Does anyone know if there is a better battery for my SP 500? I'm using it for snowplowing and withing 15 minutes it's discharged to the the point of the four wheel drive not working,dim headlights, etc. I don't want replace it just because I use the winch for the snowplow (I will charge it between storms), but I've had problems with it before during the summer and I'd like to have the most power available for other winching jobs. Does anyone know the part number or the dimensions so I can shop around? I'd even pop for a deep cycle if there is one.

Thanks

 

Arrowhead

I really can't answer your basic question because I don't know if a more powerful battery is available. I was having the same trouble last year with the battery dying from the winch when plowing. The problem is that you are running slow and the engine is not running hard enough to recharge the engine (you probably already know this). I removed my battery and brought it into the house. When it got warmed up, I check the fluid in the cells and found that a few of them were low. I filled them up with fluid, charged it up and it holds a lot better charge now. I put a trickle charger on now in between plowings and if I think it is getting low when plowing, I run down the road for a little ride and that tends to charge the battery enough to keep plowing. While you have the battery out checking the fluid levels, this is a great time to clean the connections as only a little loss in conductivity will really hurt. Post a thread if you find a stronger battery. I would also like to upgrade my battery.

PS. I plowed for an hour last night and the battery power was still in great shape. No noticable loss in power.

 

Perhaps you could install a deep cycle auxilliary battery on the rear rack, wired in parallel and enclosed in a battery box. Just a thought...

 

Good answer Thor, especially if you are doing a lot of plowing, an auxialliary battery on the back, wired in Parrallel would work great. that would provide the current needed for plowing, and then could be taken off when regular riding is the mission. They don't make an alternator on a quad to provide enough juice for a heavy draw, so a temporary power source is a great idea, removable too, super thought!

 

im not sure who it was but i remember someone talking about removing their under seat storage box and installing a 50 amp hour gell cell battery in their sportsman..that along with other mods is something i havent looked into yet

 

If you want to go with the second battery look at a Polaris Diesel atv. They have 2 batteries, The extra one is bigger and mounterd where the glove box is on a normal polaris atv.

 

I bought a gell cell battery for the fish finder in my boat. It is maybe twice the size of a quad battery, and lasts forever. It's the same deep cycle battery that is used on those powered scooters for the elderly. Cost was $69.99

 

Thanks for the great suggestions. Is there a way to check the battery and charging system? I know that if I disconnect the battery it might blow the lights. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

Sure go to Radio-Shack and pick up an inexpensive volt/ohm multitester.

Put the meter on DC voltage: touch the probes to the battery terminals while the engine is running and read the voltage. It should read above 13.8 volts.

You will not blow bulbs unless you run the engine with the battery disconnected.

 

Thanks,

I thought that the voltage should be over 12 volts when running and that should tell me if the charging syste mis working properly.