battery not charging

[john swenson]

hey friends ...my max 2 highboy is running great , but not showing any amp charging on the meter and i have to charge the battery once in a while for it to start . it's a new battery . was working before . need a guidance how and what to check . wires , etc. where does the charge from motor to battery come from ? thanks much , jboy va. p.s sure is fun riding around in the snow . it's been a couple of winters since we've had any

[john swenson]

also it's a briggs 21 h.p vanguard twin motor

[ARGOJIM]

Most Max and Argo have a fuse in-line of the charging wire, however, are you certain you hooked up every wire you disconnected to hook up the battery.

[john swenson]

thanks jim yes i got all the wires to the battery ...and just noticed yesterday i have no lights . i need to raise up the body and get a better look . do no lights help narrow down what's up ? maybe i'll find a broken wire , and will check the fuses . too cold here tomorrow and some more snow . jboy

[john swenson]

also i have the battery charger on it now and it's reading 14.1 volts only been on maybe 45 min. jb

[msafi65]

As Jim said the inline fuse can fail. I’ve had a lot of problems on max with the fuse holder corroding and usually cut them out. I install a marine fuse holder for push in fuse. Test for battery voltage at the red wire coming out of voltage regulator. (Near the starter) if there isn’t battery voltage there it won’t charge. Volt meter across the battery should read 13.9-14.2 volts with engine at half throttle. Good luck.

[Noel Woods]

John:
It may also be a bad ground. Sometimes the ground wire can corrode within the rubber casing and cause a bad connection. I would grab the wire and feel along the thing for a bad spot. Sometimes wiggling the wire around will get enough connection to start. A friend of mine who is a master mechanic had that happen on his excavator, I told him to try it, and he thought it was a stupid idea, until he tried it and found the ground wire was bad. He mentioned he had messed with mechanical stuff for over 40 years and never heard of that.

[john swenson]

thanks guys ...got the max in the garage and raised the tub . ground wires seem good . besides the large positive wire from starter solenoid to battery the only other wire on that post runs up thru the wire loom and exits up near the switch . also near that is a fuse holder with a 30 amp fuse in it which seems good. where is the in line charging wire and is it the small one on the battery ? thanks for your patience .. i'll keep at it .lights worked a few weeks ago . jb

[john swenson]

how many wires should be on the battery .. no winch or extra lites on machine .

[john swenson]

i assume the charging wire goes from coil to the amp gauge and then back to the + battery post ?

[ARGOJIM]

i assume the charging wire goes from coil to the amp gauge and then back to the + battery post ?

Yes I believe from regulator plug to harness to ammeter to switch back to battery, there is probably only 1 big and 1 small to battery with no other accessories, ground may have 2 as well.
However if the wire from regulator goes directly to solenoid there may still be a small wire on battery post.

[msafi65]

The wiring diagrams for all the max models are on this site under manuals.

[john swenson]

not sure what i did .. but amp gauge back working again ..3 to 5 amps . battery staying charged well . still no lights . guess i need to chase wires or ? jb