Ok. so I've got a '96 sportsman 500 that is not charging the battery back.

before starting the battery reads 12.5 VDC. while running it reads 12.3 VDC.

I opened the "hood" and got to what i believe is the Voltage regulator? it's the one with the 3 yellow wires, one red and one brown. i unplugged them and checked the VAC across the yellow wires on the stator side while running.
Y to Y/Grey- 13.5 VAC
Y to Y/R- 29.5 VAC
y/Grey to Y/Red- 13.8 VAC

checked ohms across the wires on the stator side.
Y to Y/G- .5
Y to Y/R- .6
Y/R to Y/G- .5

none of the 3 have continuity to ground.

I'm not sure what else I need to check or what exactly is within specs. I've tried researching on the web but i'm not confident in what i've found.

all help is appreciated. It's perfect weather here to ride!

Blake

 

Stator Yellow to Yellow/Brown should read around 0.17 ohms resistance. Stator Yellow/Red to Yellow/Brown should read around 0.17 ohms also.
Stator alternator test: Battery needs to be fully charged. Place Red test lead into ac amp position. Set to DC Amps. Test Yellow to Yellow/Red. At an idle should show 5 to 7amps. Plus DON'T electric start,use the recoil or risk damage to meter! If amperage is ok you can rule the stator out as the problem and just replace the regulator/rectifier. Polaris ATV Rectifier Regulator

 

so i put one lead on the yellow and one lead on the yellow/red both on the stator side. set up the meter to read DC amps, key on, pull start, and got a total of 0.01 amps...

 

Have the idle at around 1500 rpms. Reverse the leads also and see what you have.

 

i believe i did swap them but i'm not entirely sure. i'll check again tomorrow and post back.

and just to be sure that i'm checking the right thing here,
i think the voltage regulator is the box with the yellow wires that go back to the engine.

 

Yes this is the regulator/rectifier.

 

rechecked and swapped the leads held at higher rpms, still the same thing, 0.01 checked the yellow wire and the yellow/red.

i found a regulator for 40 bucks, but i want to be sure that is the problem and not the stator.

but if the stator is bad it could cause the regulator to go bad too right?

 

Replace the cheap regulator first! better than replacing the high dollar stator and see if it solves the problem. If it ends up being the stator her is a good place that should be able to help. Ricky Stator - Manufacturer of ATV & Dirt Bike Stators, Electrical Components, Lighting Systems and Suspension Products

 

I went ahead and ordered that voltage regulator. we'll see if that's gonna do it.

 

well it came in and i put it on.
put the meter on the battery and reads 14v!
fixed it!

now to tackle the 4x4 and do some water proofing.