atv battery

[redriverhunter]

I have not heard of this but, thought I would ask. Last my Polaris ranger started acting like it was going to die while idling. This morning it would almost not start gave it about 5 seconds of turning over 2 times, on the third try it started. I was thinking fuel filter my friend said might be the battery. what are your thougths. thanks

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Have you checked the voltage of the battery with engine off and again when engine is running?

[rockrat]

As said above, check battery voltage, engine off and with engine running, idle and off idle. If fuel injected, it would take a good battery to keep it running at idle, where the system isn't providing enough "juice" to keep the EFI going. Same could be said of the ignition. Wouldn't hurt to check the fuel filter why you are at it.

[NSB]

I have a Polaris and I can tell you that the charging system barely keeps up with the machine. If you’re doing a lot of “stop and go” driving with it, this will happen. I put my battery on charge to test this out and it ran great for a while until it started drawing down for starting and stopping. FWIW, Polaris has no recoil starter like my Honda’s have all had. Get another battery if you’re taking it someplace far from home to drive. You might have to walk a ways to get the battery to the machine, but not having it you might have to do a lot more walking.

[Cast10]

The biggest issues with these ATV’s is putting around in the woods. Whenever one of mine give trouble, #1, Change Spark Plug. Don’t know what kind of carb you got, but if you use Ethanol based gas, diaphragms will go bad quickly. That would be the low speed circuit.

[DocSavage]

Any corrosion on the terminals? Might be an easy first step pull the cables clean them and the battery post and procede from there.

[MrWolf]

Batteries on the Polaris Ranger do not last long. I was not about to pay dealer charges for one so I got a Walmart one and got a smart battery charger and keep it connected. I do not use my utv as much anymore and batteries kept dieing. This seems to be working so far. My symptoms were more on the not wanting to start vs yours of idling issues. That leads me to think fuel filter. Have you done the maintenance and replaced the filters?

[SSGOldfart]

Sounds like you need a fuel pump or throttle cable may need adjusting. Does it start easier when warm ?btw both of my Polaris Atv's have recoil start.:!:

[Texas by God]

I got tired of buying a battery a year for my Kawasaki Mule so I retrofitted a full size car battery to it. Life is much better now.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[HWooldridge]

I bought a Yuasa battery for mine - it arrived dry with the acid in a separate container with 6 spouts that distributed the electrolyte equally. The Yuasa brand seems to last longer than others - I think the last one went 6 years before it wouldn't take a charge anymore.

[SSGOldfart]

Spend about $30.00 for a low current float charger,and you won't have to replace your battery every year. I don't use either atv enough to keep them charged. I'm trying to start my atv's every week and let it run until the cooling fan comes on twice (about a 1/2 hour). I spent a good deal on my largest atv this year so I'm going to keep it running if I can. float charger will also keep the battery from freezing/or quitting from the cold.

[Electrod47]

I have a Polaris and I can tell you that the charging system barely keeps up with the machine. If you’re doing a lot of “stop and go” driving with it, this will happen. I put my battery on charge to test this out and it ran great for a while until it started drawing down for starting and stopping. FWIW, Polaris has no recoil starter like my Honda’s have all had. Get another battery if you’re taking it someplace far from home to drive. You might have to walk a ways to get the battery to the machine, but not having it you might have to do a lot more walking.

I have a Polaris 570 and just changed the battery AGAIN!, I'd rather have another prostate exam than change the battery again. Whoever engineered that was a real sour pickle.

[georgerkahn]

I strongly concur re suggestion to employ a trickle charger! I bought a few from Northern Tool when they were $23 on sale. (I need add a (true!) story from my Hunter Safety Education days when as part of the orientation chapter I inquired if anyone in the class knew about Polaris (the North Star, to use for navigation)? One 13-year-old started enthusiastically waving his hand, and I called on him for the answer. His response? "We had a (I forget the brand name he stated) which was a piece of **** -- so my dad sent it down the road and we got a Polaris." It's been a few years, and Polaris 4-wheelers are not that abundent in my area -- but when I see, or hear of one -- I always recall that Hunter Safety class :) :) :))
geo

[uscra112]

This is a welcome thread, since I'm starting to look for an ATV myself, to help me get around the BOL, since the undercarriage I was issued at birth has become so unreliable. Been using a Ford 8N since 2009, and I always have a good quality "battery maintainer" hooked up to it. Getting to be too hard to climb on and of the tractor.

