# Battery Discharged



## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

New battery, little over 3 months old. Charged and installed correctly. Have not been able to ride the last 2 months but have cranked and run about twice a week for the most part. A 3 week downtime for some cleaning and mods including gas tank mod. Ran the battery down trying to restart after getting it back together. Let it sit for a couple of hours and it fired up. Back to just cranking ever couple of days. No real run time. Battery dead yesterday. Jump started. Let run a little while. Killed it. Voltage was at 12.7. Cranked it and running voltage was 25.8. Seems too high to me. I think it may be overchargeing my battery. Can anyone tell me why or what is causing it to be so high or if that is what it is supposed to be?:1zhelp:


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## jakedogg (Aug 14, 2009)

Bad regulator/rectifier.


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## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

Thanks. I appreciate the help.


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## foot0069 (Feb 4, 2011)

If you jump your bike with a running car it's almost gauranteed to fry the charging bits.


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## jakedogg (Aug 14, 2009)

foot0069 said:


> If you jump your bike with a running car it's almost gauranteed to fry the charging bits.


Huh? I'm sorry but you have been misinformed.


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## z24guy (Nov 27, 2010)

foot0069 said:


> If you jump your bike with a running car it's almost gauranteed to fry the charging bits.



Well then I must have fried all the charging bits on my Brute, Bayou and dads Arctic Cat.

No really though, think about it. 12 volts are 12 volts. You could mount a 12 volt battery from a Caterpillar on your quad if you wanted. It would perform exactly the same as an ATV battery. Well, it would last a lot longer if the charging system died and it would weigh 50 times more....

But honestly unless YOU do something wrong, like hook it up backwards, or if you have other underlying issues with the charging system boosting off of a car or pickup will not hurt your machine. I've done it lots.

Where do people get these ideas anyway?


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## DaveMK1 (Nov 8, 2009)

I actually remember reading in my ZX6 owners manual to never jump start from a running vehicle because the high amperage from the vehicles charging system will damage bikes charging system. Maybe that's just on a kawasaki motorcycle not quad, but I will only jump a 4 wheeler from another 4 wheeler.


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## z24guy (Nov 27, 2010)

Well really when you're hooking the cables up both vehicles (ATV or otherwise) should be off. Then you start the 'donor' vehicle, let it run for a minute then try to start the dead one.

This is because any sparking at the battery terminals when you're hooking cables up can damage alternators and voltage regulators.

But as long as you have a 12v charging system on both and take the time to do everything correctly you will not hurt anything.


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## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

jakedogg said:


> Bad regulator/rectifier.


Can anyone tell me what can go bad in the Rectifier/Regulator?


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## jakedogg (Aug 14, 2009)

Mr.Scruffy said:


> Can anyone tell me what can go bad in the Rectifier/Regulator?


Resistors and capacitors.


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## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

Hey guys, still got a problem. I have eliminated the fuse box and fan breaker and replaced with in-line fuses. Charging system seems to be working now. Battery still draining. Showing a 9.53 volt draw between the neg battery post and the neg lead. Checking further, the fan breaker is showing 0.00 volts, 30 amp main fuse is showing 9.00+, the actuator fuse is showing 9.00+ and the acc fuse is at 0.00. Trying to read the wiring diagram leads me to believe that I will have the white/red wire carrying voltage to the main 30 amp fuse first and then it cascades to the other fuses and continues to the meter where I would think it will have some draw for the clock feature. I also think that there would also be a hot wire that keeps the fan running in a hot condition on the Brute after the key is turned off. In saying all that, do ya'll think that my problem lies somewhere in the actuator system? Should there be some voltage showing between the neg battery post and the neg wire at all?


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## whoolieshop (Mar 22, 2011)

Mr.Scruffy said:


> Hey guys, still got a problem. I have eliminated the fuse box and fan breaker and replaced with in-line fuses. Charging system seems to be working now. Battery still draining. Showing a 9.53 volt draw between the neg battery post and the neg lead. Checking further, the fan breaker is showing 0.00 volts, 30 amp main fuse is showing 9.00+, the actuator fuse is showing 9.00+ and the acc fuse is at 0.00. Trying to read the wiring diagram leads me to believe that I will have the white/red wire carrying voltage to the main 30 amp fuse first and then it cascades to the other fuses and continues to the meter where I would think it will have some draw for the clock feature. I also think that there would also be a hot wire that keeps the fan running in a hot condition on the Brute after the key is turned off. In saying all that, do ya'll think that my problem lies somewhere in the actuator system? Should there be some voltage showing between the neg battery post and the neg wire at all?



No you shouldn't be showing voltage by testing negative to negative or positive to positive Ever. If you're grounding the black lead then probing your fuse box / breakers then you're effectively checking between positive and negative sources which is fine.

