i have a 1992 polaris trail boss 350L, last time i rode the battery was dead so i charged it over night. the next day i went to ride and rode for about 5 hours and then the battery had went dead. the quad would still run bit i had no fan, lights, starter, and the 4 wheel drive would not engage. when i got home and charged the battery, everything was better. any suggetions on where to start or what to check for why the battery wont charge. thanks

 

I've got one of these ATV's I'm trying to keep going. I'm not mechanic but I'll respond since no one else has yet. You said, to paraphrase, you didn't have any electrically controld items working when the battery was dead. That would be expected, right? The question I think your asking is, A) why is my battery discharging, or b) why won't it hold a charge, or c) why won't it charge up. Different answers to each question of course. A and B. you may have a short or your battery is bad, and for C. the first thing that comes to mind is that you are not getting current to recharge the battery because the alternator or it's control unit isn't working right. I would have the battery tested first- your friendly local parts store may do this for you, next then it should not be hard to tell if the battery isn't getting current from the alternator with some simple testing, and then look for a short (sometimes the most maddening of all).
I put these in order ascending difficulty. AT least that's where I would start. Now maybe some of the mechanics while correct me!
:-) Good luck
Textrout

 

You will have two yellow wires coming out of your stator going to your regulator.

Unplug the yellow wires and see if you have AC voltage with the engine running. If the stator is good you will have voltage at idle and the voltage will increae as you rev the engine.

If you have voltage here your stator is good and most likely your regualator is bad.

No voltage means your stator is bad and it is an expensive part.