Word of warning - a lot of cheap trickle chargers sold on Amazon and evilBay are worse than junk. Over a winter they can actually ruin your battery. (Ask me how I know.) Get a good, name brand one from your NAPA store.

Back on the subject - are there ATV brands that can be recommended? My usage would be worst case - start and run for 10-15 minutes, then not use it for a week. The Ford is a real problem this way, it fouls plugs even when I lean it out so it stumbles badly on acceleration. It never gets warm.

[HWooldridge]

This is a welcome thread, since I'm starting to look for an ATV myself, to help me get around the BOL, since the undercarriage I was issued at birth has become so unreliable. Been using a Ford 8N since 2009, and I always have a good quality "battery maintainer" hooked up to it. Getting to be too hard to climb on and of the tractor.

Word of warning - a lot of cheap trickle chargers sold on Amazon and evilBay are worse than junk. Over a winter they can actually ruin your battery. (Ask me how I know.) Get a good, name brand one from your NAPA store.

Back on the subject - are there ATV brands that can be recommended? My usage would be worst case - start and run for 10-15 minutes, then not use it for a week. The Ford is a real problem this way, it fouls plugs even when I lean it out so it stumbles badly on acceleration. It never gets warm.

If you are having trouble climbing, you might look at one of the side by side ATV’s. I have a single seat Yamaha 600 but you have to mount it like a horse - it was a PITA until I had my knee repaired.

That 8N probably needs a ring job; I owned one for a few years that had good compression and it ran like a sewing machine.

[uscra112]

As said above, check battery voltage, engine off and with engine running, idle and off idle. If fuel injected, it would take a good battery to keep it running at idle, where the system isn't providing enough "juice" to keep the EFI going. Same could be said of the ignition. Wouldn't hurt to check the fuel filter why you are at it.

This is worth checking. I discovered that my Honda Odyssey wouldn't stay running at idle after I jumped it one cold day last year. Had to leave the jumper battery connected for a few minutes, to let the main battery build up some charge.

[cwlongshot]

Batteries on the Polaris Ranger do not last long. I was not about to pay dealer charges for one so I got a Walmart one and got a smart battery charger and keep it connected. I do not use my utv as much anymore and batteries kept dieing. This seems to be working so far. My symptoms were more on the not wanting to start vs yours of idling issues. That leads me to think fuel filter. Have you done the maintenance and replaced the filters?


Get a battery tender & keep it plugged in!!. Im still on my FACTORY Polaris battery 2015.... ZERO ISSUES!!! Ran my 2007 Polaris 7 years SAME BATTERY!!

CW

This one I have now https://www.colonialpowerandsport.com/junior-0-75-amp-12v-charger-56-1129.html

[Shawlerbrook]

Ditto on the battery tender ! Also check that the cables are tight and clean like said above. ATV batteries last about 5 or 6 years and using the lights is a big drain.

[winelover]

Have 2017 Polaris 570 Ranger EPS, bought new in October of 2016. Replaced the battery for the first time, last year, with a maintenance free Auto Zone AGM battery and added automatic CTEK battery charger/maintainer at that time. I never did have starting issues with it sitting for weeks, if not months, between uses. I don't start it up just to go get the mail.

Replacing the battery wasn't a big deal. Had to elongate one hole on the hold down bracket cause the replacement battery was about a quarter inch longer than the original Polaris battery.

Winelover

[bosterr]

I had Battery Tender Jr.s on both the mowing tractor and my ATV for 12 years and 2 years ago changed them out anyway. I didn't want the ATV to leave me sitting out in the middle of nowhere. I replaced it with a Youssa as well. The water level needs to be checked in tractor batteries routinely.

