davefrombc

Flooded batteries are fine in stationary and automotive use where they are less subjected to the pounding and occasional dumping over as they get in quads and bikes . SLA are better in ATVs, but the most reliable in them,, in my opinion,, are the AGMs. They have no liquid that can be spilled when our ATVs are ridden a little too hard. (We'd never do that , would we?) They are far less prone to any leakage that could cause corrosion at the terminals or elsewhere near the battery. They are far less prone to damage from vibration and shock from hard riding. Kept charged up with a maintainer or from frequent use and parked fully charged between uses they should last as long or longer than any of the others. They are a bit more expensive, but I believe their advantages outweigh the cost.

I assumed Ejwill would recharge the battery before trying to start the quad again.. Even a brand new battery run down and left discharged for too long can be destroyed or at least have its capacity greatly reduced by sulfation. That's why I recommend battery maintainers / tenders. A battery kept up by a maintainer should last a lot longer than 3 years. One left in a partially discharged or completely flat can be destroyed in a year or a lot less.

The biggest killer of all forms of lead/acid batteries is letting them sit, especially if they are not fully charged to start with. Sulfate builds up on the plates as they discharge and it hardens as it sits. Recharging a badly sulfated battery ,especially using a "desulfating" cycle can make some of that hardened sulfate flake off instead of going back into solution and shorting a cell. That reading of 11.4 volts ,could be because of a shorted cell, and be the cause of the "chatter" when trying to start the quad. A decent maintainer used on the battery when the quad is laid up will keep the battery charged up and extend its life many fold. If it is a shorted cell the battery is toast. Don't bother trying any of the "miracle" battery "rejunenators" you occasionally see advertised for sulfated or shorted cell batteries. They don't work. Buy a good maintainer when you buy a new battery and use it when the quad is laid up . The same goes for riding lawnmowers , boats or any other RV or yard equipment that may sit for more than a week or so at a time.

Are you sure the motor is seized and not something else jamming it ?

Most starters run the same direction whether they are wired straight or reversed. There are motors built to be easily reversible by shifting the position of the brushes on the commutator. Accidental shifting of brushes on a motor not designed for it could still cause it to reverse.

It may be the brushes have been reversed, changing the polarity. Have you had them out and accidentally switched them ( and their wiring) when putting them back? If the starter was like that when you got the machine , you could try switching them to see if that fixes it.. I don't know of any other way it would reverse.

Just a small problem. Those bridge rectifiers would not work to rectify and regulate the output of a quad's stator. You would need 3 of them just to rectify the output of the stator. Then you need circuity to smooth those voltage pulses from the 3 phases, and a regulator chip to limit that voltage to between 13.2 to 14.6 to actually charge the battery. There's a lot more circuitry inside that little rectifier/regulator box than you realize.

Your quad likely uses a magneto ignition. Those are killed / turned off by grounding the ignition, If you are looking for continuity when On and no continuity when Off you have it backwards.. When the kill switch is in the run position there should be no continuity through it , and in the kill position there should be continuity. It's just the opposite of a points and condenser or electronic system.

Rod knock is usually, but not always, a duller sound than detonation ping. It is easier to tell in a multi-cylinder vehicle like car than in single or twin cylinder ones in ATVs. A loose rod or wrist pin can knock either under load, when backing off or if fairly bad even when idling but normally detonation only occurs under load. When it is happening in car, it is often described as "marbles" rattling around in the cylinders . Detonation is hard on everything and if not taken care of by backing off the timing advance a bit or by going to higher grade fuel can result in holes hammered or burnt into the pistons.

Detonation is just that. The fuel mixture exploding in the cylinder instead of a rapid (VERY RAPID) burning in the cylinder. It can be caused by ignition too far advanced or by use of fuel too low a grade for the compression ratio / cylinder pressures. When everything is right, the fuel actually burns rapidly as the piston descends on the power stroke. When detonation because of over advance causing cylinder pressure to increase far over normal or fuel grade is too low the fuel instantly burns (detonates) rather than burning continuously during the power stroke. The rattling noises you hear with many diesels when idling are actually mini- detonations with the high compression and very lean diesel mixture.

