battery dead....fuse keeps blowing

[curtisbyrne]

Argo started bit slow this morning but it started went for a 30min ride came back shut her off and went to start and the battery is dead just enough to crank the engine over a bit. after trying to pull start many times i gave up. the battery showed 11V and i think the 30amp charge wire fuse was blown(i pulled it out but the other end stayed in so i dont know if it was or not but thats what i was expecting since it wasnt charging)so i replaced it turned the key and fuse blew again? all 15amp fuses are good and no wires were melted or messed up. what is the problem here?

[dirtdobber]

Sounds like a dead short somewhere. It sounds like you have checked all your wires.....and if you haven't you need to do so. A wire doesn't have to be melted to present a problem. The insulation could be rubbed off and grounding against something. I guess as a last resort the stator (the part under the flywheel that effectively is the charging system) could be shorted. I think you could test it with a multimeter - unplug your charging wire(s) at the closest point to the engine. Set your multimeter to a continuity test (audible setting is easiest), and touch one lead to ground and the other lead to the engine side of the charging wire(s). If your meter indicates continuity then there is a problem - something has shorted out.

If you meter does not indicate continuity you can use this method to check other wire segments, again looking for continuity with ground.

[curtisbyrne]

i know this.my Argo charges and when i first started her up this morning the fuse blew and i had the brake fan on for all that ride which ate the battery and couldnet charge due to the fuse that was blew but why i dont i will do some tests.

[curtisbyrne]

could the regulator be gone and not be regulating the voltage coming off the stator?

[dirtdobber]

i replaced it turned the key and fuse blew again?

Based on the info from post no. 1 you are blowing fuses and the engine is not even running. There's nothing for the regulator to regulate unless the engine is running. Something could be shorted somewhere I suppose, thus the problems with just turning the key on.

[curtisbyrne]

tested the stator..got 0.1/0.2 ohms when on the 200 setting but on anything higher like 200K it showed 0 ohms which means stator is faulty. so which one do i go by and why do i get different results at different settings? tested each one to ground as well and it came up 1 every time on the screen. also one of the 2 AC wires looked lie they got a bit hot a rusted or corroded the connector.it was only one though the others looked fine. it blew when the engine cranked over by the way,sorry for the confusion.

[beagle man]

Hey Curtisbyrne, the different settings are for different ranges. It appears that you a major short in one of your wires, check the burnt looking or discolored wires to ground. It could also be melted points in your switch.

[curtisbyrne]

so when testing what setting do i use? and when will i know what mode to use for future reference?

[dirtdobber]

Post a picture of the face of your tester. It may be easier to show you than tell you.

[curtisbyrne]

it looks just like this

[curtisbyrne]

the ohms side of the meter shows either.
20
200
200k
2000M

[dirtdobber]

I was hoping your meter had an audible alarm for continuity, but I guess it doesn't. You can test continuity my measuring ohms. Just remember, when testing between a ground and a wire that is supposed to be hot, don't want any ohms of resistance, meaning there is no connection or circuit between the ground and hot wire. If you measure ohms, that means a connection is made somewhere. The settings are to adjust your reading for the level of resistance you are trying to test for (thousands of ohms, or thousandths of ohms). I would just set it to 20. Disconnect the positive side of the battery also.

When you set your meter to measure ohms, and the two probes are not touching anything, it may read OL or some other indication of overload or over limit. This is because there is an infinite amount of resistance between the probes when they aren't touching metal or are touching something non-conductive. When you are testing between a ground source and a wire that is not a grounding wire, you want to see this OL message - meaning there is no resistance and therefore no circuit (or no continuity, meaning the wire is not in contact with a ground source somewhere).

It might be a good idea for you to watch some Youtube videos on measuring ohms or checking continuity.

[curtisbyrne]

ok.... so i got 0.1 ohms when i have it on the setting 200.but 0 when on any higher setting which means the stator is faulty. which one do i go by. i put both ends of the meter on the 2 ac stator wires when doing this test. let me know so i can get at the fly wheel if i need to.

[dirtdobber]

Testing across the 2 ac output wires will not tell you if it is shorting to ground. The test you ran tells you whether or not the windings are good. I don't know what the reading should be.

Test from one a.c. wire to a ground source and then do the same with the other a.c. wire. You should read OL if nothing is shorted to ground.

[curtisbyrne]

all i got is the number 1 on the screen. what can i use for ground source? negative lead on the battery?