Quad wont start, there is no power at all

[justinm]

Hey guys, I raced round 1 for WORCS this last weekend and the quad ran great. It has always started right up and never had to do anything to the battery since i got it in 2008. Yesterday it worked and fired right up. after the race i didn't wash it till thismorning at home. I went to start it up after I washed it and there is no power to the lights or anything when I turn the key. The last time I fired it up was before the race. After the race I didn't start it. It was very muddy tho. I let the quad dry for a while and tried it a couple hours later and the same. What do you guys think? Thanks.

Justin

[AZ450XC]

Hey guys, I raced round 1 for WORCS this last weekend and the quad ran great. It has always started right up and never had to do anything to the batter since i got it in 2008. Yesterday it worked and fired right up. after the race i didn't wash it till thismorning at home. I went to start it up after I washed it and there is no power to the lights or anything when I turn the key. The last time I fired it up was before the race. After the race I didn't start it. It was very muddy tho. I let the quad dry for a while and tried it a couple hours later and the same. What do you guys think? Thanks. Justin

Check the battery cables, they can loosen. Check the ground cable to the frame. Check the fuse on the starter relay (near the battery). Could also be the key switch, they get full of water and quit working.

[justinm]

ok ill check it out. thanks. It seems like there is sand or something in the key switch. Is there a way to upen it up and clean it?

[AZ450XC]

ok ill check it out. thanks. It seems like there is sand or something in the key switch. Is there a way to upen it up and clean it?

It is a pain to take apart without breaking it but it can be done. Try and spray some contact cleaner in it. You can also eliminate the key by building a jumper plug.

[justinm]

ok, I'll try that when I work on it. What is a jumper plug?

[AZ450XC]

It's just a 4 pin electrical you can build. The 4 wires on the key switch get "Jumped". On the 08 XC there should be Green, Orange, White/Orange and Blue. The Orange and Green are crossed and the Blue and White/Orange are crossed.

[justinm]

ok, thanks for all the info. im going to check it out

[justinm]

Thanks for the help. I looked at the connections to the battery today and it burned a whole into one of the cables that connect to the battery.

[desert2007]

wowzers burned a hole? thats no bueno sir. ALOT of resistance going on there. I use die-electric grease on EVERY electrical connection on my quad and since then ive had no issues with electrical. Id do that asap if you havent already. Otherwise these muddy/sandy/wet races will make electrical gremlins pop up.

[justinm]

ok, good advice, thanks!

[airmobile101]

Whats the deal with this key switch? As JustinM described, my quad doesn't have power at all sometimes. I just grab the key and shake it and then all the power lights come on. Does the key switch need to be cleaned? I can always get it to come on,just worried that it will go off during a race.

[justinm]

You might just want to try to clean the inside. Spray some cleaner into it. It shouldnt hurt. I did and I got all the water and rocks out. I know that wasn't my problem because my cable melted in half.

[AZ450XC]

Whats the deal with this key switch? As JustinM described, my quad doesn't have power at all sometimes. I just grab the key and shake it and then all the power lights come on. Does the key switch need to be cleaned? I can always get it to come on,just worried that it will go off during a race.

The key switch is a problem child, it is expensive and it likes to corrode inside. When mine went bad I tore it all apart and it had mud, mold and everything else in it. When I rebuilt the new one I filled it completely with dielectric grease and it has been good since.

Option B is to buy a 4 point water tight plug and build the jumper to bypass the key. If you have a bad key switch you can salvage the plug that goes into the main wire harness and just build on to it.

[airmobile101]

The key switch is a problem child, it is expensive and it likes to corrode inside. When mine went bad I tore it all apart and it had mud, mold and everything else in it. When I rebuilt the new one I filled it completely with dielectric grease and it has been good since.

Option B is to buy a 4 point water tight plug and build the jumper to bypass the key. If you have a bad key switch you can salvage the plug that goes into the main wire harness and just build on to it.

AZ450.......... Its practically a new quad! There shouldn't be any mud in there. lol Screw it, Im gonna cut it open and clean it. A dremel does wonders with super glue

[KTMTROUPE]

I've got the same problem, but I got lights and stuff to come on when I replaced the main fuse. Now when I try and start it the relay clicks but nothing else. Is my relay bad or something else?

[AZ450XC]

AZ450.......... Its practically a new quad! There shouldn't be any mud in there. lol Screw it, Im gonna cut it open and clean it. A dremel does wonders with super glue

It will come apart at the seam near the wire end. Just takes a little love with a small flat head screwdriver.

[airmobile101]

Good deal!