Hey i'm hoping someone can help me out here. I ride an '01 Honda Rancher 4x4 ES, with 5500 miles on it. About a month ago while i was home, I went to go riding, turned the key, and nothing came on. Nothing on the display came on, including the neutral light. Pushed the starter button and it didn't even make a click. I made my donation to the local honda dealer for a new battery($90), put it in, and it started and shifted fine.

Friday night I went home again to go riding and had the same problem. I got it running with the pull starter but, once running, it wouldn't shift until it warmed up some. And even then it was shifting like crap... wouldn't always shift up or down when I pushed the button or it was delayed 1 to 2 seconds. Saturday was more of the same. Turned the key and still nothing would come on. Got it running again and rode it for about 1/2 an hour. When I got back from my ride though, it was shifting perfectly so I turned it off and turned the key back on - this time the neutral light remained on so i tried the electric start again. It made a ticking noise from somewhere around the battery for a few a seconds, and then it was dead again.

I think something's draining the battery but I don't know if that would affect its shifting once it is up and running. I just ordered a Clymers manual online to try to trouble shoot it and see what I come up with. Anyone have the same problem or any ideas? Thanks!!

 

If the posts & terminals are tight on the battery & solinoid then your going to have to check what's drawing power ..

 

Is it even charging? could be a rectifier problem

 

.. i'm away at college until next tuesday, but i just got off the phone with my dad. he said he hooked something up to the battery and it said there's a short. Everything i've been reading on the net says the most common problem with the rancher is the angle sensor. Would something like that cause the short, or do you think its a frayed or damaged wire?

I told him to try to pull start it tonight and see if an error code comes up... i didn't know about the error codes until i came back to school and started looking this stuff up.

 

If there's a short I would first check the regulator/rectifier we've had quite a bit of trouble with them ...

 

if it was an angle sencor you would have more of a shifting problem. it sounds like a short,or even a frayed wire thats not quite makeing contact all the time. i had an arctic cat with a frayed wire, sometimes it would start but mostly it would not.