alternator trouble or what?

[dirtdawg]

i think the alternator on my quad is really screwed because i have gone through 2 batteries in the past 6 months. the batteries do not charge while riding, even in excess of 2 hours or so. the batteries charge good on the charger, but when you put a load on them they crap out right away. the alternator /stator charges the battery, and it is not charging them like ever. i did all the testing you can do in the manual and stuff and have not found any problems. i did find a weird plug or fuse though that may have been put in by some hack that had it before me. i'll try to take a pic of it and maybe you guys can tell me if it is supposed to be there or not. i have found nothing in the manual on it though. i found a stator on ebay, but i don't want to spend the money without double-checking with some fellow 250 experts, lol. So, the question is, is the stator/alternator bad?

[MRJACK9]

If you are using a "car" charger to charge your batteries thats problem# 1. A car charger puts to much current thru the battery and cooks and destorys it. Use only a charger rated for 1 1/2 Amp or less. Also, never jump your battery to a car battery.

Using a voltmeter measure the voltage at the battery terminals. Start the engine and again measure the voltage at idle or slightly above. There should be a building increase in the voltage difference, that would indicates a good generator and a charging battery. It will take hours for a full charge condition and voltage level. It would be best to have a known good battery when doing this.

Failue to charge would indicate a bad fuse, voltage regulator, or generator at this point.

[MRJACK9]

If you are using a "car" charger to charge your batteries thats problem# 1. A car charger puts to much current thru the battery and cooks and destorys it. Use only a charger rated for 1 1/2 Amp or less. Also, never jump your battery to a car battery.

Using a voltmeter measure the voltage at the battery terminals. Start the engine and again measure the voltage at idle or slightly above. There should be a building increase in the voltage difference, that would indicates a good generator and a charging battery. It will take hours for a full charge condition and voltage level. It would be best to have a known good battery when doing this.

Failue to charge would indicate a bad fuse, voltage regulator, or generator at this point.

[dirtdawg]

i'm using a trickle charge made for atv batteries, so that's not the problem. as soon as i try to start it it goes to the solenoid clicking and won't turn over. the battery is fully charged above 12.6 volts and everything and the load kills it instantly.

[hondariderdylan]

if its full charged and it goes to clicking when you hit the starter then the batterys not the problem

try to replace the stator/alternator or whatever it is and see if that helps

after that if it still doesnt want to crank, go after your starter

will it go dead while your riding?

[dirtdawg]

that has happened before and it makes like a computerized ring noise like when you hit the starter button if it is already running. i put my 300ex battery in it and it fired right up. i had an everstart battery from wal mart in there before. maybe it froze in the winter or something. i took a reading on the good battery before i rode and it was 12.53 volts. i took it for a spin for like 10 minutes and it went up to like 12.8. i let it run at idle for about 10 minutes and it went all the way up to 13 volts. i shut it off for a couple hours and went back to start it up and it was fine, started up on one click of the ignition switch. i found a cheap stator, but i'll go out tomorrow afternoon to check the reading on it. if there are further problems, what should i look for?

[MRJACK9]

Based on your last report you do not have any charging problems

[dirtdawg]

i thought so when i checked after riding for a few minutes. i don't know if this is a bad habit, but whe the battery woulfd run down i would not charge it 100%. i would only charge it until i could get it started. would that be an issue? maybe i should just put the battery on the charger every time i am done for the day. if i don't ride it, maybe hook it up once a week. i primarily ride the 300 but my friends ride this one.

[hondariderdylan]

if the battery will hold a charge then i would say leave it alone

my original battery hasent touched a charger in 2 and a half years and it still fires first tap of the starter

[MRJACK9]

The electrical capacity of a battery that will just start the engine vs. a full charge is several times in magnitude. Charge it up full and then forget about it or leave your trickle charger on all the time. I charge and forget on mine and never have had a problem.

[dirtdawg]

anyone have another idea? maybe the regulator? it's not the alternator. the problem is when the machine is off, never with the key on.

[MRJACK9]

Please restate your problem, reading down the posts, your last post does not seem to agree with the first.

[dirtdawg]

alright. i did further investigation last night. i tore the harness apart finding no shorts. i tore it apart up to the gas tank from the rear, not he whole thing. whenever i connect the battery and starter relay up, it doesn't cooperate. i have the relay hooked up the right way as it says in the manual, positive to yellow and red and negative to light green. i connect the positive cable and make sure everything is snug. i touch the negative cable to the negative battery port to try and connect it and get a large spark. this is with the key off and never on. obviously, it is drawing a lot of current from the battery with the key off which is draining my battery down. this makes sense. it still seems to me like a short or the starter relay may be shot.

[dirtdawg]

i think i found the problem: the starter relay was hooked up wrong. i had the short cable stretched so that the negative and positive of that were on the starter relay, so it was not hooked up to the battery. it doesn't spark anymore with the key off either. i'll have to see after a couple days.

[MRJACK9]

1.Disconnect the red wire from the starter relay. Does the negative arc when connected?
2.If not, defective starter relay.
3.If so, disconnect the 15A main fuse. Does the negative arc when connected?
4.If so, your ATV has been miss wired or after market elec. added incorrectly.
5.If not, defective voltage reg. Or ignition switch.

An ohmmeter can be used to troubleshoot the starter relay and ignition switch.

[dirtdawg]

do you mean to touch the wires together or touch them to the connector on the relay?

[MRJACK9]

In a previous post you indicated that you connected the negative cable to the battery post and the problem occurred. That is what I was referring to.

[dirtdawg]

usually the battery would die overnight. i went out this morning and it maintained the charge, so it seems to be all set now. i just need to cover the harness back up now and i'll see if it does anything by the end of the week.