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Battery Question -- new member

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  SamUK 
#1 ·
I am looking at a couple options for batteries on my Rancher 420. My atv is used 90% for snow plowing and I am having some trouble after plowing for a couple hours. After I have have been plowing and regularly using the plow/winch I cannot use the winch when the fan kicks on. When fan shuts off, all is well again until fan comes back on again.
My first though was to mount a stand alone deep cycle battery on the back rack and run the winch directly off that (connect to trickle charger when done) but not sure how long it will run the winch without being connected to the alternator.
My other thought was to extend the atv battery cables and run everything off the single, larger deep cycle battery.

Will either of these options meet my needs?
 
#2 ·
Sounds like your battery may be due for replacement. Any voltage below 12.4 is considered bad and one would assume the battery has a cell or more down.
I'd recommend replacing with a Yuasa 14Ah battery if your reading is below 12.4 volts and try again.
 
#3 ·
odds are your battery is on its way out, and worse is, after your done plowing, if your NOT placing the battery on a tender to bring it back up to full charge, your killing it running it low all the time

you can PULL battery and have it load tested, a voltage reading alone does NOT tell you if battery is good or bad, it need a load test to get accurate info on battery's

another reason could be you have lot of electrical add one(extra lights, or??)
that can again be draining your stock battery faster than the OEM's system can recharge it

but most all healthy battery's can handle plowing snow(20+ yrs of doing so on mine)
the key again is either riding atv LONG after plowing to get battery back to full charge, or placing it on a tender to do so
if not, you will kill your battery way faster and will have the issue's your describing!

YES you can for sure use a deep cell battery on the rack to run winch if you like, but it shouldn't be needed!
 
#4 ·
Battery was just replaced last winter and is kept on a tender whenever it is not being used. Not sure what the issue could be. I dont use the lights when plowing. I generally wear an LED head lamp when plowing at night to cut back on battery usage.
 
#5 ·
It sounds like your ATV just can't keep up with a load of the winch. the charging circuit can't charge fast enough. Adding an extra battery being charged by that same charging circuit is not going to help much.

Is your charging circuit working? Will it recharge the battery under normal use without putting it on a tender?
 
#7 ·
yes sounds to me like your charging system is not working properly

what size winch do you have and what brand
they ALL are not as efficient , some will suck a lot ,rope power down
and last, just cause a battery was bought NEW< doesn't mean it was good, sen many brand new battery's that were bad or on there way out
all the more so one's that require charging to activate them, MANY folks use too large a charger and ruin them right off the bat

SO< again, I would take battery and have tested to just KNOW what the condition of it it
also maybe test for a short some place that is sucking power on you!
 
#8 ·
The winch is a warn rt2500. I will pull the battery and have it tested.
I am new to this so how would I start tracking down a short? Should the winch work with the key off (mine does). I have asked a couple friends and one says yes the other says no.
 
#9 ·
I put the meter on the battery tonight and it was at 13v. When I started the motor it immediately dropped to 12.4v and with throttle revved up it only went to 12.5v. After sitting for an hour the battery was at 12.9v. Not sure if it is the rectifier or the stator. I guess that's the next step. Open to suggestions!!
 
#10 ·
I would suspect it's the stator. there should be a specification for the resistance. measure with an ohmmeter.
I'm not totally positive but I think you could check the rectifier by measuring the AC ripple while the engine is running. I don't know what the spec would be something like .7 or 1.4 volts ac. If only half the rectifier is working out would only charge half as much and the ripple would be like 12 volts.
 
#14 ·
I assume you've looked in the factory service manual for your issues??!!


The answer seems obvious to me, and those who've questioned your original post.

Most importantly... How do you have your winch wired up? If wired correctly it shouldn't cause any voltage drop in the system.
 
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