Sled Battery Maintenance (& What's Inside A snowmobile or ATV battery?)

(Improperly handling or charging batteries can be dangerous. Always follow the procedure in the owners manual for your charger, battery and sled) In this video, I'll explain how the lead acid battery in your sled or ATV. creates Electricity. We'll have a look inside a battery, and discuss Snowmobile Battery Maintenance tips to ensure when the season starts, so will your sled.
Outtakes at end of video.
This video is intended for entertainment purposes only. Always refer to the documentation that came with your sled, or contact a qualified repair technician before attempting procedures other than those described in your owners manual.
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[@MBTUE]

LOL ! Your the best Dave ! I keep both my sleds on a "Battery Tender" almost all year long since it sits in the garage more than I ride it. The snow dance might be working but my hips are killing me . Mark

[@MyOldSled]

Glad you liked it Mark. I hope you get some riding in. Did you get much where you are?

[@MBTUE]

@@MyOldSled No snow at all in Southern Ontario. Just rain.

[@isaacfulton9533]

Hey, love the videos, keep it up! Just wanted to give you a video recommendation, how to clean the engine bay of your snowmobile, just curious of the best way to clean it out and make it look nice, haven’t really seen any other videos about it. Again great videos 👍

[@MyOldSled]

Hey Isaac. I’ll file that request. I dont have a heated shop, so maybe in the off season.

[@StreetersGarage]

Don’t lick it. Best tip. 😀 Great video as always. Thanks!

[@MyOldSled]

If I can save one life by preventing battery licking, it will have been worth it!

[@StreetersGarage]

My Old Sled That made my day! Lol

[@20_below]

I figured out how to make it snow. I moved to Alaska!

[@MyOldSled]

That’ll do it :)

[@teamwti6368]

We would REALLY like to see the snow dance.

[@MyOldSled]

You're not ready for the snow dance.

[@Domster19888]

Almost at 7k subscribers, congrats David, another great video!

[@MyOldSled]

Thanks Domster, and thanks for watching.

[@carolinadave774]

Very good video, you do a great job the getting all the information for the correct information. Very impressive. A battery is also very explosive. I use the maintenance tenders on all my batteries. It extends the life of my batteries by keeping them fully charged. Like all products you will occasionally get a defective battery that only last a season or two but in most cases it will definitely extend the overall battery life.

[@MyOldSled]

Thanks for watching Dave.

[@MyOldSled]

A battery isnt explosive per se. when charging, a battery produces hydrogen which is explosive. Thats why you need to charge the, in a ventilated area.

[@truenorthmuskoka9077]

Dave I recently had to replace my sled battery. Interstate told me not to charge it using a car battery charger due to the high amperage. I should be using a trickle charger that puts out about 1/2 to 1 amp.

[@MyOldSled]

Hi TNM. Sorry that happened to you. You can use a car charger, as long as it has a low amperage setting for sport batteries. Most batteries will have a label which lists the charge requirements.

[@wyattfrazier99]

Cool, thanks for making this video.

[@MyOldSled]

Thanks for watching

[@pdeszcz]

Well done.

[@MyOldSled]

Thank you

[@Schillsifer]

I've noticed that you put a secondary seat on your old sled. Can you show more on that and maybe explain how it mounts/works? Love the videos by the way keep up the good work! -Jake S.

[@MyOldSled]

I have a video on it...seat jack.

[@michaelwojnar9247]

good info for the next video would be... When you buy a new battery, make sure to clean the terminals on the battery before installation. They get lead sulfate on them from sitting waiting to be purchased.

[@MyOldSled]

Usually lead sulfate builds up inside the battery. You can get copper out aluminum sulfate build up on terminals from corroded connectors but I’ve never seen it on a new battery. Always good practice to make sure terminals are clean though. Thanks for watching.

[@pinittowinit8481]

"Dont lick it" thank for the crucial info

[@kwadlife4106]

Have you ever tried a lithium batterie? I'm going to need a new batterie for my 09 rev xp this year and was thinking about spending a little more for one.

[@rightwinggunslinger1]

Curious. what is typically done with a sled battery vent tube. Bought an e start machine without its battery. Now i have a battery, filled and slow charged. What should i do with the vent tube? Should it be coiled or something so the acid doesnt spill in the event the machine tips over?

[@MyOldSled]

Mine doesnt have one, but I believe they generally run under the sled through the belly pan.

[@icyrc]

retractable wheel system for skis

[@MyOldSled]

I have to get a set of those with the amount of road running I'm doing.

[@icyrc]

@@MyOldSled wen u do get them can u do a revew on them

[@GPOutdoors]

Morning David. Really helpful and informative video! Looking forward to the next part. How do you feel about simply disconnecting the negative terminal for the off-season and leaving the battery in the sled? Cheers!

[@MyOldSled]

Thats a good point, which ended up cut by mistake. Always a good idea unless the vehicle has a charge port.

