# Battery Question



## born2farm (Dec 24, 2007)

Well I am trying to get the quad ready to go, and I was wondering if anybody has ever ran a second battery on there quad. I had trouble last year with the battery losing charge after a couple hours. I will be running a 2000lb winch and two led strobes all the time and then I also have another strobe light and head light and a spot light on the back that get ran occasionally. Im thinkin just charge it good, then put it on a trickle charger every time I get done using it.


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

I would think the trickle charger after your done with it would be fine to keep the Battery fresh.

that way you alway's have good power to start the ATV.
and the battery is up to full charge before you start plowing and stuff.

Heck I've run Lights, Radio and winch and handwarmers on mine for 6 hours and been fine.

its just you want to start the day off with a full charge on the battery.

sublime out.


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## RichG53 (Sep 16, 2008)

Pulling way to many AMPS on that small battery.....


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## 06Sierra (Nov 30, 2008)

Look around, you may be able to put a bigger battery in. Get a battery tender jr for it as well.


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## samedaysnow (Oct 11, 2009)

Back to back snowstorms won't allow any trickle time. I really want to put a second battery on my quad too. I don't have cool lights but do run hand/thumb warmers, winch and headlights. 

Last year if I didn't hook it up each night the EFI would sputter and the quad would not run. The mechanic said the battery charge or lack therof was effecting the EFI. It is a Polaris Sportsman 500 and I sure wish I woulda got a Honda Rubie :realmad:

So here's a bump for the thread in hopes of a second battery install tip coming through.


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## GPS (Jun 27, 2008)

I don't remember there being a whole lot of extra room in any of my ATVs for another battery (Hidden, anyway). It would look a bit strange, but how about a full size car battery in a battery box mounted to the rear rack. You can get some nice kits these days from boat/RV dealers, Summit racing, etc. Extend the cables properly, and you've got way more amp-hours than you've ever had before. It's 12 volts, like the current setup, and the extra weight on the rack can't hurt either, right?


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## Brickworks (Aug 22, 2009)

I run two Polaris sportsman and don't have a problem with the battery. I hook them to a trickle charge after every push and no issues. Try to not run so many lights if possible. I run 2500lb winches.


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## samedaysnow (Oct 11, 2009)

Could it be my plow is too big for the winch? I have a cycle country state plow 52 inch? 

I like the idea of a big phat car battery on the back and I'm sure I can get housing for it, like you said, from a boat/rv shop. I'm going to run this past my neighbor and see if he might know how to hook it up. 

Thanks


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## rm25x (Sep 5, 2009)

Another thing to look at is adding a beefier stator to the atv to help it keep up with all the accessories. 
Also, how old is your battery? It may just be getting tired as well.


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## samedaysnow (Oct 11, 2009)

My battery is brand new last winter. Got it mid season last year thinking it would solve the problem. Can you tell me how the starter helps? I might try that before adding the car battery.


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## born2farm (Dec 24, 2007)

Thanks guys, I added a bigger winch, and it has helped considerably. I switched all of my lights to led which draw less so I will see how it works. Still plan on buying a trickle charger.


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## Badgerland WI (Dec 3, 2008)

LED lights are going to help that situation alot. I spent alot of time in the past year sourcing-out LED replacements for as much lighting as possible (warning lights and work/flood lights) so we could offer low-amp draw solutions with great performance.

HID's can be a good solution for night-time operation as well although they will be a little more finicky in this type of vibration and cold weather operation over time versus LEDs. You pay for longevity when you pay the price premium. LEDs have continued to drop in price, however it seems that they are leveling off as they introduce new technology (higher wattage LED's) which offset the pricing while providing higher lumens that we're all looking for.


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## chuckraduenz (Jan 4, 2009)

get a bigger battery. i was gona get 2 batterys but now iv decided to get a bigger one when mine craps out. the chrageing system will only handel so much. a battery like a car, or 2 batterys means if the stator cant keep up you will have 2 dead batterys. unless you can charge them when not in use.


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## ALC-GregH (Nov 26, 2008)

samedaysnow;824745 said:


> Could it be my plow is too big for the winch? I have a cycle country state plow 52 inch?
> 
> I like the idea of a big phat car battery on the back and I'm sure I can get housing for it, like you said, from a boat/rv shop. I'm going to run this past my neighbor and see if he might know how to hook it up.
> 
> Thanks


This is your best bet. It would be easy to do. Run battery cables from the existing battery wires to the larger auto battery, mount it in a RV battery box, zip tie a few wires and your set. I would use a deep cycle battery as well. They're made to handle a discharge much better then a automotive class battery. Of course you'll need to charge it when possible but the deep cycle will last much longer then what you'll ever need it for when plowing with it. Battery Tender JR's work great and are fairly cheap. I'd say less then 2 bills will complete the job.


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## born2farm (Dec 24, 2007)

Im gonna see how I get along on our first storm before I decide to add another battery. With the new winch and having it on the battery tender after every storm I think I should be ok.


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## Troy5061 (Oct 21, 2009)

No need for a second battery just get an Odyessy. When I was plowing with my quad I didnt even make it through the first season before I wanted to take the stock battery and throw it in the woods, granted mine had to sit outside at the time. I replaced it with an Odyssey dry cell battery part number PC680MJ. Best thing I ever did for my quad. That battery can run my winch, hand/thumb warmers and my accessory plow lights without a hitch and can turn over the V-Twin motor till the starter burns out even in the subzero temps we get up here in the winter. Plus its dry so its not spillable and maintenence free. I got mine for $89.95 although I belive they usually run more than that, a little more than a stocker but all you have to do is install it and forget it plus they last 2-3 times longer than a stock battery. I can't say enough good things about this battery, never touched the thing since in 3 seasons of plowing and we have gotten a ton of snow up here the last two seasons.

http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html


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## JMS (Nov 7, 2009)

I have the same problem with my outlander, I have a seperate plow lift actuator from moose and when I use it more than a few seconds it sends the quad into limp mode and I have to shut it down to reset it, I too was thinking of adding a second auto size battery to run my plow, lights , and salter. I'm wondering whether a battery isolator for a dual system would work well in this situation, in regards to mounting it that isn't a problem I would just put it in the rear storage box. 

If I simply attached the second battery to the stock battery like the last coulpe of posts mentioned, would that realy work, I wouldn't think the charging system could handle the extra drain from the second battery, I think this is where an isolator would work, any ideas??


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## Troy5061 (Oct 21, 2009)

......................


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## Cyber36 (Jan 29, 2010)

Sequendo??


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