You could be reading a hot lead that powers the fan (if this is on the main circuit on the brutes) It would show voltage with the key off, as the switch at the radiator gives the fan a ground and turns it on when the water temp is warm enough.

The volt meter makes that particular circuit look like a draw but in fact it may not be pulling anything at all. You would need to check amperage to find a parasitic drain on the battery. 

One thing that does bother me is you've got 9.53 volts. This means either you have a severely discharged battery or you've got some major corrosion going on in the wires creating resistance and a voltage drop.

What is the voltage of the battery? (Checked between the positive and negative terminals) All fuse box voltages should be very close to battery voltage. A fully charged battery is considered to have 12.6 volts, a battery is considered discharged when at or below 11.5 volts. 

If you turn the switch on does the voltage change on the fuses you checked that previously showed voltage?

With the engine running, what voltage are you getting at the battery? To charge the battery you should be getting 13.2 to 14.4 volts


One more thing.. Why did you delete the fuse box? Were you blowing fuses? I hope you'll tell me you just have a dead battery.. Because if you have a good battery with 12.5 volts and have a massive voltage drop then those 3.5 volts or so don't just disappear, they are being converted into heat. The heat is a bad thing it can melt the insulation on the wires and cause further shorts and an electrical nightmare. Enough heat and it can cause a fire, destroying your bike and possibly your house/garage wherever it's stored.


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## whoolieshop (Mar 22, 2011)

Mr.Scruffy said:


> Can anyone tell me what can go bad in the Rectifier/Regulator?



These things aren't servicable and hard to test. You can't just open it up and fix it.. But if there is anything more than 14.5 across the battery terminals with the engine running and idled up then you can spot a faulty regulator.

25.8 volts DC at the battery is definitely overcharging and a bad regulator/rectifier unit.


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## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

It is most likely that I am not reading the meter correctly. Not much good at electrical stuff. This was my sons Brute and he had spliced a bunch of stuff together and I have been trying to put everything back together. Battery was discharged and I did not have any way to completely recharge it so right now it is around 11.7 volts. It will crank and run fine and the generator is putting out 13.5. All the lights work fine, fan works but something is drawing down the battery. I am not able to get it out to run it and I think that is why the battery has not charged on up. I am pretty sure the KEBC and the 4WD actuators are neither one operating. I had the KEBC un-plugged because I know that there is a problem with it. Just can not figure out what is causing the battery to discharge. Thanks for the answer. Much appreciated.


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## whoolieshop (Mar 22, 2011)

Mr.Scruffy said:


> It is most likely that I am not reading the meter correctly. Not much good at electrical stuff. This was my sons Brute and he had spliced a bunch of stuff together and I have been trying to put everything back together. Battery was discharged and I did not have any way to completely recharge it so right now it is around 11.7 volts. It will crank and run fine and the generator is putting out 13.5. All the lights work fine, fan works but something is drawing down the battery. I am not able to get it out to run it and I think that is why the battery has not charged on up. I am pretty sure the KEBC and the 4WD actuators are neither one operating. I had the KEBC un-plugged because I know that there is a problem with it. Just can not figure out what is causing the battery to discharge. Thanks for the answer. Much appreciated.



Okay if the battery voltage is the same on the circuits and at the battery then things may not be so serious. 

The clock circuit draw should be extremely small, it should take weeks and weeks for the battery to go dead, you might need to buy a cheap ammeter to track down whats draining the battery. They have some that clamp on a wire to find a drain which would be the easiest or you can hook up an automotive amperage gauge as well.

As for the KEBC I think they make noise when you shut the bike off after a few seconds, don't know exactly what they do but my bro in law's bike does it every time you turn off the ignition.

As for the 4x4 actuator you may have to drive the brute forward a bit before it engages. On the arctic cat you have to rock the handle bars side to side a little if sitting still to get it to engage. Trying to test it in the garage without moving the bike will probably just infuriate you!


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## Mr.Scruffy (Jun 25, 2012)

I really haven't got to the actuators yet. That was my next task up until the battery discharged. The reason that I unplugged the KEBC was because it would keep on making noise way longer than it should. I know that they are supposed to work a little after key off to reset but mine was going on and on way to long. I have been testing with a multi meter but may not be using the right setting. I am away from home at the time and my directions sheet is at home. Again, thanks for answering. I at least have a few ideas to try now.


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## whoolieshop (Mar 22, 2011)

Good deal, when you get back and get on keep us updated! Be glad to help!


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## z24guy (Nov 27, 2010)

Unplug the KEBC when you park the quad. My buddies Brute will drain the battery overnight and it's because of the KEBC. It still works when he's riding but it buzzes too long after you shut the quad off and for some reason kills the battery overnight.

Just charge the battery then leave it overnight or however long it usually takes to die with the KEBC unplugged.


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