I really could use some help. I have a relatively new Polaris Sportsman 800 and the atv will not start after I run it around for a while. I noticed about 2 months ago that my atv would not start after sitting a while, so I went out and bought a battery tender which seemed to solve my problem, so I thought. Lately, what has happened is that after riding for about a half hour or so , if I turn off the atv it wont start unless I get it jumped.

So here is what I know for sure, that the atv will not start with 12.5 volts in the battery.

Once started, I get 14.38 to the battery. The charging system is working.

With the motor off, when I turn the key to ignition without trying to turn the starter over, I loose .20 volts while the fuel pump kicks on and after it shuts off, the meter goes back up.10 volts.

So , if the meter reads 12.6 volts when I turn the key just enough for the fuel pump to work, the battery drops to 12.4 and back up to 12.5 before turning the key farther to start the motor. So at 12.5 the atv will not start.

Once the battery charges up to 13.7 volts the atv will start every time. it will continue to start every time until it the volts drop down to 12.5 volts. Meaning at 13, 12.9, 12.8, & 12.7 it will start until it reaches 12.5 and then the starter just ticks. I'll charge it back up to 13.7 and all is good.

Here is the confusing part for me, why will it not start once it reaches 12.8 or 13 volts while charging up again? I don't get it. It has to charge back up to 13.7 volts before it will start again.

I could really use some advice before running out to buy a new battery. Is it possibly the starter?

Does it make sense that I need 13.7 volts to kick the starter? BTW, the starter draws about 1.2 volts. So if the battery reads 13.7, the meter drops to 12.5 while it turns over to start. which as I explained earlier it does start at 13.7.

I hope I have provided enough info. for you guys to give me some help.

Everything is stock & original (Yuasa Battery & starter 4011584).

Also the tender is doing it's job and charging. I'm just thinking that the battery will not hold a charge anymore.

knackll

 

You might want to run it pass Old Polaris Tech (OPT). Send him a PM!

Cheers,

R'

 

Double check all your battery/starter connections and make sure they're tight. It is possible that the battery could be bad. Take it to Batteries Plus and they can test it. May have a bad cell or something.

 

EFI recommend s to have 12.5 min volts to sart. Suggest pull battery out and take to parts store to test for dead cell.

 

are you getting voltage readings with a multimeter or the diagnostic display?

sounds to me like the battery is toast... if it will start with a jump...

 

I have checked all the connections to & from battery. The starter connections are tight as well. I am using a voltmeter to get my readings. I guess I pull the battery and get it tested.

Thanks for the insight!

 

Honestly it doesn't sound like your battery. U can have it checked anyhow. When it does not start pull off the cover under your headlight and disconnect you ECM wire and reinstall it. My ECM went bad after 200 miles and would not start. Use electric grease also on electrical plug. Mine was under warranty. My dealer had it a while and finally fixed it. Strange thing it would start then turn it off and would not start. Let it sit for a while and it would start hmm. Bad ECM. Hope this helps

 

The atv will start after riding it as long as the battery is charged above 13 volts. It will start every time.

I' m pretty sure that if it were the ECM, the starter will turn over, but the motor will not start. My problem is the starter does not have enough power from the battery to turn over. It just clicks.

If i have 13.7 volts from the battery then the starter turns over and the motor starts. It actually starts up without hesitation, as long as there is 13.7 volts that is.

However, my machine is out of warranty by 2 months.
Maybe I'll try to get a hold of Polaris.

I doubt it will do much. I did tell the dealer prior to the warranty running out, but I thought I had the problem solved with the battery tender.

 

i dont know about your newer model atv but mine is an 05' 800 and it has a starter solenoid on the left side close to the battery my atv did something similar i changed this part mainly because where i work i get that solenoid for free . i checked many things like unplugging certain components while checking battery drain to see if there is a difference . check on each side of that solenoid to see if the voltage has a big drop. if i think of something else i will post it . in the end after riding the atv for a full day at the mud hole the problem did not come back.

 

As stated before, get the battery tested. I had a similar issue with a battery that I took in to have tested and they said was ok. After charging the battery it would read ok but did'nt have enough amperage to do the cranking. Believe me ,I went around and around with these morons who did the test and did'nt want to warranty the battery,but I pushed hard enough that they finally said here take a new battery and don't come back. And low and behold I have'nt had a problem after six months. So note this: Just because a battery reads the proper voltage does not mean that it has enough *** (amperage) to do the job. (Ever wonder why diesel engines require multiple batterys to start even though it's a 12 volt system?) answer: cranking amps