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voltage regulator

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#1 ·
what is the voltage specs for a Polaris ranger? mine hunts around from 14.2 to 15.2. Is this normal?
 
#2 ·
15.2 is a bit high but some of it depend upon the state of your battery charge. A battery with an internal short could cause high rate of charging.
 
#3 ·
FB, the older (more experienced) Rangers spec charge rate is between 13.0 & 14.6. I would have the 'new' OEM battery tested and keep an eye on that upper end voltage.
 
#4 ·
what would I be looking for in testing the battery? engine starts fine lights and everything all good. battery is almost 2 years old
 
#5 ·
FB, load tested for remaining capacity and resistance within. A lot of batteries work well ..............................until they don't and QUIT with no warning or previous maladies. I dislike long distance walks in 90 degree heat from a no-start so when I see a 15.2 charge rate it makes me think about a future long walk....
 
#6 ·
Mine , (rgr800xp,2014) never went above 14.1.



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#7 ·
As Kris states, load test for sure. If the battery has cells with caps where you add (hopefully) distilled water occasionally, you can take the probes of a voltmeter and stick them into the electrolyte between each cell and get voltage readings there. Each pair of cells should read 2 volts or a bit more if the battery is charged. (6 caps X 2+ volts= 12 volt battery) If you find a pair of cells with a substantial difference from the others it's likely that cell is shorted or partially shorted.
 
#9 ·
Use of a hydrometer is pretty easy tell if your battery has cells that are capped and easy to get to. I usually disconnect a battery and charge with small charger till charger indicates full charge, disconnect,test voltage and test again in 24 hours. If the voltage is below 13 after first disconnecting or below 12 after 24 hours it's not healthy IMO. My farm probably had a ton of batteries needing regular tending. I know that garden tractor manufactures recommend a monthly full battery charge. A overnight 4 amp charge can extend lot of batteries measurably.
 
#8 ·
Forgot to mention the 'FREE' battery load test @ AUTOZONE and many othe BIG parts outlets. Overcharging will eventually cook a otherwise good battery. Two years on a original OEM battery is doing pretty good from what I have seen on new Rangers down here.,
 
#11 ·
checked out the battery found corrosion on the positive terminal , cleaned it up and drove it. Got steady readings from 12.2 to 12.4 which I assume is normal?
 
#12 · (Edited)
No not normal for a vehicle with the motor running. A fully charged battery would be up somewhere around 12.8v after it has normalized from a charge. With the charging system and a running motor it should charge from the middle 13's to low 14's generally. If the battery is low or bad it will charge higher and when the battery gets charged up it will go down. But a steady 12.2-12.4v would indicate the charging system is probably not working or is not working correctly.
Or you have a really heavy load on the charging system.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Polaris specs go up to 14.6, just to clarify the readings I get are from the voltmeter in the instrument cluster
 
#15 ·
Hi I had the same high voltage issues with my 03 ranger. The voltage was always around 15 volts with lights on. I destroyed 2 batteries. I replaced the voltage regulator with a Polaris one and bought a Decca battery (better warranty (2yr) than Polaris and just about everybody else, and a little cheaper. Everything has been working perfect for over three years. With your high voltage issue make sure the plate that holds the regulator to the frame doesn't have any corrosion on the surfaces that hold it to the frame and regulator, that could cause a bad ground .Make sure all your connections are clean. If you still get a high volt output I would suspect the voltage regulator providing your battery load checks good.
 
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