Good morning OPT I was hoping you could help me once again. I keep on going through batteries on my 98 sportsman 500. I am putting like 13 volts when it is running and I dont understand why they go to crap after 6 months to a year. I have heated handle bars and a winch but that can not run unless the key is on and i know they are not drawing voltage. maybe it is because I keep on buying batteries from advance auto. I am putting in ETX15 batteries. they are 220 cca. I just looked on the advance auto's website and they dont even list that battery as an option but i know that is what the computer in the store calls for. the have a much larger battery that they list but it will not fit in the wheeler. have you had good luck with a certain battery? I am going to do a little bit more research while i wait to hear back from you. thank you for what you do and have a good day.

Marc

 

also is there a conversion kit to transfer from the smaller battery to the bigger battery? the tray that the battery sits in?

 

Early Sportsmans and others used a wet cell Yuasa 14AA2 that was alright,but the later agm YTX14AH was a much better battery. Several different brands out there like engine oil that people prefer,but my two cents is that for the buck you can't beat a good Yuasa or Interstate.https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ysa-ytx14ah-bs Keeping one on a maintainer will extend the life of any battery,but at only 13 volts charging while running along with optional equipment can suck one down. Might be time to check into a different regulator,but again on these early machines with a 150 watt alternator they just didn't have the umph that the later 200 watt stators did also.Rectifier Regulator Fits Polaris ATV Sportsman 500 98 02 New | eBay Plus on my old Honda Nighthawk that used the same size battery(YTX14AH) it lasted right at 7 years even with riding it every now and then like I did and on a trickle charger. But the charging system was putting out 14+ volts.

 

The rectifier u list in ur reply, is that the 200 volt or can I not use one of those?

 

Shows for your model. All I'm saying is that 13 volts charging back to the battery is kinda on the low side and the regulator may be the cause of this. Plus this could be the cause of batteries not lasting. P.S. Did recheck and you do have the 200 watt alternator on the 98 model,so taking a chance on a cheap regulator may solve the battery problems.. 99 and later models had a 250 watt alternator.

 

I've had good luck with standard Yuasa batteries except for the time one froze, but it may have been low on acid. They all lasted for several years. If I was buying a new battery I'd probably get an AGM.

 

13V is low mine is 13.4V idle , not sure if that your problem, your still above 12v.

I bought a OEM Yuasa from my Polaris dealer 5 years ago and its still good. I do not remove it in the winter or put it on a tender.

 

I think I've pretty much stuck with OEM batteries whenever I've had to replace them. The OEM always fits perfectly. I have seen some aftermarket batteries that had to use spacers to fit because they were too small. I guess that's not a big deal but usually the OEM does a fine job unless you have a ton of accessories pulling a lot of amps. A second battery might be needed then.