Hello, I've got an Arctic Cat 500 quad . I use it mainly for snow plowing and ice fishing. I want to buy a new battery because when the quad has been outside for awhile the engine cranks but it doesn't want to start. I question that I have is should I buy a battery with more amp hours or more cold cranking? The one battery I'm looking at has 16.5 amp hours and 190 cca .The other has 14ah and 220 cca,Which would serve my use best?
Thanks,
Topkick

 

If your AC is a newer model, you probably should keep a battery tender on it when not in use. I have a NAPA gel cell in mine a 2001 model with carb and it does a good job, think it was around $89 or so. Very happy with how easily mine starts, at least down to 0F. If you spend a few extra bucks for a really good battery, doubt if you'll ever regret it.

 

i agree with the tender if your going to be doing alot of plowing just to keep the battery topped up when done. Some of the tenders you can buy leads that attach right to the battery and you can run the other end to a convenient location to plug in. Not sure what to tell you on the battery. amp hours give you a longer run time, and well you probably already know about CCA

 

Thanks for the replies .I usually keep the battery on a tender. I'll switch it every other week with the lawn mower battery. It just seems that if the battery has to crank too long that the quad wouldn't start. It will usually start on the first try while it's warm.Not so much when it's been in the cold. I don't know if it's cranking too slow or if it's a lack of voltage.

 

Here's a good explanation on what cold weather can do to a battery.Does temperature effect how a battery performs? - Industrial Battery Products

 

If the battery quickly dies if the quad won't start right away, the battery is just worn out. A battery tender will keep it charged but constantly charging a battery isn't really the best thing for them. It allows it to stay charged but constantly charging a battery when it doesn't need it ruins batteries. After a few years, atv batteries just have to be replaced anyway. The best thing is to start the machine every couple of weeks in the winter to keep the battery charged, that's what I do. No need for a trickle charger if you do that. I don't have a garage, just a small shed to put my quad in and there's no electricity in there so no place to plug into a trickle charger unless I remove the battery and bring it inside anyway. I might try one of those gel cell batteries when I need to replace mine, I have heard they do outperform traditional batteries. I usually pick the battery with the most cranking amps when I buy or at least one with equal amount to the oem one or more.

 

I think I'm going to go with the Dura Cell . It has 14 ah and 220 cca and a two year not pro rated warranty. It's a few bucks more but with the warranty it may be worth it.
Topkick

 

Whatever you go with keep it on the battery tender. Plus I'd check while running that it's charging at least 14 volts. A lot of people overlook this when having to replacing batteries.