[@truenorthmuskoka9077]

My Old Sled disconnecting the negative terminal is really only beneficial if you have a parasitic draw. If you dont have this theoretically you should be ok to leave the neg terminal connected. Thats been my experience and Ive not had any issues over the winter. Good video by the way. Thx

[@MyOldSled]

I agree TNM. Any draw would be minimal, but its not a bad practice.

[@jeremydelarosa7605]

How much cold cranking ups do we need?

[@MyOldSled]

Any 12v snowmobile battery should be fine, most are going to be between 240 and 350. Buy whatever is recommended for your sled.

[@markswallow7587]

Any tips on secondary clutch adjustment? Thanks!

[@MyOldSled]

Yep, wait for my next video :)

[@MyOldSled]

Basically, adjust until the belt sits with the teeth (only) above the edge of the secondary. So the bottom of the outer cogs. You want the maximum travel up and down the pulley.

[@rltkktlr]

Hey Dave great video thanks. I have an issue maybe you can help me with. 2016 Polaris Assult. Bought it as a demo sled from Polaris with 400 miles on it late season 2016. Now when I went to start it on their lot battery was dead, kinda surprised but they put in a new one and I took it home. Now going on my 3rd season and 3 more battery’s!! It seems as though, 1st of all sled could use a bigger battery but have replaced with recommend battery’s, but if below 15 to 20 degrees just won’t turn over very well. Plus there seems to be a drain on battery, if it sits for a week or 2 it has discharged a fair amount, the only remedy is to disc the battery or keep a tender on it.but even then when below 15 degrees just won’t do the job. Last time I put a brand new battery in was December, keep hoping anew battery will fix it, insane I know. While my wife’s IQ keeps cranking no problem on her 3rd season on battery. Any ideas to try and fix, thought maybe a bad rectifier or something could cause a drain but again even if battery full is very weak for this sled when starts to get cool out. Thanks again for all the great videos. Bob

[@MyOldSled]

Seems like theres something drawing that shouldn’t maybe a wire thats chewed or a bad switch thats drawing voltage. Im sorry i don't know your sled, but i would try isolating the problem by disconnecting things like the handle bar wiring, guages etc, then checking the battery the next day. You could put a meter across switches to see if your getting voltage on a circuit thats supposed to be off. My next video ill be talking about how to ensure the battery is good, but i doubt you have that many bad batteries.

[@rltkktlr]

Thanks Dave. I suppose also I could have 2 problems, rarely does it seem like that’s the case, but I suppose a draw somewhere plus a starter that’s pulling too many amps, although I thought I did check that, or maybe tried with a clamp style amp meter around the positive cable, thinking that would work but I don’t think I got a valid result, I should have noted my results. Looking forward to your next video.

[@MyOldSled]

That wouldn’t draw the battery down when the sled sits as you described.

[@rltkktlr]

I agree Dave, that’s why it seems like two problems. Now tonight after. Sitting for 8 days cranked well, started what I would consider normal but it’s 24 degrees out. Sooooo, in general seems more temp related. Might be a tough one. I will let you know what I find.

[@jacklee9538]

Determining charge level by voltage can be misleading. The voltage of a charging battery can be up to a little over 14 volts and still be not fully charged. As soon as a charging battery reaches 14 and a half volts, it is fully charged but that does not indicate the health or the capacity of the battery - just it is charged as well as it can be. Any voltage over 12.6 is a float voltage and will quickly disappear as soon as a load is put on it.

[@MyOldSled]

Kinda. Float voltage is the voltage your battery is maintained at after being fully charged, compensating for self discharge. Generally, you check voltage to see if your battery is charged, but correct, it doesn’t tell you the whole picture. I did another video on charging and testing batteries which gets into more detail on volts, amps, cold cranking amps and load testers. Thanks for watching.

[@nashcorson5438]

How do you put bar risers on a sled?

[@MyOldSled]

They bolt on where the handle bar does. You may need to extend the brake and throttle depending on the height you go.

[@hoonigan2004]

Hey, where did you get the grips for the running boards? I have been looking for something like what u have, thx.

[@MyOldSled]

They were on the sled when i got it. They were a dealer installed option.

[@hoonigan2004]

@@MyOldSled oh, makes sense why I can't find them anywhere lol

[@IXxMcCoyxXl]

She’s a rough year for snowmobiling in Canada for sure. Maybe 6inches here

[@MyOldSled]

Hang in there,. Looks like i might be able to get out this week

[@wanderer508]

totally depends on geography. We have 2-3 feet here in N/E Ont. biggest problem for us, it has not been cold enough to freeze the ground and water. I have been sledding on my property since our first snow Nov 1, 2019.....10 inches.

[@MyOldSled]

What part of ontario?

[@wanderer508]

@@MyOldSled I am N. of New Liskeard.

[@wanderer508]

@@MyOldSled I am North of New Liskeard.

[@curtisgray7751]

What’s the name of that two up seat you have on your ski Doo

[@MyOldSled]

Seat jack

[@MyOldSled]

I did a video about it a long time ago, not the best quality. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHy1pqyVodycnLM