# Help a girl out!



## 1wildchild (Apr 14, 2003)

My ATV is dead. I am almost positive it is the battery. Last time I started it it made that tell tale "your battery is going to die" sound. :lol: My problem is that I have never done anything with electrical in a vehicle! I want to take the battery out, thaw it and see if I can recharge it before replacing it. I know how absolutely stupid this sounds but how to I disconnect it? Does it matter if I take pos or neg off first? Can I use a regular car battery charger? Any offers of help with my illogical fear of electricity would be greatly appreciated! :gaga:


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

the battery is probably junk,if your car battery charger has a 2 amp setting it will work fine just take a while ... take the NEG off first ...that way if the wrench touches any metal when you remove the POS lead it will not short out when you reinstall always hook up POS first


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## Gone Fishing (Jul 31, 2001)

You can charge it while its in the ATV with a car charger (set on 12 volts if it has multiple settings) although you will want to clean the terminals as that could very well be your problem. (wire brush and some baking soda/water mix) Take the negative off 1st. Its a piece of cake. Just make sure to keep your polarity correct (black/neg to black/neg & red/pos to red/pos)


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

I fixed one this morning the starter brushes were shot it acted like a dead or run down battery.one brush was worn badly and the other was stuck. the guy said he just replaced the battery and it was doing the same thing before he replaced the battery .of coarse I checked all the usual things before I got to the starter.bailed the out and bitched about the price they charged for the brushes $12.95 and they had them.


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## Cpt.Chaos (May 28, 2006)

Take the battery out and go to pep boys or auto zone, have them load test the battery for you. If it has been a while since you rode your machine or charged the battery, it may need to be charged first. Always check connections on your machine too, sometimes nuts and bolts shake free from everyday use. Also, a handy tool to have for any electrical problem is a voltmeter, you can diagnose almost any elec. problem with one. They are relatively easy to use, and can save you numerous guesses at an electrical problem. If you still have problems, shoot me a pm, I have all the tools needed to diagnose this.


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## glockman55 (Mar 9, 2006)

If your gonna charge it, make sure the water level is up where it should be before you charge it. Use distilled water in your battery.


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## Neal (Mar 20, 2001)

First, stand in a bucket of water.....Second.....


:mischeif:


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

glockman55 said:


> If your gonna charge it, make sure the water level is up where it should be before you charge it. Use distilled water in your battery.


Depending on the age of the ATV, your battery is likely a sealed battery....do not attempt to remove the covers and add water etc. If it is not a sealed battery, the above advice is fine.


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## 1wildchild (Apr 14, 2003)

Neal - as always thanks for your stellar advice!

My ATV is an '05 so I know it is a sealed battery. It sat a whole bunch this year, in a garage. The connections all look clean. I am just ascared of taking it out :gaga:. I'll do it though!


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## trailwart (Mar 20, 2004)

alot of yamhas are coming with gel batterys. cant use a regular charger, will result in fire, seen many pics online of people using the wrong battery chargers. different batterys, different chargers. not all are same, just know your batterys requirements before you attempt to recharge.


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## tdejong302 (Nov 28, 2004)

Are you in the central u.p. I assume not. Most reasonable people don't live here just vacation here.  If you are let me know.


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## 1wildchild (Apr 14, 2003)

tdejong - nope I am not in the UP. I do know some people in Munising and have weaved my way through the crowds at the outhouse races in Trinary!

Sorry if you anyone tried to pm me. I have now cleared out my mailbox


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

When charging do NOT set directly on a cement floor. Place on a board or couple pieces of wood to keep off the floor-ditto for storage of any battery.


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## Sargeyork (Dec 9, 2004)

Watch out for Wolves little red riding hood.:lol:


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## slowpoke (Jan 30, 2001)

If I lived closer I would come over and help you out. I would let you do the work so you know how to fixed it the next time it happen. It's not that hard to work on. Just start with the neg. wire first. Make sure when you disconnect the neg. end it can't come in contact with the neg. batt. post while you are disconnecting the pos wire, been there done that. After you get the batt. out warm it up before you try to charge it. One of those batt. maintainer's would be nice to have and would charge it up just fine, also in the future you can put the maintainer on the batt now and then to keep the batt. charge up. Good luck.


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