battery connettion question

[mixerdriver]

took the can am out for a ride was running fine out of nowhere this thing died. had nothing no lights no winch no starter nothing an no dash lights either . sat there awhile saying wtf! tried to pull start it fired up for about 10 or 15 seconds so the tow strap came out . got home ben starts taking battery out , and the ground wire cam off the battery . saying wtf again. so ben holds the battery cable on it fires up. then he takes it off its stops running. ben  says the battery needs to be hook up for this to run. one wood think being this has a pull start it should run . or is there sumthing wrong with the charging system bad ?? thanks paul

[JoeR]

There are plenty of vehicles that need a battery connection to run.  I've been on a Polaris Sportsman that would die when it got a bad bround connection.  My Honda motorcycle will do the same thing. 
Sounds like Ben fixed it.

Joe

[mixerdriver]

thanks joe i was hopen jr.  was  right  you rule ben 

[CatsJ35]

yep some companies like honda, polaris and can am use the battery as another voltage regulator. If you run a polaris with no battery within a min or two you will fry your headlights and taillights.

[Snotime]

Yep, all the above. The battery is part of the electrical circuit. The pull start is there in case the battery dies. The battery can be completely dead and it will still run with the pull start when connected but take it out or disconnect it and you're walking.

[Phantom]

Run anything without a battery or a bad battery long enough and you will fry the stator from it constantly trying to charge the battery at a high rate. The regulator needs to "see" voltage in the battery to regulate the charge rate if there is no voltage it goes into high charge and eventually smokes the stator.

[Snotime]

Run anything without a battery or a bad battery long enough and you will fry the stator from it constantly trying to charge the battery at a high rate. The regulator needs to "see" voltage in the battery to regulate the charge rate if there is no voltage it goes into high charge and eventually smokes the stator.

Eventually can be a very long time. My starter in my 91 Trail Boss was junk the entire time I owned it, probably 10 years or more. The battery was dead the entire time I owned it and the people that bought it are still roping it over and it's still going.

[Phantom]

Eventually can be a very long time. My starter in my 91 Trail Boss was junk the entire time I owned it, probably 10 years or more. The battery was dead the entire time I owned it and the people that bought it are still roping it over and it's still going.

I believe that system uses an old style magneto for spark and a separate charging/lighting coil(s) just like older sleds. (you can tell the difference by how the lights dim at idle)
The lower the output from a stator or alternator the less likely it is to fry from overloading it.
 Newer machines have much higher stator outputs to keep their lighting and electronics happy and also run the ignition system (and fuel injection if equipped) off the same stator and are more prone to fry sooner.