I had allowed my Magnum 425 (auto) battery
to get a little low. I have been starting
it up every few days to keep the
battery up. Then I started thinking of
that drive belt just sitting there.
Is that a problem?
I could just drive around the road down to
a little dirt patch if needed.

 

If it is idling to high yes it can wear the belt because the clutch will be trying to engage ,but under normal idling there should be no problem.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

Your idle would have to be mighty high to cause any problems. You can idle @ 2000 in cold weather when it's zero to keep the motor warm and it's no problem. In fact, my SP 500 is about 1,600 right now. It helps when plowing snow, but be careful that you are not idling high enough to cause gear troubles when putting in gear.

<A HREF="http://www.godigital-design.com/96Polaris.html">Schultz Motorsports</A>

 

I found out I had the idle a little high one day, when I came out from my house after running in for a cup of coffee, and my SP500 was across the yard up against a tree. I usually leave it in gear all the time, but I learned to idle it down a little.

 

SWAC, do you have a very large, dark cloud over you at ALL times? LOL

 

I think I do, its the frustration smoke that permeates from my subtle temperance of the delights of owning my new SP500.

 

I've often heard that the Polaris charging system isn't "activated" at idle.. That you must be up and a driving RPM to charge the battery?....Myth or Fact?

 

Interesting question mudmachine. I would say the charging system does work at idle but it doesn’t put out that much. With all the extra electrical demands I put on mine, the way I check to see if the demands are too great is to hook a digital volt meter to the battery and see what it reads through the rpm range. If it drops below 12.5 then the battery is discharging, indicating there’s too much current draw. With all three lights on and hot grips and thumb warmer mine doesn’t drop below 12.5, even at idle. So I’d say there’s probably still a little output from the charging system, but that’s not really what I was testing for.

I’m careful to always have our machines in neutral during any idling period longer than just a short stop (60 seconds), thinking this is easier on the belt. Am I wrong?

------------------
FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

If the trans is in neutral and the clutch engages the trans just freewheels so i guess if the idle is high and the trans engages under high idle the trans should freewheel. The only circumstance that i can think of that would wear the belt in neutral with a high idle is if the clutch does not engage enough to make the trans freewheels.

I don't know how the charging system works on an ATV but on an automobile an alternator senses the battery's voltage drop and adjusts it accordingly. This is because a car and all its accessories runs directly off the battery and the alternators job is to keep it charged. If an engine is at idle and there is no accessories being used, there is a very little drain on the battery. The alternator only has to replenish what is lost and does not require as much force to spin. If all accessories are on the drain on the battery is much more and the alternator may reach it's maximum output. The force required to turn the alternator becomes great and the computer will raise the idle slightly to compensate.

Former Test driver ( BMW of North America )
Chris Picciotto
99 Scrambler 500

 

Flood,
Sounds good to me... What I was told, was that the charging system is kinda like the old Chevy External system... Rated at 65 amp output, but almost nothing at idle...
I know of this personally because after installing the MSD box and Accell HEI distributor in my old truck, I watched in horror as the headlights got really dim one night sitting in a drive thru...
I've never had to put the VM across the terminals to check charging on the Polaris.. but 12.8 and up sounds good..
As for idling with the belt... anytime I stop for any length of time, I shift to neutral. By doing this you allow the secondary pulley to turn freely and the belt just rides around on the pulleys. If you leave it in gear, EVEN at Idle, the belt is going to be held in place by the transmission (secondary pulley) and there will be one spot on the belt that will be held loosely on the spinning primary pulley shaft. Although its loose, gobs of heat from the crankshaft and thru friction of rubber on metal will REALLY heat up that particular spot on the belt. What makes all this worse, is if you were off your machine hooking up a tow rope to your buddys machine who is stuck.
You get back on, flick the AWD and gas it, there goes that HOT spot.. Up in smoke...