first off i would like to say great site, have been reading around and thought i would register and ask a few questions.

a few background things, i bought this four wheeler from an individual that was upsizing and the four wheeler had been sitting up for about a year, other than that it runs good and i havent had any major problems out of it.
it is a 1992 4x2 250 model YFB250D

my questions will start with the lights, had a friend ask me to go riding the other evening after dark around our house and we noticed the lights were kind of dim, only see about 5 feet ahead of the four wheeler. i thought it may be the headlights were weak, so i went and bought some aftermartket fog lamps (autozone) and replaced them. But that didnt change anything. They also are weak, unless i unplug one of them and only run one light not the set. then its alittle better. so the friend advised the stator may be corroded.
hence my second question, after him loosening the cover for the stator, it some liquid started coming out. i assume engine oil (unsure) thats when i got a little cautious and told him to replce the cover and i would see what i could find out online before tearing into the motor like that.
my second quesiotn refers to the liquid that came out, is that in fact engine oil, if so then i am fine cause the dipstick still show full. but if its something else, gear oil or something for that chamber, i need to check and refill.
thirdly, i was hoping someone would know something about winches, the one thats one the four wheeler is unhooked, the wires are just laying in the battery compartment, i was wondering is this normal. does everyone run without them hooked up till they need them, is it pretty safe to hook it up to the battery to check it and see if it works. havent had the need for it, but would like to know if it works in case i do need it later.

to recap
(1) does anyone have any sugestions about the chargind system or the light issue. or any sugestions for me to check
(2) does anyone know for sure what the liquid was that drained out when the cover was loosened
(3) does anyone know how i can check the winch without burning anything up if there a problem with it (i thought about just fusing it and checking it out that way, and that may be the best way to do it)

thanks for any help you can provide. i know these things are petty, but i would like to get them resolved i f i can. the four wheeler seems to be a good one and me anf the family plan on getting plenty of use out of it

thanks again
mike

 

1. check and see how much your amps drop when u turn on the lights. i am not for sure how much it will drop bit shouldn't drop a whole lot. you might have to buy a Clymer book for references they're only like $30.

2. it's engine oil so don't worry about it just makew sure to check it if before going riding

3. i'm not for sure about checking them, my friends that run winches just take apart the ends every now and then and clean the brushes and check all the bearings every once in a while & yes as long as ur winch is in good operating condition u can just leave them hooked up but don't use the winch without the quad running.

hope i helped ya out a little bit

 

the lights are probably like that from being left out in the rain or something, i had a warrior that was like that, they were very dim and i just had to clean the bottom of the bulbs and also where the bulbs connect, on warriors they connect into like this socket with a spring in it and i had to clean the spring and all up real good so it had strong connection, it might be a similar problem with your bike.

 

i appreciate the response. i feel better now about the oil issue. the only other issue is the lights and winch. i will have to see if i can check the winch out using a fuse link just in case something is wrong with it. and the lights, i may just get it to a shop and let them check that part out, since i have no experience with elctronics to amount to anything.
thanks again and the response is appreciated

 

So my dad and I were given a 4 wheeler that hadn't ran in a while. We decided to tinker with it to see if we could get it running. Cleaned the carb and changed the oil, oil filter and air filter, spark plug and new gas. It started and ran but had an intermittent miss. Wouldn't climb outside of 1st gear at low rpm. Would run great downhill wide open but would out of nowhere just fall out cometely....then re-engage wide open this continued until I slowed down back into low rpms. I figured it had a miss so I replaced the igniter and coil and plug wire... Also a new carburetor just in case it was a fuel issue. Now can't get it to fire and stay running. A new magneto/stator is insanely high compared to other years, like $300 higher so I'm hoping that's not it.

The red one in the back