sounds like charging system. was your Odessey full charged when you load tested it? they have 3 year warranty.

 

sounds like either your voltage regulator is out, or your stator is out.

This exact thing happend on my 07 this spring. My voltage regulator (also known on these units as the computer) was out. it wasn't as expencive as I expected, like around $150?

first though if you have a multimeter you should check your stator output.

here's how.

on the back right hand side of the engine , near where the shifter cable comes out for the transmission you'll see a plug with 4 wires on it. I think one's black (groung) and the other 3 are either white or yellow.

Leave the plug together, and just stick the leads of you multimeter through the backside of the plug to get the readings. not sure if the readings will be the same if you unplug it and just contact the pins instead.

In the test below, it refers to Y1,Y2 and Y3 each as one of the yellow/white wires. when you test with your mulitmeter you'll be checking just between those wires only.

(copied and pasted from service manual)

TEST 3: Measure AC Voltage Output of Each Stator Leg at
Charging RPM
1. Set the selector dial to measure AC Voltage.
2. Start the engine and let it idle.
3. While holding the engine at a specified RPM, separately
measure the voltage across each ’leg’ of the stator by
connecting the meter leads to the wires leading from the
alternator (Y1 to Y2, Y1 to Y3, Y2 to Y3).
4. Refer to the following table for approximate AC Voltage
readings according to RPM. Test each leg at the specified
RPM in the table.
Example: The alternator current output reading should be
approximately 18 VAC at 1300 RPM between each ’leg’.
NOTE: If one or more of the stator leg output AC
voltage varies significantly from the specified value,
the stator may need to be replaced.
RPM Reading AC Voltage (VAC) Reading
1300 18 VAC ± 25 %
3000 42 VAC ± 25 %
5000 64 VAC ± 25 %

----------------------

dont' get too hung up on the numbers or rpms, just make sure that when you test all 3 wires that the rpm is constant, (such as at idle) and that all your voltage measurements between the wires should read pretty close together.

if this test goes ok, you need to order a new voltage regulator, it's on the passenger side under the hood.

if ya have any more questions, give a shout!

 

Let me get this straight.....the stator output is AC, not DC??? :?:

 

Thanks for the info! unfortunately I'm trapped here at the fire house until Sunday but I will check it out then. Is there any way to check the voltage regulator first? What am I looking for? and could it be a fuse?

 

I don't think it has a fuse, Jerry has an 06 he would know. JERRY YOU OUT THEIR???? 8)

 

yes, the stator puts out AC voltage which goes into the voltage regulator and converts it to DC. Just like any alternator on a car or pickup.

By testing the stator you can verify that the voltage regulator is either bad or ok. if you do the test above and the stator is ok, then you know that the voltage regulator is most likely at fault. Don't know of any other way to test the voltage regulator.

Just be happy you don't have an 05/06, their voltage regulators are part of the main computer which costs around $500. On our 07s the voltage regulator is a a seperate unit alltogether.

If you don't feel like testing it, and you wanna throw parts at it, I'd just buy a new voltage regulator. it's pretty affordable as far as polaris goes, and they are much more likely to go out than the stator is.

 

What does the voltage regulator look like? (I'm sure I can figure it out).

I may have access to an 08 700XP, could I try the another regulator to see if it worked?

 

it's under the hood on the passenger side, it's an aluminum box with fins on it, oval shaped about approx 8-10 inches long approx 6 inches wide. if the plugs are the same between your 07 and your friends 08, and the boxes look the same, I'd swap them out and see if it fixes your problem.

 

I don't think it has a fuse, Jerry has an 06 he would know. JERRY YOU OUT THEIR???? 8)

Nope, no fuse on the '05 or '06 XP......but I'm pretty sure that the '07 and '08 electrical systems are the same, so trying your friends regulator may help answer that question.

 

I just did the stator test on right rear of engine: at idle all combinations were at about 17.8 V at idle, when I set the speedometer to tach to check at various RPMs the tach read 0 when i revved it up it would go up but return to zero. I next checked the blink codes and it came to 61 (All clear-no issue).
What does the tach thing mean? the tach was working a few weeks ago.

 

my tach also did the same thing when my voltage regulator went out. it would come and go intermittantly. your voltage readings look good as long as all 3 legs were pretty close together. I'd order your new voltage regulator, looks like you figured out the problem!

 

Well guess what?????
I waved a magic wand over it and it is fixed!!!!
Seriously......I figured I would try all of the connections and see if there was any corrosion or bad wiring somewhere. after messing with all of the wires and plugs the thing started charging and the tach started working. I pulled the plugs apart and put a little grease in each one to try to avoid corrosion. I will run it and keep an eye on it to see what happens. I may even wire an amp meter under the dash so I can watch it ALL of the time.

Thanks for all of the help and tips!!!

 

glad its working for you again!

I hope it stays working for ya though. My regulator was on the fritz for about a month before I finally realized what was going on with it. it would work for awhile then it would flash the batter light for awhile, finally, about the time I needed it most, it quit me alltogether.

Seriously though, I hope you found your issue. like you said, keep a close eye on it!

 

Thanks! and I still have this bit of doubt in my mind that the issue is gone forever. I still have my old Odessy battery I'm going to charge up and take along as well as wire in a meter so I can see if it stops charging again. What I have learned is when that battery light starts flashing you don't have much time left.

Again Thanks for the feedback on this one Adam! With your help I have learned a little more about my Ranger, I really like my dealer but I hate to pay his shop rate.

 

Well I guess I won't give up my day job to become a magician!

I installed an in dash voltmeter to be able to see what was going on as well as a deep cycle battery (with a shut off) in the storage box for some extra power. We went on a weekend trip and I soon found that we were only charging some of the time, I also noticed when this was taking place the tachometer was not working properly. There was no rhyme nor reason as to when it would work other than it might work at start up and quit after a while and not charge until it was shut off again. I did charge the battery from my truck between rides.

I think this has been going on for a long time as I noticed the battery would support the machine for quite a while before the battery indicator would flash (I posted this a year ago: http://www.prcforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=27862&highlight=&sid=9ccfb98d21cf2e8c6d2cf2effa683d54 ). I did however notice the throttle delay periodically when the battery was down a little. Being able to watch the voltmeter was the tell-tale that is has been intermittent.

Sounds like a new voltage regulator is on the menu.

 

I think I can say we finally got the problem solved! put a new voltage regulator in, went for a 60 mile night ride running lights, radio, cb, etc. and she performed like a champ! The machine even ran better! better throttle response, no hesitations. I think this thing has been a problem for a long time and I couldn't see it until I wired in the voltage meter and could see it charging intermitantly

Thanks for all of the help!!!

 

glad to see ya got it fixed!

 

figured I might revive this one after posting in the tech section. I would be ALL on the regulator train right now with one that is doing something similar BUT I decided to test the stator loaded and finding very low voltages under load. I did not have the factory specs on hand but I know from experience the stator should crank about bat voltage at idle and continue to climb with revs. I was VERY surprised to see the voltage go flat with load. I think it was around 12VAC and did NOT climb with the fan and lights on.

However, I am now trying to reason with myself that the regulator might actually be bleeding power right back to the chassis and shorting which could explain the Vdrop. I wish I knew how much power the stators could make so I can figure this stuff out. If I see high current from the stator and low current from the reg, I can determine that power is being sinked in the reg and back to the chassis.

Might be over thinking this and just need to throw a reg in it?

 

........Might be over thinking this and just need to throw a reg in it?

Knowing the added expense and difficulty of replacing the stator, i think I'd try replacing the regulator first. Although I have seen stators fail, it is very rare, and I've seen a BUNCH of regulator failures.