Battery/Winch Issue?

[Northland Sportsman]

I just installed a winch on my polaris 600. I took it for a short ride after the install and the battery light came on for a few minutes then went off again. I thought it may be from testing the winch without the machine running. I took it out again last night and the same thing - bat. light comes on for a couple of minutes and goes off again. Any body have any suggested fixes. I haven't had the time to check it out too much yet. The install was easy - just plug in the wires and hook a circuit breaker to the battery. Any ideas on where to start looking or repair tips appreciated. Thanks!

[wally-eye]

I think the Polaris charging systems are horrible. I can't plow with the lights & handwarmers on without the battery light flashing. What year is your wheeler? I was told they had some bad batteries after I replaced mine once. The dealer failed to tell me that. They installed a 3rd battery eventually for free, but they charged me for labor. My friend has a Yamaha and he can run his winch & lights all day long and never have an issue.

[SomethingFishy*]

The winch will take alot of juice out of the small battery, you have to run the machinequite a bit for it to properly recharge, you will want to get a battery tender for your machine to keep your battery charged they sell for around $30. This will be neccesary especially if you are planning on plowing.

[Northland Sportsman]

I do not plan on plowing with it so that won't be an issue. The year is 04 1/2. I have not really even used the winch yet aside from just letting out some cable and reeling it back in. No pulling or anything like that. I have never seen my battery light come on before this. Thanks for the replys!

[78cj5]

I 100% agree with the Battery Tender mentioned by SomethingFishy. I am not convinced that your battery may have been low on juice before the winch install.

Have you put a good charge on it since the install?

[Dave]

2004 1/2 timeframe is when Polaris had some "concerns" with the battery it was using. Some were shot within the six month period.

[Northland Sportsman]

I have replaced the battery and chargd the battery on a float charger. The problem was not fixed. I replaced the battery with a fully charged new battery and the problem is still there. battery light comes on when riding, usually only after the lights or accessaries are used. I can rule out the battery now, any other suggestions.

[Dave]

I doubt it'll help but, disconnect the winch and see if the symptoms change. This battery light coming on started when you installed the winch. Otherwise, I'd place a volt meter on your battery when running and see what the voltage is, for starters.

[Northland Sportsman]

I have disconnected the winch and the problem persists. I have run the voltmeter and it varies depending on how much I charge the battery before use. Full chagre seems to run in high 12v range but will go down into the 11v range when used for a while without charge/using lights.

[Dave]

So, that indicates the charging system isn't working. You should have somewhere above 13 volts when the machine is running. I can check the measurement tonight for you and tell you exactly, if needed. It may be money saved if you took the machine to a dealer to diagnose the problem rather than buying parts and swapping them out to see what fixes it.

[Northland Sportsman]

I have talked to a dealer and they said to check for a wire that could have gotten disconnected. I could not find one. I talked to a repair guy and he said he thought it would be a fuse. Anybody know where to find the fuses off hand. I haven't found any and thought I would ask before digging out the maual again. Thanks for any help on this. It has been a frustrating deal

[Dave]

I can't see where it wouold be a fuse but, they should be under the front hood. Probably have to remove the front rack to get the front hood off.

[Northland Sportsman]

I brought in to the dealer on Friday and should hear back within a day or so. I will update just to let anyone interested know what the problem is. This has bee a real pain in the a$$ and I hope it doesn't cost an arm& leg to fix!

[spearchucker]

Sounds to me like something is shorted or drawing current when it shouldn't be.

[Northland Sportsman]

Ok here is the final update. I got the machine back yesterday as good as new. I am almost embarrassed to say that the problem was a wire that I had disconnected while installing the winch. I new it couldn't be anything serious, but it was frustrating. I looked for a wire but could not find it, I guess I wasn't looking in the right spot. Anyway, I got a new battery in the machine now and should be good to go for the rest of the season.