Hello guys, the wife's quad is on the fritz again, and I know this is the best place to find help. Here is the problem....The bike looses charge after riding it for about 20 minutes. It seems like every time she needs the 4 wheel drive, it doesn't have enough voltage to activate it. I already removed the flywheel and cleaned out the magneto, and it didn't help. I'm wondering if the magneto is bad, or if the regulator is bad. Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to test both of those?

 

First off check that battery connections are tight. Then check with an ohm meter that you are getting between 14-14.5 volts at the battery while running(may have to throttle up a little on the older ones to get max voltage). If just shows battery voltage (12 volts or a little over or MORE than than 14 volts could be a bad regulator/rectifier) You have to pull the fuel tank cover and the head light housing to get to the module.
There are two black modules one is the reg/rectifier,one is the reverse limiter. Check the wiring on the module with the red and yellow wires to make sure that they are plugged in the circuit board. Also check that there is 12 volts going to the red wire at the circuit board! MOST of the time its the regulator,BUT I would have the battery load tested too,especially if it's an older one(could be charging good back to the battery,but if battery has a dead cell,won't hold the charge!) And before I would spend about 90 bucks or so,on a regulator/rectifier I would get the stator specs from a good dealer (if you can find one!) to eliminate the stator as a problem also! Plus online manuals on the old ones are fairly cheap,if no one on the forum has the manual and specs for you if you need them! OPT

 

Wow, thanks Old Polaris Tech. You are the man! I'm going to dig into the machine later this week and see what I can come up with. I'll let you know what I find.

 

Well, I finally got around to wrenching on the old trail boss again. Sorry for the long hiatus. Voltage at the battery with the bike off was just under 11. With the ignition on it dropped to 10.45. With the machine running it climbed back up to 10.8. With a good bit of throttle it peaked @ 13.5. The bike has been sitting for about a month. I'm going to charge the battery up and see if I get the same results.

 

Fully charge battery should be around 12-12.8 volts to start out with.Looks like the voltage regulator needs replacing. If the battery doesn't hold a charge when you replace the regulator could have a dead cell also and may need to be replaced? Drains batteries down pretty quick when the regulator goes south and depends on how old the battery is and how long it's been this way! Some of the older models you have to throttle up to get max voltage,but still sounds a little weak. Charge the battery like you planned then check,max voltage should be close to or a little over 14 volts! If voltage shows close to this then have the battery checked out! Could be a combination of both the battery and regulator? Good luck OPT

 

It looks like you are spot on again, OPT. When I took the charger off of the battery, it instantly started dropping down, then holding at 11.20v. With the key on it dropped to 10.67, then it climbed up to 13v with the bike started and revved up a bit. I'll get both a new battery and a new regulator. I found killer deals on Polaris electrical parts at DB electrical. I'm getting a new regulator and new starter for $80.90 shipped to my door! Does anyone know a good source for a new battery? Are there any brand names I should steer clear of?

 

Just replace the battery first!! Then check the charging! The regulator is charging(getting up to 13.5 volts!) ,but since the battery drops so low,the combined voltage going in along with the dead battery's voltage may not show the true charging rate! Yuasa which is oem on Polaris,Interstate,plus if you want to spend some $ you can go the gel batteries or even the Optima. IMO Ever Start (Wallyworld batterie's) are junk! Seems I was always replacing these with Yuasa or Interstate. OPT

 

Thanks OPT. I'll run those tests with a new battery and see what I come up with. I have another question now lol. I'm replacing all of the front wheel bearings. I picked up 2 kits, each kit includes 2 bearings, 2 races, 2 o-rings, and 1 seal. That's fine and dandy but, our machine has a 3rd bearing that sits inside the clutch closer to the hub seal. I can't find the 3rd bearing on any parts locator, or from my dealer..What gives?

 

On the older machines you have two different size Timken style bearings for a total of FOUR per side! Two bearings on the axle going in and out of the strut strut,plus two in the hub,along with the hub and strut seal! Look at Cycle Parts Ware House under your model for FRONT WHEEL ASSEMBLY and it shows two 3554506 cone bearings and the two races,3554507 along with the hub seal 3610019. Under the FRONT STRUT ASSEMBLY it show the two strut bearings 3554509 and the two races(or cup bearings as they are called) 3554507 along with the inner strut seal 3610028. In other words you have FOUR bearings,Four races,a strut seal and a hub seal per side! Both the 3554506 and 3554509 bearings have the same outer diameter,BUT different inside dimensions,therefore they can use the same race or cup bearings 3554507! If you're going to do it right all these need to be replaced if worn! The strut seal is easily pulled out and a new one installed,but the hub seal has to be pressed in only or you will damage the seal! To make things even simpler you can take the bearing and races and match em up at Napa,Auto zone,O'reilly's,etc probably for a cheaper price! Probably the kits you have are just for the hubs only? IF your strut bearings are ok and the strut seal shows no sign of leaking,then the hub bearings and seal may be all you need?? A manual is recommended on this as the front hub nuts have a "rolling nut torque" because of the flex nut that is used, unlike the later models with a regular castle nut and cotter pin that torque at 12 foot pounds! If you don't have a manual, you can try to torque the nut at 20 foot pounds MAX ,jack the machine up and see if the front wheel drive kicks in after assembly! It's NOT really complicated once you tear one side down and see !! OPT

 

The kit I picked up was indeed just a hub kit. I decided to overhaul the front wheel bearings because the machine would go into a wobble near top speed and the front left strut seal was leaking. I will go ahead and take my old strut bearings to napa and try to match them up. What type of tool do I need to press the hub seal in with?