Help, bike won't start no more.

[2wheelie]

Please help, I came from a ride, shut the engine with a kill switch, but forgot to turn the key to the off position. Of course the next day bike didn't start. I tried to recharge it using the battery charger but it's not recharging. I tried jump starting from another bike, lights came up, but only a ticking noise. I removed cables from a dead battery and connected cables directly to a different bike's battery (and it's working fine on the other bike), the lights came up - but again this ticking noise... I afraid that if I get a new battery, I'll get the same result. Any suggestions?

 

[thieu]

if the battery was 100% dead then some chargers will not start to charge - it's a reverse polarity/short protection mechanism. the clicking your hearing is most likely the solinoid - it will make a rapid noise when the battery is too low. Try Boosting your bike - but give it 5 minutes before you try from the first time. That should give the cables enough time to transfer the juice needed to get things going properly - failing that perhaps you need a new battery.

 

[JustinID]

It shouldn't click with the kill switch turned off. Definitely sounds like a dead battery to me. Also, even if you do manage to get it recharged at all, when you completely kill a car/bike battery, you've typically at least damaged it, if not ruined it.

I'd say Thieu has the right idea on what to try first, but be ready to replace it.

 

[abraxas]

My fazer has ALWAYS bump started. Even when dead dead dead.

Once running, rev gently to charge a little, which should then continue idling, or if she doesn't charge, and stalls when you tap off, you got other problems too (like "broken" battery).

 

[sxty8goats]

The cables draw a lot of power, it has a long way to travel form the 'good' battery to your bike and back. That is why you normally can't start a dead car with just batteries and a jumper. You have to have the other car running to boost the power a bit. If it is really dead, you often have to let it run a few minutes to get a minimal charge in the dead battery.

And as said before, a lot of chargers won't charge a completely dead battery. Try taking your battery out of you bike and charging it off the bike. That will sometimes work because you don't have the electrical system of the bike drawing excess power from your battery and that will allow the charger to charge the battery. Your charger should have an indicator light of some kind or a guage to show if it is charging. Read the charger manual. Sometimes what seem obviously correct is not.

If you do pull the battery, don't put it on concreat or asfault to charge it. Put it on a piece of wood. Wood will insulate it from ground. You do loose energy to ground if the battery is sitting on a grounded surface.

 

[2wheelie]

Thanks, I'll give another try this evening. Do I need to take the battery off the bike completely, or will it ok just disconnecting the wires (from the bike) off the battery and charge it right there?

 

[sxty8goats]

Thanks, I'll give another try this evening. Do I need to take the battery off the bike completely, or will it ok just disconnecting the wires (from the bike) off the battery and charge it right there?

Just pulling the wires off would be fine to charge. But with a totally dead battery, there is always the chance of real damage to the battery. Charging can sometimes cause it to split or leak. Spilling acid inside the bike and causing corrosion. In extreme cases they may explode. So I like and recommend pulling it out and charging it someplace safe. In the drive way, on a board, 5 or so feet from anything that can burn. Once you get to the point of taking off the leads, it is just another half minute or so to pull it.

I'm not sure how old the battery / bike is. If the battery is 3 or 4 years old, I'd just pick up a new one. If it is one or two, and it hasn't been drained dead more than a couple times, it should be fine after a full charge.