On a friend's '97 Xplorer 400 all light bulbs are burned out. Headlights, tail light, reverse light, neutral light, etc. all have burned out bulbs. The starter doesn't turn the engine over and the winch is dead. Any ideas about what caused this to happen? I need to fix the cause before I replace all the bulbs and other stuff. No, it was not hit by a lightning bolt.

 

Sounds like the battery is dead. This would explain the winch and starter not working. Also, when there is no juice flowing from the battery, the light bulbs tend to burn up from the irregular current. If the battery is dead, the lights get thier power directly from the stator, rather then from the battery. This power fluctuates with the engine RPM.

 

You better make sure that it is putting out the right voltage. It could be that the stator or most likely the voltage regulator is bad. It could be that the battery had some kind of major melt down but I would check the charging system too.

 

PeterinAZ,

Did you ever "pull-start" it? If you did, sometimes the surge caused by the re-coil starter will cause the lights to blow. This happened to my brother-in-law about 2 months ago.

 

Possible causes

1. dead battery
2. bad connection to battery
3. bad regulator

 

The battery supplies the resistance to the charging system. If a connection is loose or if the battery internals have an open circuit (cracked connection inside) the charging system will be able to produce very high voltage spikes. This is why late model automobiles will loose their computer system if you disconnect a battery cable while the engine is running to check to see if the alternator is working (on older cars this test, if the car kept running, proved the alternator worked).

The less likely problem would be the voltage regulator.

 

I've seen the bulbs "all" burn out before. It's happened when the battery is disconnected or removed from the bike and the ignition switch is turned "on". Used to do it all the time on many bikes. A really bad ground or battery connection could also do this. It's usually a case of someone messing with an old battery, taking the battery out and forgetting to turn the iginition off or disconnecting the cables while the ignition is on since it won't start.

Trader Jack

 

Did your friend solve the headlight problem ? I have a 1997 Explorer 400 and have just experienced a similar problem. I had to boost the quad as a result of a low battery. When I released the boost cables the lights became very bright and the override for reverse would not work. Now, all the bulbs have blown. I was wondering if the battery was in fact the problem.

 

Gwyette, what you are describing sounds a lot like the voltage regulator was damaged during the jump starting process.

I had a prblem with my 700 right after I bought it....the battery wouldnt charge. I charged the battery from my truck but never tried to jump start it....just charged the battery for awhile during trail ride breaks.

 

Your battery has an internal failure/open circuit, replace it. The fact that the lights became very bright after you disconnected the jumper tells you the quads battery is bad. The jumper battery was ok so the charging system functioned properly until you disconnected it. I have had this happen and the battery is the problem....