ATV Battery Question

[Okiehunter]

How do you check if an ATV battery is good or bad.

The ATV had to be jumped on Friday night after setting for two weeks. I started fine later that night and in the AM on Sat. After it set for about half hour it acted like a weak battery. After it set for about 2 hours is started fine and started all day.

Sunday AM same drill, started fine and would not start after setting for an hour. Jumped it off and it started fine the rest of the day.

Is it a battery or something else??????

[SAGEBRUSH ASSASSIN]

Check the voltage on the battery while it is running..If it is a 12V system it should be around 13v or higher if stator is working properly..6v system should be around 7.5V.The voltage will go up with rpm..If that checks out..Check it with engine off and see what it reads..should read 12.3 or so not running or 6.3 or so for 6 v system..If the voltage is below that then you have a bad battery..If all that checks out then something is draining the battery...Unhook battery and let it sit and then hook it back up next time you need it..If it starts then something is staying turned on..I have seen the starter do this before but I would check the above first..Hope this helps

[DaveC]

If it is not a sealed battery make sure the water level is up towards the max level.
Use Demin or distilled water. If it is dry this will wake it right up.

[Gummi Bear]

Why did you jump start it? No pull rope?

A healthy battery should test between 13.6 and 14.4V for a 12V unit.

Check the water level, ATV batteries are more often than not, in need of maintenance.

Here's a little battery info:

http://www.lectriclimited.com/battery_faq.htm

[Ol Thumper]

You can have it load tested like any battery, like has been stated check the water but honestly it sounds like it needs to be replaced. It also sounds as your charging system is working so if its an older battery just install a new one and be done with it, nothint worse than getting stranded.