Drive it for a while with the regulator unplugged (leave the headlights off so you don't run down your battery quickly). See if you *don't* blow the fuse with the regulator unplugged.

Then see if you *do* blow the fuse when the regulator plugged back in. Remember that the regulator is supposed to source current to drive the electrical loads (and even source a little extra back through the battery to charge it back up). So it should be *unloading* the battery not loading it down. If you consistantly blow the fuse with the regulator plugged in, and you never blow the fuse with it unplugged then the regulator is bad.

If you have an automatic choke (also called a bystarter valve), then your quad may or may not start running a little rough as the quad warms up with the regulator unplugged. Sometimes there is an output from the regulator that drives the heater in the autochoke that shuts it off when the engine warms up. So you may only be able to do the running test with regulator unplugged for a few minutes.

 

Alright and i have a manual choke on my ATV and so when the regulator is plugged in and if the fuse blows i would have to get a new regulator ?

 

Yes. Remember that a regulator should never "draw" current from the battery (and therefore draw current through the fuse). It should only help to *unload* the battery by supplying additional power to the 12 volt system. At medium to high engine RPMs it can also produce excess current that can be used to charge the battery back up. This current flows backward through the fuse (only at medium or high RPM) thus charging the battery up.

But the output current coming from the voltage regulator depends upon it's input power from the stator. The stator is *not* capable of producing enough current to blow the fuse with reverse charging current even under the most wild failure scenarios. My 150cc quad stator (not an eton, but still the same technology) can only put out a maximum of 4.5 amps at really high RPM. Even if all of that were fed back through the fuse and through the battery (highly unlikely) that would not blow a ten amp fuse. It could overcharge the battery, and ruin it over time, but it would not blow a ten amp fuse.

 

I unplugged the wires to the lights so that the fuse couldn't blow as quick but i am trying right now and ill see if it blows while driving with the regulator plugged in.

 

OKay the regulator was out and i was going around in circles then it started to do the thing whens its in netral and like its giving up then the fuse blew

 

Hmmm. This is a strange problem. So what I'm wondering is if everything is OK and running normally and then something flexes or wiggles and shorts the 12 volt battery bus to ground. Or is something drawing a lot of current all the time - perhaps just a little over the 10 amp fuse rating so it takes a long time to blow the fuse.

I would attack this from three fronts:

1) Look very carefully at the last blown fuse. Look through the glass case at the fuse element itself. Is the fuse element broken only in the middle, and is the break in the element just a narrow gap? Or is the fuse element inside completely vaporized, with black flash deposits formed on the inside wall of the glass fuse case? If possible can you rig this fuse holder up so you can watch it blow? Does the fuse blow where the fuse element heats up and expands (physically distorting its shape), then starts to glow faintly in the middle before it opens up over many seconds? Or does it go off like a camera flash bulb - emitting a bright flash of light as the fuse element melts instantly? This information gives clues as to what kind of short we are looking for.

2) Is there anything else not working? 10 amps at 12 volts is 120 watts of power (10 amps times 12 volts = 120 watts of power). That's got to be making some heat. And things that get abnormally hot mean they aren't working right. So run the quad for a while and make a survey. Is there anything not working like it should? Is anything in that area getting hot?

3) Unplug everything you can get away with unplugging while the quad is running. Some of these things need to be plugged in to get the quad to start (like the brake switch for the starter safety interlock), but once running can be unplugged. Unplug everything you can. See if you can get it to the point where the quad will run and run without blowing fuses. Then you can start plugging things back in one at a time and see if the fuse starts blowing again, or doesn't. And since the fuse blowing is somewhat intermittent you have to accumulate a lot of data and analyze it statistically. A tough problem to be sure...

 

Uhh this thing is making me give up, i dont want to blow any more fuses because i have 1 left and i know it will break so do you think its the regulator ? Do i need a new one ?

 

But you haven't done any of the tests above. You've given up without a fight. Not even a little fight .

What's so hard about looking at the last blown fuse and reporting whether the break is just a slight break in the middle of the fuse element, or if the fuse element is vaporized into a silver black sheen on the inside of the glass? This is *important* info. It gives clues as to what is going on. That helps to figure things out.

What's so hard about paying attention to whether everything is working right while you're riding with a fuse that isn't blowing? If there is something blowing a fuse now and then the fact that you also have something not working right may likely be related.

So you have one fuse left. How much does a fuse cost versus just the cost of fuel to run the quad for an hour? Fuses are cheap. If you start up the quad and then unplug everything you may find the quad runs and runs without blowing a fuse. Then you plug things in once at a time (with lots of run time at each step) you should be able go until the last fuse blows, but then you have a clue as to where the problem is located. You've focused in on where the problem lies. You might need to buy a few more fuses, but at least you getting closer to the problem... And that's the key. Your not just wasting fuses, you're getting closer...

If I understood your previous post, you said you drove the quad around with the regulator removed. Then something happened and the fuse blew. If the regulator was *still unplugged* when the fuse blew, then the regulator *cannot* possibly be responsible for the fuse blowing.

 

THe fuse strings inside were blown out, the line in the fuse is black that used to be white and its not a big break in it but its a medium 2-3cm

 

I assume you mean 2-3 mm (2-3 cm is roughly 1 inch). 2-3 mm means the problem isn't caused by a good solid short to ground or else the fuse element would have been vaporized and deposited on the inside of the glass envelope. Something has to drawing just a little too much current (and therefor something has to be getting really hot since 120 watts of power are being consumed), or there is an intermittent short where a wire is just brushing up with ground and is intermittent.

In an earlier post you said:

What exactly does "do the thing whens its in netral and like its giving up " mean? Does your quad do this everytime just before the fuse blows? Also could you please verify that the last fuse blew with the regulator unplugged?

Is your fuse holder one that allows you to watch the fuse while it is hooked up? If so watch the fuse after you start the quad. Does it bend in the middle (indicating it is close to the fuse current limit)?

Does the fuse blow only when the quad is in motion (with all the bumping and vibrating)? Conversely does the fuse never blow when you are sitting still with the engine idling?

I would next unplug everything that will unplug after the quad is started without stopping the engine. Things like headlights, taillights, brake switches, etc. See if you can get the quad to run without fuses blowing. If you can then plug things back in one at a time.

Also I would start up the quad and wiggle and tug on every connector and cable. See if you can move something around that blows the fuse. In particular pay attention to the regulator connector/cabling and the ignition switch area.

I don't have a wiring diagram for a 150cc eton viper. Do you know if your CDI is DC powered ot AC powered?