I thought about making my username "Bigtime Rookie" as an apt describer of my knowledge of all things mechanical.

I'm not useless with tools, just uneducated in the ways of engines (big or small).

Here's the issue - back in the fall, I was out for a run on my quad when all of a sudden it dies. No power, no nothing. Total electrical failure. The problem with this is no recoil starter, but I digress.

Send it to the dealer (closest dealer is 100km away) and they replace grounding posts and while it's there I opt to get a plow put on with remote blade angling device. And proper battery straps. The bungee cord that was standing in was making me nervous (bought the quad used). At any rate...

We get a pretty good dump of snow today - excited to fire up the quad and plow. However, I find that the quad will crank once or twice, then whine (like you're trying to crank it while running). I try timing the start button presses to force a 'catch' cycle to no avail. The battery is now pretty flat.

Spark is good, fuel is good. I vaguely remember having the same issue when I took the quad off the trailer when I got it home from the dealer the first time, but since it turned over on the second go-round, I paid it no attention (obviously the wrong move!)

I can probably take some video and put it on youtube tomorrow to give you a 'listen'.

I'm hoping it's the starter, but fearing it's something more sinister.

Looking for help or other ideas (and looking to save $100/hr in diagnostic shop time!)

 

Turns out there wasn't enough juice in the battery to keep a constant crank. New battery = problem solved.