Get charged up in your Side x Side (UTV)
When we all get through this tough time with COVID-19, hopefully, we will have some time to get out and ride our side x sides and enjoy some friends we have not been able to spend time with.
If you are like me, I am bored stiff and really need some playtime. It amazes me how much we take for granted – like just getting in the car and going… whether it is to breakfast or off to ride for a day or maybe the weekend.
I think about the show on TV – the one where the people get sent off to some island and have zero contact with anybody, and I realize how I would probably be crying and asking to leave after the first day!
So, back to the side x sides and what I have seen multiple times recently while performing their regular maintenance. Checking and servicing the battery is part of the regular maintenance in all the service repair manuals, but it seems that if the UTV starts up, you just assume it is working properly.
Depending on where you store your UTV and what the conditions are like, seems to make a big difference in how the battery and terminal conditions are. Some of the battery terminals are very corroded and losing their charge because of this problem.
Up until 2020 most of the UTV charging systems can barely handle all of the extra electrical accessories that we are installing on most of the side x sides, including radios, stereos, lights, fans, etc. So, if your battery does not have complete connections, it will start to discharge, or worse yet, lose communication to your computer.
Does your battery need to be serviced?
As you all know if you end up with a dead battery on a UTV, unless you pack a battery jump pack (which I highly recommend you do so), there is no way to push start one of these side x sides. You are just plain out of luck until you flag down someone who has some jumper cables to get you started.
The other scenario I have encountered on two Polaris RZR’s is momentarily losing communication with the computer. This will cause a complete engine miss while driving, and you start to wonder if you will be making it back that last 10 miles.
There are multiple reasons your ride could be cut short because of a breakdown. Don’t make the battery be one of them! It is easy to service and should be a part of any and all of your maintenance routines, and if not, from now on you should start thinking about it.
I hope all of the side x side community stays safe and make sure you practice social distancing. Let’s get through this together.
In the last two weeks, I have been wearing masks and gloves along with distance when someone is dropping off or picking up their UTV’s. I do not like having to do this, but my wife and I feel it is a necessary precaution for you and me to keep healthy and try not to spread the virus. But it makes me feel like I don’t get to bond with my customers as well as I did before. So, just please know that you mean the world to me and hopefully, we can shake hands in the future!
Keep safe and love hearing from you…
Until we ride again.
Owner of UTV Service specializing in shocks and suspension.
I have always loved making cars and now UTV’s run and handle there best. I do not believe in taking short cuts and when something comes along that does not fit my values I will not sell or back that product.
Business owner for over 35 years. 3-Time Nascar short track champion at our local race track Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah
UTV’s owned
2017 Polaris XPT 2-Seat Turbo-Current
2015 Polaris XP1000 -Sold
2011 Polaris RZR 800- Sold