ok this is the second time it has done this my 96 xplorer 400 after about an hour of nite time trail riding the starter wont work i have to pull start it the rest of thenight, and the light go dim when at an idle and the dont light up till the engine is revved up, then after about 2 0r 3 hours of trail riding i can take it home park and the next morning everything is fine again fire's right up with the electric starter and the lights are bright does anyone have any ideas on what this could be

 

You might want to have your battery load tested if terminals are tight and fluid level is good. Could just be time for a new one. Battery could be just sulfating from age.
With lights dimming and brightening,battery may not be able to take full charge from reg/rectifier. But check connections first,if not tight can do the same thing and not completely charge? If battery load tests ok,might check into reg/rectifier. Plus are you running stock lights or add ons also? Could make a difference

 

thanx for the reply, no just running stock lights, and battery is about 9 months old, but i will load test it and proceed from there , do you know what volts the charging sytem should carry at what rpm

 

I know it doesn't start charging until a certian rpm, something like 3000. Mine stopped charging this winter, after hours of tracing wires I found a bad connection in the main harness plug inside the headlight pod. I couldn't believe how much corrosion all the connections had on them. I would check all the connections on your charging circuit and make sure they are good. Add some dielectric grease while you have it apart. A bad connection can get worse when heat is added, could be increasing the resistance on the charging circuit.

 

With it reved up a bit the output should be 13-15VDC. Put a multimeter on your battery when the engine is reving a bit. Battery should be 12.6VDC when machine is off. At idle it should be around 13VDC at the battery. Just a few #'s.

 

its carrying about 14.6 volts at just over 1/4 throttle and it has a new starter on it any idea's

 

Must be the battery if its charging and all connections are good and clean, Ive started buying gel filled batteries and have had good luck with them so far.

 

can u get them at the local parts store or do you order them off the net