2003 Arctic Cat 400 electric starter will not crank

[Alan]

I own a 2003 Arctic Cat 400, 2 WD. I use this bike everyday in my farming operation. Recently I had to have the flywheel assembly replaced because the maginets came unglued and dissingrated. The total bill on this repair from an authorized dealer was $836.00. Now the machine will not start with the electric starter. I've checked all the fuses, and I have power from the battery to the fuse which controls the power to the starter. I can start the AC with the pull rope at which time all my gages and lights work, but prior to starting no gauges work and no lights. What's wrong and does anyone have any suggestions about fixing the problem ?

[DirtDemon]

Sounds like a bad battery or poor connection to the battery.

[Alan]

Thanks, I have checked the battery with a load tester and then put the battery on a trickle charge. I thought the battery was hot. What I'll do is take the battery to a parts shop and have them check it with some high tech devise. Let you know later. Thanks Alan

[DirtDemon]

The problem could just as easily be in the battery's connection to the machine, If the battery tests ok, then use a some kind of electrical tester (multimeter or test light) to check along the battery cables and electrical wires to find a voltage loss. It could be a fuse, a shorted wire, or a bad ground connection. If you haven't taken the battery to be tested before you read this, I would check for a bad connection before having the battery tested, a poor connection can sometimes be the cause of a battery's demise. If the battery is bad, and it is because of a poor connection, you don't want to repeat the process.

[mikeexplorer]

I had this same situation. Everything is dead, no pod, lights, etc.. But I can pull start it or if I plug a jump box into the accessory plug, I can electric start it. Once running everything works except I noticed the headlamps flickered a bit. What it was in my case was a broken hot wire from the battery to the main 30amp fuse. What you need to do is a continuity test between the (+) terminal of the battery to your main fuse. (pull the fuse and check it) If this is the case, the repair is a pain, you have to yank the plastics off and start taking your harness apart. I found my wire broken since it rubbed against the frame. I re-routed it so I didn't have to splice a new wire in.

Above, I posted a link where you can download the schematics for your machine. My quad is a 2007 400 but I would think the main lead is the same.

Mike

Edited August 11, 2010 by mikeexplorer

[Ajmboy]

Have you bench tested the starter or tried jumping it to see if it works?

* Added year, make, and model, to your thread title. Edited issue.