Should I assume the stator is faulty? Surely once started, it should punch out enough to keep the engine running???

Who'd have a Polaris :-)

JF

 

What kind of ATV is this? Our 97 Sportsman 500 and my 2001 Sportsman 500 still run normally even with a dead battery.

Many time I left the key on and lights and the battery was stone dead in the morning, I just pull start it and go for the day like nothing happened.

 

2010 version of the same bike.

I suspect the stator is knackered

 

Just check charging back to the battery while at idle. Should be between 14-14.5 volts. If it's not check that the wiring connectors at the regulator/rectifier are secure(carb model) or the same on the pdm module if it's an efi machine. To eliminate the stator as a problem,check resistance between all yellow wires to each other that come from the stator to the regulator. Should be around 0.43 ohms resistance with NO yellow wire shorting to ground(earth). Could just be the old battery wont hold a charge(dead cell) if it's charging. OPT