On my 2004 SP 500 the electric start wouldn't work all that it did was just click, so I used the pull start and it started right up. Thought I would take a VOM to it. This is what I get battery (with ATV not running) about 11.4volts, battery (with ATV running) about 14.5, battery while trying to start it about 10.3 volts. My question is should there be this much draw on the battery while it is cranking? Also when I went and put the charger on it and came back about 6 hours later there wasn't even enough to use the pull start (didn't have time to take VOM meter to it again). Any ideas?

Thanks

Ty

 

My wifes battery is still going strong, mine died after 2 years with almost the same use. I will stick my neck out and say go to Walmart and buy a new 1 for about $39.

 

Bring it to the dealer and have them check it for a faulty ECU module. It's a recall on all 2004 and 2005 sportsmans. Mine had it, dealer fixed it no charge. My battery wouldn't always charge while riding (it would sometime).

Polaris has given a tester to all dealers that they can connect and check your module with. If it reports faulty, the box is bad; if it reports good it can be either way.

Try charging your battery longer first, though. Overnight @ ~1 amp (1/10th the amphour rating of your battery, which is 14AH/10 = 1.4).

If it still wont work, have the dealer check it. Your machine is under the recall and it's free.




Edit: ECU? ECM? It's some three-letter acronym [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].

 

11.4V with the bike not running indicates a dead battery. Is it a sealed battery? If not, check the water level in the cells. Make sure they're full before charging. If an overnight charge doesn't bring the voltage back up to ~12.5V, you're going to have to replace it.

 

11.4 is clinically dead, but was the battery still on the quad when you were charging it? When I had my problems I also had discharge with the engine off, which may have negated your charging. Not enough juice to pull start after a 6hr charge isn't good.

If it turns out to be the battery, you should still have your quad checked/serviced for what I said. You don't want a low battery warning and a randomly dying quad when you're out in the mud like I had.

The bad ECU also killed my stock battery, as it drained it totally while I was away and the battery sat without a charge for a few weeks. Won't hold much of a charge now.