[geezer56]

If you can find or fabricate enough space, a 250 cca or so lawn mower battery is the way to go. Instead of a $100 plus battery with a 90 day warranty, you get a $30 battery with a 12 month warranty. I have done a half dozen or so like that.

[MrWolf]

If you can find or fabricate enough space, a 250 cca or so lawn mower battery is the way to go. Instead of a $100 plus battery with a 90 day warranty, you get a $30 battery with a 12 month warranty. I have done a half dozen or so like that.

Interesting idea. Thanks

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

This is a welcome thread, since I'm starting to look for an ATV myself, to help me get around the BOL, since the undercarriage I was issued at birth has become so unreliable. Been using a Ford 8N since 2009, and I always have a good quality "battery maintainer" hooked up to it. Getting to be too hard to climb on and of the tractor.

Word of warning - a lot of cheap trickle chargers sold on Amazon and evilBay are worse than junk. Over a winter they can actually ruin your battery. (Ask me how I know.) Get a good, name brand one from your NAPA store.

Back on the subject - are there ATV brands that can be recommended? My usage would be worst case - start and run for 10-15 minutes, then not use it for a week. The Ford is a real problem this way, it fouls plugs even when I lean it out so it stumbles badly on acceleration. It never gets warm.

Are you going to use the ATV like a tractor? or like a golfcart?
If your needs are similar to tractor use, look for an ATV with a real transmission, instead of the belt driven CVT. Also, driving slow with frequent stops will prematurely wear out a Belt in a CVT drive system. I like Honda, they have a motorcycle style transmission, good for pulling trailers, plowing snow, and other such work.

[uscra112]

Are you going to use the ATV like a tractor? or like a golfcart?
If your needs are similar to tractor use, look for an ATV with a real transmission, instead of the belt driven CVT. Also, driving slow with frequent stops will prematurely wear out a Belt in a CVT drive system. I like Honda, they have a motorcycle style transmission, good for pulling trailers, plowing snow, and other such work.

More like an offroad golf cart. I'm badly hampered by low back pain that they can't seem to solve. I can lift stuff but can't walk far at all. Even 50 yards to get out to my test range on the "farm" here is all but impossible. I'll keep the 8N for tractor jobs, or more likely get my neighbor to help. He's got a 2-seater that he uses constantly, like every other farmer around here, which is what's got me thinking.

Partial to Honda myself. I ran a large Honda motorcycle dealership in the '70s, and know how dedicated they are to customer support. Not too fond of belt drives either. And definitely not hydrostatics.

[Reg]

Bought a Polaris 570 brand new and had nothing but troubles as far as the battery went.
True it was used in a lot of stop and go usage. In the several years we owned it I bet I tried six different batteries, all worked for a month or so then they consistently failed to start the machine. Seemed like it would start to turn over then just stop, put it on a charger then it worked for a day or two then back to not charging. In my opinion the battery was too small for the job and almost impossible to get to. Traded it in for a new CanAm 850 in 2020. Problem solved. Has sat for up to 4 months in the dead of winter without using a charger and has never failed to start.

[uscra112]

Looks like Polaris may be falling off my short list!

Either battery much too small, inadequate charging capacity or a parasitic drain engineered in. Possible, (but not likely), bad rectifiers?

The 1970s BMW airheads all had a battery that was too small in them. The R100s especially could not be started in cool weather unless the battery was 110%. (I had an R100 for a few years.) Fix was to install a lawnmower battery. There was an aftermarket kit just for that purpose. I have one in my present R75/7.

Another thought is these lithium-ion replacement batteries. Very expensive, but they don't lose charge over time the way lead-acid batteries do.

[.429&H110]

Nobody has mentioned the winch yet.

Plowing snow is good fun, the winch picks up the blade.
The winch is just about a dead short across a small battery.
A gel cell when shorted dead is toast.
Was cheeper to hire the neighbor to plow than to buy batteries.

Yes! the winch will pull out the wheeler when stuck in a moose wallow
and No! a small gel cell won't run accessories like a 60 amp alternator and a big battery will.