Heat wave and drought has been brutal with no end in sight yet, but I've been surviving it. At least I haven't had to put in the 2 hours every week bouncing on my riding lawn mower instead of the quad. We haven't had a total of an inch of rain since the beginning of June, and August is normally our driest month, so there likely won't be any mowing needed until next spring. Down side is the bush is so dry and there's so many fires going riding isn't a very good idea. Here's a map of the fire situation in BC now. For perspective, the province of BC is 3.5 times larger than New Zealand.

Knocking noise was most likely detonation from the over advanced condition as Mech mentioned.

Try going directly from the battery to the starter to see if it turns over .. The brushes in the starter could be worn and commutator dirty. They may not making contact all the time. Also check for loose, corroded connections. there might be a break in a wire that is not obvious too. That would allow the broken ends to make and break with movement of the wire during use and movement. To keep batteries from sulphating up when the quad is idle for longer periods, use a battery maintainer.. Sulphate build up from a battery sitting at less than full charge causes the battery to lose capacity until eventually it fails completely or shorts a cell. Sorry I can't help more than giving those suggestions .

If it comes to needing drilling for an "easy out" use a left twist drill. Often the bit will spin the bolt out when it bites into it. As mentioned before , use some heat on it and let it cool before using penetrating oil. The heat would kill the locktite if it was used, and by letting it cool before using penetrating oil, you won't end up hardening it so a drill bit won't bite.

I am saying if valves and seats look like that drawing after lapping the idiot that did it should seek other work. "Multi-angle" valve jobs like shown would only be used on extreme performance engines. Normal multi-angle valve jobs are 3 angle; and with more and more manufacturers going to aluminum heads, valve seats are replaceable. Cast iron heads may have induction hardened valve seats but if they are cracked or badly worn and the head is to be kept, they are machined for replaceable seats. If you send your heads out to be serviced, ask the shop if they lap the valves whether the seats are integral or replaceable; and how many angles they use in performance head valve servicing.

I'll leave the reply to the comments you made to the op to others. I don't think the moderators would allow me to say what I think of them and the valve pix you added. LOL...

I'm interested in knowing just for what machine that service manual is. Those pictures show some pretty bad valves, but what I see there , they appear to be more likely the wrong valves used in some applications and in some of them some very serious overlapping. Lapping new or ground valves to an undamaged seat or recut one shouldn't result in wear on the valve of more than a few microns; not enough to remove any hard surface if the valve was only case hardened rather than through hardened. Those pictures do not show valve failures from any proper lapping.

Mike Nixon makes a lot of noise about Neway cutters in his motorcycle babble. I'd listen to the manufacturers and mechanics that recommend valve lapping as a part of a "valve job".. Just the opinion of another that spent his working life in the mechanical trades . Listen to GW and Mech.

Have a safe and very MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone..

You either have an air leak somewhere between the carb and intake port, the mixture settings on the lean side or , most likely, either the high speed needle in the wrong notch or there is a tiny hole in the side of the brass tube the main jet needle slides through. Those tiny holes are often missed when people are cleaning the carbs

A good maintainer will not boil a battery out. They're a far cry from the old ferro-resonant trickle chargers. Flooded batteries are not good in ATVs. They leak because of the bouncing they get from ATV service, and AGM batteries are needlessly expensive. A SLA battery doesn't leak in ATV service and in my opinion is by far the best choice for price and ATV reliability. Yes you can top up a battery every few weeks or at most every 3 to 6 months in storage , but then you must remember to do it, bring them to full charge and then remember to disconnect them from the old trickle chargers. The newer maintainers can be connected and left connected without worrying about boiling them out or having them go flat and sulfate up because you forgot to top them up.

