Can anyone help? I have an Artic Cat 250 2001 Model and have been having trouble with batteries. I just put a Interstate battery in and two days later it was completley dead. Does it have an alternater?

 

It has a magneto charging system. If your machine is running you can test its output by using a voltage meter set to 12V DC across your battery terminals. It should read 12-14volts with the engine at 5000rpm.

With the engine running I usually make the connection with my meter, (it will read low around 12-13V) then have a partner rev it up breifly. The voltage will usually spike to near 14V. But, do not rev engine for a long time as it can harm the engine.

If your meter reading is fine then your magneteo is charging correctly but you may have a short in your wiring harness causing the battery to drain.

Also a good charged battery should read around 12V just sitting there. They do not come from the store with much of a charge if any. Most need to be charged 10+ hours. Never charge it with more than a tricke charge or you can damage the plates in the battery OR worse cause it to explode!

I like to totally remove it from themachine. Trickle charge it 0.2amps over night. Then check its voltage. It should be 12+ volts. Let it sit for a few hours not hooked to anything and check the voltage again. It should still be close to what it was when you first tested it. If it is the battery is good.

You need to find out if you have a short, the magneto is charging correctly or if the battery was not fully charged or taking a charge (could be a lemon of a battery).

Swampy

 

Yup you should first the charging system and from there trace the problem it would be the battery or the magneto and other charging unit.

 

I agree with swampyjunior and j lanes44 on testing the battery after an overnight trickle charge with no more than a 0.2 amp float charger for at least 12 to 14 hours before testing the battery before startting the engine it should register at least 12.4 to 12.5 volt DCV , and 14.5 to 15.4 DCV as soon as the engine start's i didn't have anyone to rev the engine but the engine rev's higher RPM's when it started and the RPM's level off after the engine warm's up !

One other thing i almost for got to mention is that i use a cheap $2.99 CEN - TECH Digital Multimeter bought from Harbor Weight Tool's , but it work's well with testing all type batteries and charging system ; maybe not as good as swampyjunior has !

I bought my first Arctic Cat a 2006 Arctic Cat 400 FIS Auto 4x4 on Feb. 07 2006 the carb on my 06' has the electic/enrichment in stead of the manual choke and my AC has the LCD display pod ; it was hard to start from day one .
I got a display model right off the showroom floor and it was hard getting it start inside the heated showroom , when i got it home my brother and sister in - law and i took the quads over to a creek we rode many time's on the older quads with no problem starting the AC ; but the next time we took them out for a ride 2 weeks later i almost ran the battery down getting the AC started !

On cold startup it would just turn the engine over so many times the battery charge indecater would start flashing the low battery warning and the rest of the display would be blank , the O.E.M.battery was the vented type and the eletrolite would get low and i had to add distilled water to the battery 3 time's in 2 year's ; the third time the battery wouldn't hold a charge .

I replaced the battery with a Auto Zone Duralast Gold maintenance free /with more cold cranking amp's , and after charging it the recommened hour's with a 1 amp charger/Battery Tender the engine still took more turn's for startup's ; it didn't take long before i a fuel leak that i first thought was coming from the main line that goes from the inline filter to the carb .

But it turned out to be the hard plastic fuel hose line's to the carb had a split causing the fuel pressure to drain out of the electric choke/enrichment causing the hard starting , i changed all the old plastic fuel and vent's line's with GoodYear Automotive rubber fuel hose and the problem was solved ; one other thing i found on my 2006 AC 400 was that the clock draw's power from the battery even with the ignition switch in the off position .

I fixed this by disconnecting the battery cable's when i let the quad sit more than a week at a time between ride's , like swampyjunior suggested never charge the battery with the cable's hooked to the battery as it can damage electrical componnate's and welcome to the forums !

williebee..........

 

Williebee, didn't you also hook up an external battery to run you winch and be charged by the ATV's charging system?

Also, I think I have the same Red Cen-Tech Multimeter from harbor freight! As well as an Extech EX430 and a Fluke 1587 multimeter. The cheaper one works well but the more expensive Fluke 1587 is WAY more accurate if you need to be.

Swampy

 

Hello Swampyjunior it's been a while since i pm'ed you i hope everthing is going well for you , and yes i did try using an addional battery to operrate the winch on my old 86' Honda 350D Foreman 4x4 but it was taxing on the charging system on the Foreman ; so i bought a deep cycle marine battery in place of the automotive type i was using and it never failed to do the job and i didn't have to hook it to the charging sytem .

The Marine Battery i bought from Auto Zone didn't need to be charged for 2 to 3 month's in between charge's , never let me down even when i was pulling my family and freinds quads from deep muddy swamp's where my cousin's lived ; after i sold the Foreman to my brother in nov. 2005 for $2500 on Credit $50 a week i still had my 1993 Suzuki LT4WD 300KQ i never put a winch on the KQ and i sold it to same Brother and Sister - inlaw for $3500 with same payment's two week's after i Bought my first new quad whitch i never thought i could afford !

I bought a 2006 Arctic Cat 400 FIS Auto on Feb. 7th , 2006 i had bought one of those $29.99 winch on sale at the local Harbor Freight Store in Cattanooga , TN i never did install it on the AC 400 i thought i would install it on the Cat ; but so far i've never gotten into something i couldn't back out of in reverse !

I bought a roller flairhead from my local Dealer and i asked the Owner of the Dealership if the cheap Harbor Freight winch would bolt up to the winch plate of the AC , i was told it would bolt on without needing an adapter so i just might put in on before the next trip with our group ; just in case someone get's in to deep .

It's good to know that you are still on the forums you're a greap asset to the forum's sorry for the Novel i just had to touch base with you so have fun and be safe riding the trail's as i will do the same here in North west Ga. and just a little note i was fitted Prothtic leg;s in Dec. 2009 after going without them for the last 35 years ; i was fitted for leg's in 1977 but i couldn't use them my right stump was to short and kept slipping out of the old Prosthic leg causing me to fall and hit the ground and busting up the right stump whitch would take 2 to 3 month's to heal before trying to use them again with same result's !

Every one from my mom ,brother's , sister's and freind's and a few doctor's told me of the new technolgy that was made (Sorryfully) with our young Troup's coming home from Afganistan and Iraq that has made it possible for people like me to walk again ; keep on praying for our young Men and Women in harm's way as i do !
The new Prosthic limb's have these roll on easy liner's with a stainless steel locking pin that lock's in place in the with the prosthic limb's that can only come off by pushing a bottom on the side of leg , the easy liner is made of neoppren rubber like is used in wet suit's making it impossible to come loose from the leg !

williebee.........