battery help

[03cobrah]

hey guys i really need some help right now i've been having motorcycle withdrawal for a few weeks now.

i used to ride my bike to work 1 mile to and from, every day on my bike. one cold night it died at work, the bike would not start. when the key is in the on position the tacho cycles like normal but will not start. i got it towed back.

today i started tinkering with my bike since it's the only time i have i started charging the battery with my buddies motorcycle speed charge maintainer. the instructions state to do it for 2.5 hrs and i've charged it for 4 hrs.

reinstalled into my bike and now when i turn the key to the on position my hazards flash. my lights do not turn on and i can't seem to turn the hazards off or anything. the tacho cycles like normal but you don't here that high pitch ring like you normally would when you turn the key to on.

hope this makes sense i'm working a mid crew shift so my sleep is all jacked up.

 

[Motogiro]

I'm imagining you have polarity correct. Double check with a volt meter. Check voltage with key off then look at voltage with key on. You should be looking at 12.6- 13.0 volts and with the key on it shouldn't drop below12 volts. Your battery may be toast.

 

[ThatsRicci]

too many short rides, battery just goes dead. take her for a real ride!

 

[Motogiro]

too many short rides, battery just goes dead. take her for a real ride!

That is correct but he may have a bad battery now. The only real way to know for sure is have it charged and load tested....

 

[03cobrah]

That is correct but he may have a bad battery now. The only real way to know for sure is have it charged and load tested....

thanks for the replies guys, i'm assuming i can have this battery tested at my local auto parts store?

should i be looking at the same voltages when it gets tested motogiro? she also has some good mileage on her about 21000

 

[Motogiro]

thanks for the replies guys, i'm assuming i can have this battery tested at my local auto parts store?

should i be looking at the same voltages when it gets tested motogiro?

Those are pretty much nominal voltages. They wont be exact but you'll know you have a problem if you've got 12 plus volts and turn the key on and the voltage dumps to 10 or 11 volts.
Wet cells like to stay topped off and when they don't get maintained they can just give up the ghost.
Good luck and let us know how you made out!

 

[novaks47]

I've got loads of battery experiences. I have a car that gets driven one or twice a month, and have stored many others. I'm also into electric R/C cars and trucks, and love rechargeable batteries of all types for my various hobbies. Heck, batteries alone can be a hobby. lol Here's a test.

1. Unhook the battery.

2. FULLY charge it.

3. Let it sit overnight.

4. Sometime afternoon, take a voltmeter to it.

If it's 12V or less, it's toast. If it's a little over 12V(12.3V or more), let it sit unplugged, and check it later on. If it's dropped a few hours later, or even the next day, time for a new battery. A good battery will stabilize, and hold that voltage for days, even weeks, provided it's not getting pulled down by something. Yuasa makes great batteries, should you need a new one. Hope this helps!

Also, a 1 mile ride isn't enough for anything to function correctly. Your oil won't even come up to temp by then! Take a nice ride after work, or at least take it out on the weekends and enjoy it.

 

[03cobrah]

again, thanks a lot for the helpful replies guys..

update:

since my last post my battery has been sitting in the bike, it has been charged but i wasn't able to take a DMM to it to see how many volts it had. i know my battery was hooked up right only because the digital clock was showing up, and many other electronic things (cept the bike). Note: i left the battery in my bike, because it was way too cold for me to go outside and take it out.

i went to autozone today since i don't have a DMM and it was reading 10 volts, i'm going to charge it again today, then unhook it for another day and test it out and see where it stands. thanks

 

[novaks47]

If it shows 10 volts one day after being fully charged, it's done for.

 

[03cobrah]

hey guys just installed the bikemaster truegel battery (mg12b-4) and my bike works now. thanks for the help guys