Walmart Canada has batteries that fit most ATVs.. I'm sure they do in the US also. Amazon also lists a range of ATV batteries. Just search on one for your ride. Costco likely does too. Look at the user ratings they list and the number of people who commented and rated to see the average star rating. As I said earlier in the thread, most of the batteries, whether they are a big name brand or a generic perform about the same; and all need to be kept on a maintainer when the ATV is idle for any length of time. Get an SLA battery. . The cheaper flooded ones can leak with the shaking they get from ATV use.. The AGM ones are more for use where they may be mounted in a non-upright position and are needlessly expensive. The SLA are leakproof, and maintenance free beyond keeping them charged up . Beyond that I cannot tell you which battery brand is the "Best" one. You'll find nearly all ATV and utility batteries have a short warranty period compared to automotive ones. The main reasons are the environment they are used in and so many do not keep them charged up when not in use, like the ride -on lawnmower parked and forgotten at the end of the season and expected to start and run next spring for example. Get one well rated by other buyers, and the best price to you, Keep it charged up with a maintainer and you should get years of service out of it. It took a friend of mine several battery replacements before he took the advice to buy a good maintainer for his seasonally used boat battery. Buying one good maintainer is a lot better and cheaper in the long run than buying several batteries because they keep "Failing"

I doubt there is much use fro lithium batteries for starter batteries in vehicles since weight is not really a problem there and lead acid batteries serve the job very well. The LiFePo batteries are seeing increasing use in RVs and other storage applications where large capacity in a smaller, lighter weight package is desirable. The biggest factor limiting their adoption so far is their price. The vehicle fires from lithium batteries were mainly from the earlier lithium ion batteries, not the newer LiFePo ones. I don't know the safety data on the newer ones. Off grid systems pose a lot of different considerations from RV ones. The charge controllers available now for solar/ wind/ micro hydro systems are a lot more reliable and failsafe than those in use a few years ago. They really shouldn't be a determining factor. Initial cost is likely still the biggest determining factor in newer installations although according to the industry the lithium should far outlast the lead acid ones. I don't think there is enough long term data on that count to see if there is any real long term savings to lithium. I do know the short days and weak winter sun along with snow mean systems that rely on solar and wind power need a lot more storage capacity and draw down survivability than in areas where short days and snow are not a factor.-

Dirt is the big enemy of the synthetic lines because of the abrasion it can cause between the fibers of the rope/ tape. I don't know anyone using synthetic lines but there's enough information on them online for anyone who cares to research them before deciding whether it is to their advantage to go that route or not. Randy , be glad you've never experienced the destruction a recoiling cable can cause. The line doesn't have to fail to do it . The point it is attached to is more often the projectile, but the line itself can sever a limb or worse if it catches a victim in recoil. There are enough pictures of what can happen when pulling a stuck vehicle by the hitch ball on the net for example . There's a lot more to winching and vehicle recovery than just hooking a line to something that looks solid and pulling.

Lithium ion batteries are prone to fires if overcharged. shorted or if they get wet. LiFePo are much less prone to fires. Lithium fires CAN be put out, but like phosphorus and sodium fires, you can't use water to do it .. It takes foam or dry chemicals and lastly Lithium batteries can be recycled. Yes, lithium mining is dirty, but so is mining for any mineral/ metal. All mining causes environmental damage in the mined area and too often downstream of the mine when environmental protection practices are absent or inadequate. Lead pollution is a far bigger problem than lithium use poses. Lithium battery technology has improved a lot since the first ones were introduced, and very likely more can be done with them. There are also stories of development of other "exotic" battery technology in the works.. With all that being said, in my opinion SLA batteries are still the best choice for our fossil fueled mobile toys when price, capacity and performance are all taken into account. Keep them charged and on a maintainer when they are idle and you will get long service life out of them . Let them sit flat or idle for a long time and they will deteriorate rapidly or end up seriously sulfated and prone to shorting out when you try to desulfate them.