[CajunMan89]

Can someone tell me the easiest way to diagnose what could be causing my battery to not hold a charge?

I invested in my first float charger, and it seems to charge the battery to 12.6V. , but not to 13.0- 13.2 V...and that was leaving it charging/maintaining for about 10 hours.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-deluxe-battery-maintainer-and-float-charger-62813.html


I turned my key on, and the lights lit up (and since my fan is wired to the switch, it came on.) I tried to start it, but only the solenoid would buzz. I still had to start the ATV with the pull start. I rode it for about 15-20 mins at about 3-4000 RPM, and then shut it off. I turned the key on again, and had nothing...the battery was dead again. Seems to me that after running it even for that short time would have helped charge it, but it drained the battery instead.

The battery is only about 3 years old, but we had an unusually cold Winter this year, so it may have effected it.

I have the repair manual for my ATV, but I get confused on some of the procedures, I guess because everything is in so much detail. Can anyone help me in figuring out if I have a battery problem, alternator problem, or if it's an alternator problem?

Thanks in advance!

 

[shadetree]

bad battery. batteries do not start your atv with just 12 volts...they also MUST have cca's ( cold cranking amps ) this is what turns motors over, not 12 volts.

 

[JohnnySolo]

Take that battery to AutoZone and get them to charge it and see if it'll hold a charge. They will do it for free and can let you know if there's a leak in it causing it to not hold charge. What brand battery is it and what AH is it? Also if you want us to help out further, video you trying to crank it so we can hear that solenoid do it's thing. Let us know what happens.

 

[fishfiles]

might be as simple as you waited too long to get a float charger and battery is trashed , could be your bike is not charging the battery , hook a multi-meter to the battery and run the engine to verify if it is charging the battery , if it is charging ,check for a draw by disconnect the positive cables from the battery and put the negative of the meter on the positive terminal of the battery and the positive lead on the wires that were on the battery , if there is a draw on the battery you will see it on the meter , if there is a draw you disconnect one plug at a time till the draw goes away , then you know what ever is causing the draw is on that circuit , recently I had a toggle switch for a light bar that was drawing down my battery ------- either borrow or buy a load tester or take the battery to a auto store that will load test it for you ----- I would guess your battery is bad

 

[CajunMan89]

Thank you all for the tips!

I'll make a video of what it's doing as soon as I get a chance. I'll definitely get the battery tested and/or replaced. How much do they normally run?

 

[Dylan376]

around 100 bucks

 

[fishfiles]

If you get that new battery , keep it on a float charger all the time when you are not using it , it will make the battery last a lot longer than if you don't

 

[CajunMan89]

around 100 bucks

Good grief! They don't come cheap then...

 

[CajunMan89]

If you get that new battery , keep it on a float charger all the time when you are not using it , it will make the battery last a lot longer than if you don't

Do you think the one I have will do the job?

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-deluxe-battery-maintainer-and-float-charger-62813.html

 

[CajunMan89]

Take that battery to AutoZone and get them to charge it and see if it'll hold a charge. They will do it for free and can let you know if there's a leak in it causing it to not hold charge. What brand battery is it and what AH is it? Also if you want us to help out further, video you trying to crank it so we can hear that solenoid do it's thing. Let us know what happens.

To my recollection, this is it...but I'd have to compare the specs to be sure. I'll try to make a video as soon as I can.

https://www.autozone.com/miscellane...-6-1-8-in-h-agm-motorcycle-battery/927224_0_0

 

[CajunMan89]

might be as simple as you waited too long to get a float charger and battery is trashed , could be your bike is not charging the battery , hook a multi-meter to the battery and run the engine to verify if it is charging the battery , if it is charging ,check for a draw by disconnect the positive cables from the battery and put the negative of the meter on the positive terminal of the battery and the positive lead on the wires that were on the battery , if there is a draw on the battery you will see it on the meter , if there is a draw you disconnect one plug at a time till the draw goes away , then you know what ever is causing the draw is on that circuit , recently I had a toggle switch for a light bar that was drawing down my battery ------- either borrow or buy a load tester or take the battery to a auto store that will load test it for you ----- I would guess your battery is bad

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but what would my DMM show if it's charging or if there's a draw on the battery?

 

[fishfiles]

DMM , would that be a digital multi meter , if so yes

 

[fishfiles]

this maybe the same one for a bit less

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motocross-...296040?hash=item2cb997d368:g:wMEAAOSwA3dYkwY4

 

[CajunMan89]

DMM , would that be a digital multi meter , if so yes

What I mean is, what reading should I get from my meter if it's charging, or not.

 

[Dylan376]

If all is working good 12.8 is resting state, 13.5 is idling after a few mins from start up and after running for a while and revving 2500-5000 should read 14.5

 

[fishfiles]

measure your battery voltage before starting the engine , once the engine is running the voltage should increase above that voltage , how much it increases may depending on the battery condition or draw from accessories like a light bar , winch , sound system , 14.5 should be the max , the regulator is the device which monitors and adjust output as need upon demand

does that battery I linked for you look like the same exact battery AuotZone is selling for like $148 plus taxes ? I just copied and pasted the part number from the one you listed and it popped up on e-bay , $148 seems like a lot for a acid battery , I have never paid over a $100

 

[Jeepwm69]

I started putting the $30-40 batteries on mine from Ebay/Amazon.

The expensive ones last a little longer, but not 2-3 times longer.

I tried a couple of the cheap ones and they've held up well so I started buying cheap ones.

I do keep mine all on tenders so I'm sure that helps.

 

[CajunMan89]

does that battery I linked for you look like the same exact battery AuotZone is selling for like $148 plus taxes ? I just copied and pasted the part number from the one you listed and it popped up on e-bay , $148 seems like a lot for a acid battery , I have never paid over a $100

It sure does! I would just need to check the specs to be certain.

 

[retro]

I'm with Jeep, I buy $40 batteries and usually get 3 - 4 years out of them. Most of them are made in china anyway, so why pay more for the same china quality with a different pricey-er label..?

 

[CajunMan89]

What brand battery is it and what AH is it? Also if you want us to help out further, video you trying to crank it so we can hear that solenoid do it's thing. Let us know what happens.

Well y'all, here's a video of what it's doing, as well as pictures of my battery and my DMM readings:

Before starting it, I got 12.47 V.

At idle, 12.75-12.98 V…after a few minutes at idle, 13.12 V.

Revving to 2500-5000 RPM, 14.6 V.