When you load up a winch, you can damage even a big gel cell, thats a lotta amps.
Do you want to blow a fuse, or get outta the mud?

[MaryB]

Friend put a solar panel and a charge controller on his. It isn't stored inside so charges every day... He only rolled it once and had to replace the panel...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've been curious about the lithium-ion replacement batteries for a ATV, They must need a wiring kit or adaptor? or something? so the machine will charge it correctly, right? My 2004 Honda 450 Foreman has been pretty good with batteries. I've owned this since I bought it new. I usually get 3 years on a battery. I do use it to plow snow, but don't use a winch, my setup uses a manual lift for the blade, which utilizes a mechanical advantage via a spring loaded lever, so lifting the plow is easy.

[uscra112]

Generally they're a drop-in replacement for lead-acid. Charge management hardware/firmware is built in. I don't know whether you can eliminate your vehicle's regulator, but I assume not. A "12v" Li-Ion is 3 cells in series, and tops off at 12.6 volts, a wee bit lower than a lead-acid. Li-Ions can dump a hellacious amount of current for a short time, which makes them ideal for starting engines., and their self-discharge rate is microscopic. (I've got emergency flashlights that haven't been charged in years, but they light right up when called upon.) I considered one for that BMW R-100 I mentioned, but in the end I just sold the bike. Li-Ions are much lighter than lead-acid, so they're also ideal for racers, and I suppose aircraft, assuming that the FAA allows them. (In a small plane the weight difference might upset the longitudinal balance, leading to dangerous control problems, and in any case they're a fire hazard.)

Friend of mine replaced the 6v battery in his BSA A-10 with one, and marveled at how much brighter his lights were. Ought to be, a 2-cell series pack of li-Ions is a bit over 8 volts! I never found out how much it shortened his bulb life!

A winch probably draws less amps than a starter, but it does so for a longer time, and does so repeatedly, which will drain a battery pretty quickly.

Many smaller motorcycle engines in my day had permanent-magnet rotors, and could not be designed to produce an awful lot of current, because their "regulators" were just a Zener diode that dumped the excess as heat. I would HOPE that modern ATV/UTV engines avoid that trap, but maybe not. The design IS considerably cheaper than a real alternator with a live field rotor.

Another sidebar - there are special batteries for older farm tractors that a four lead-acid cells - about 8 volts. These were meant to replace 6v batteries which struggled to turn over those old engines. You can still get one for 8N Fords - the original generator will charge them with a little modification. But I converted mine to a 12v alternator and battery. Spins that 6v starter motor like fury!

[MrWolf]

Looks like Polaris may be falling off my short list!

Either battery much too small, inadequate charging capacity or a parasitic drain engineered in. Possible, (but not likely), bad rectifiers?

The 1970s BMW airheads all had a battery that was too small in them. The R100s especially could not be started in cool weather unless the battery was 110%. (I had an R100 for a few years.) Fix was to install a lawnmower battery. There was an aftermarket kit just for that purpose. I have one in my present R75/7.

Another thought is these lithium-ion replacement batteries. Very expensive, but they don't lose charge over time the way lead-acid batteries do.

I've had zero problems with my 2017 Polaris Ranger EPS 570-4 crew except for the battery which in the last year was probably my own fault due to not using it. I have since replaced the battery and have one of those smart charger floater things. (Highly technical terms). Seems to be working fine. My Ranger has front and back seats and the bed that manually tilts. I have a real bad back and I use it when not using the Kubota. Before my Kubota I had put a HF winch on the Ranger and used a deer lift in the front as a carryall. Carried fence and everything else around on it and it works. I would recommend my UTV to anyone with a bad back. Fairly easy to do maintenance on also like oil change, etc. within reason of course. Good luck.
Ron

[Geezer in NH]

I have a Polaris 570 and just changed the battery AGAIN!, I'd rather have another prostate exam than change the battery again. Whoever engineered that was a real sour pickle.

You got one when you bought the Polaris