I have a 2000 Sportsman 500 with a newer battery (5-6 month old). Over the last month I have noticed that when running the machine with all the head lights on they will get dim shortly after riding. Also, I had to turn my headlights off when the fan was running because with the lights and fan there was not enough voltage to engage the awd. When the fan shutoff the awd engaged and I was all set. The other day i put the battery on a charger and it charged it till the charger indicated that it was full. With my meter the voltage was 12.4 not running and running it was just over 14 volts. Last night while riding the lights seemed ok but when I went to use the winch, there was not enough power to for the winch to work. What do ya think??? If it is the battery, which one should I get? We night ride every week so the lights are always on.

Thanks,

Jim

 

the battery might have a bad cell which would kill the battery fairly quick. also the recifier(regulator) might be going bad or have a bad connection. you said it is putting out 14 volts when running, but is it still that high when the lights are dim?

 

are you sure you have the right size battery in it,if so take it to theparsts store and have it cked under a load,could be bad cell

 

I have been buying Decka , gel filled at o;reilly's, a little more $ than regular acvid filled but they have more cranking amps and seem to last longer, the one in my 425 is 3 years old , so far so good

 

Bad ground

 

I will look for a bad ground and see if I can get the battery tested.


Thanks,

Jim

 

i would think it is a ground issue. make sure there is no corrosion blocking the connection