Bad Battery?? New charging system??

4568 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by commanderjjones, Feb 4, 2015

cwsartain

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2015

So I posted a thread a while back about the low battery indicator coming on when the headlights are on and the fan kicks on. So the machine is at the shop right now. The have replaced the rectifier and today they replaced the stator. They ran the machine until the fan kicked on while the headlights were on and while the machine was idling, the low battery indicator kicked on again. Now they are saying the only thing it could be is the battery. So they are fully charging the battery tonight and are going to perform the same test in the morning. Whats crazy is that just a few months ago I had the battery tested at the Polaris dealer and also at an Auto parts store and both test, load tests, stated that the battery was good. So I don't think the battery is bad.

What else could this be? Is there anything I can recommend to them tomorrow if the problem persist?

Any ideas?

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fswan

· #2 · Feb 3, 2015 (Edited)

If they turned on the machine and just let it idle (~1150RPM) with the lights on, I'm not surprised that you got low bat indicator. Considering that the battery was already taxed to begin with, you wouldn't get enough voltage to charge the battery, especially when the fan kicked on. Your stator puts out enough to keep it running for awhile at idle but it has to reach about 1500 RPM before there is enough to run the machine AND start charging the battery. That figure increase to about 2000 RPM when you turn on the lights. I suspect your problem may be fixed but the dealer is not preforming the right test to verify it. In the service manual there is a test called the CHARGING SYSTEM "BREAK EVEN" TEST. It is a pretty simple test that will tell them exact voltages needed to "break even" on the charging requirements. I suspect that if they run the machine at about 2500/3000 RPM, you won't get the low bat light. Here is a description of what the break even test does (from the Service Manual);

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alloutdoors

· #3 · Feb 3, 2015

cwsartain said:
So I posted a thread a while back about the low battery indicator coming on when the headlights are on and the fan kicks on. So the machine is at the shop right now. The have replaced the rectifier and today they replaced the stator. They ran the machine until the fan kicked on while the headlights were on and while the machine was idling, the low battery indicator kicked on again. Now they are saying the only thing it could be is the battery. So they are fully charging the battery tonight and are going to perform the same test in the morning. Whats crazy is that just a few months ago I had the battery tested at the Polaris dealer and also at an Auto parts store and both test, load tests, stated that the battery was good. So I don't think the battery is bad.

What else could this be? Is there anything I can recommend to them tomorrow if the problem persist?

Any ideas?

I agree with fswan and hopefully, all will be solved this morning following a full charge. I simple test I might try would be to get the unit home, fully charge it again and check it for a couple of days. Following a full charge, voltage check the battery on Day 1 and it should be around 12.5 volts and wait then check it on Day 2 following no charging or use and if under 11 you likely have battery issues.

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commanderjjones

· #4 · Feb 3, 2015

An auto parts store can load test the battery and tell immediately if it's bad or weak, and I would be surprised if most dealerships don't have that same capability. I can't believe the dealership would throw all of those parts at it without checking the battery first. Common sense says to check the battery first before suspecting the regulator and stator.

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cwsartain

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 3, 2015

I agree with all of you. We did the battery test at the dealership where the machine was purchased and at auto parts store the same day. I actually took the batter out of the machine and took it to both places. That was back at beginning of December. Since I lost faith in my dealership, I changed my extended warranty program so that I could now use the mechanic I preferred. I told them the battery tested good at both places, so I assume that's why they didn't perform the test initially themselves. So they started with the rectifier, replaced it and problem still persist. Just replaced the stator yesterday, problem still persist. He said he did a load test on the battery and it reported bad. So he was going to fully charge the battery over night, perform the test again and let me know. I haven't heard back from them yet.

I have this big Tel Com battery at the house but not sure if it would even work. Thoughts? https://www.cdtechno.com/product/vrla/tel_ld.html

Electronics Technology Electronic device Electronic component Label

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fswan

· #6 · Feb 4, 2015

Should work fine if you can find a suitable place to mount it. Neg terminal looks hexagonal - do you have access to such a connector?

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cwsartain

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 4, 2015

There isn't a terminal post. Those are hex head bolts sticking out the top of the terminal.

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commanderjjones

· #8 · Feb 4, 2015

That will work to tell you if the battery isn't keeping up. You can then decide if you want to add that larger battery, etc.....

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cwsartain

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 4, 2015

Just to confirm, the machine's charging ability is enough for this big battery? I just don't want to overload the new charging system that's in it and cause more problems.

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commanderjjones

· #10 · Feb 4, 2015

cwsartain said:
Just to confirm, the machine's charging ability is enough for this big battery? I just don't want to overload the new charging system that's in it and cause more problems.

Well, (assuming the battery, voltage regulator, and stator are all good) it sounds like the charging system is already overloaded and that's what is causing the problem. What the larger battery will do is allow more run time before the battery gets so low that it causes problems.

If all of the above is good, you should NOT be having this issue unless you are running other electrical accessories. If you were running a winch, auxillary lights, big honkin' stereo, etc...., then I could see how this might happen. I used a single battery on my '06 XP (which I think had a weaker charging system) along with auxillary lights and small stereo (and occasionally some winching) with no issues for many years. Something is still not right in your electrical system.......maybe a bad connection, loose ground, etc.....

But to answer your question, yes your charging system will still charge the larger battery. It will just take longer.

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