dead. So I guess that tells me the battery is shot if I swapped it out in another quad and it still didn't recharge right?

 

So your quad stays charged with the other battery, and your brother's machine dies with your battery?

I'm guessing you might have an internal short in your battery. It would still be nice to take a volt reading on your machine, running and not, to verify that the charging system is working. You could also put in a charged battery and remove one of the cables and use the Amp feature of the meter to measure how much drain the machine puts on the battery with the key off.

A reasonably useful digital multi meter can be had for like $15 these days...


Anyway, bottom line I'd bet it needs a new battery, but if it were mine I'd verify the charging system works, and that there isn't a problem drawing the battery down.