HDXX Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 what do you think? I tried to go for a ride this morning and the bird would not start. The bike has been sitting for a month or so without being riding. I have had a battery tender on the bike the whole time. The battery is less then a year old. I jumped the bike and heard a pop. the bike started but soon as the jumper cables were taken off it died. That was the only shot i had. Lights nothing work and can't get it started. I realise i probbaly fried the battery but what other damage could have been done? Also, why are my batteries not lasting more then a year? THANKS- FOR ANY HELP-SCOTT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Scott, Attached is a link for trouble shooting. Charging trouble shooting Do you have any Farkles on the bike? Any thing that could draw the battery down when the bike is sitting? Also, are you using a tender, or just a trickle charger. I recently cooked a old battery on my Magna with a 1 amp charger. It boiled off the electrolite after a few months. I would start with a Volt meter and check the battery voltage. Any less that 12.5 volts with no load and you have battery problems. If close to 12 volts, disconnect it from the bike and charge it. Measure again. 12.5 to 13 volts is a good non-loaded voltage. Let the charged battery sit overnight and check again. If still good, connect again, and measure. Follow the electrosport guide from there. The challenge now, is that you need a good battery to trouble shoot. You also may have blown a fuse during the jump start. A stator with low output, a R/R going bad, or something loading the system can cause a flat battery. Also, dry charged batterys really need to be charged full before installing them. If not, they tend to fail early. Start with the disconnected charge, and post what measuements you get after that. What year bird? Edit: Just wondering, did you install a YUASA AGM style battery or a lead plate type. My AGM style is 7+ years old and I am thinking on spending the extra bucks for another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Dave Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 If you heard a pop or a crack when you hooked up the jumper cables and the bike quit as soon as you took them off, you might have a bad connection somewhere. Try hooking the charger up but attach the ground lead to the bike frame instead of the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDXX Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 If you heard a pop or a crack when you hooked up the jumper cables and the bike quit as soon as you took them off, you might have a bad connection somewhere. Try hooking the charger up but attach the ground lead to the bike frame instead of the battery. THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE HELP! The battery is a kragen.k special. It was sitting with a harbor freight battery tender. I threw the old battery away -awaiting a new AGM battery in the mail tmrw. I will check the fuse which i hope didn't blow. I hope for the bad connection thing and no stator issues. I'm thinking of charging the new battery and throwing on th e bike to see what happens- is that a bad idea? i can deal with the fuse but if the stator or anything else major needs replaced i'm screwed for now. The on line battery store tells me extreme heat is the cause of my battery issues. it does get 110 degrees in the summer here. not sure what to believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 It was sitting with a harbor freight battery tender. Is the Harbor Freight unit an actual battery tender or a trickle charger? If a trickle charger, you shouldn't leave it on indefinitely as it won't cut back the charge when the battery is fully charged. Best bet is to pick up an actual "Battery Tender" from Deltran. I leave mine on one of these whenever the bike is not being ridden: Clicky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Scott, It is best to charge the battery before installing it. Make sure you have a charger that slow charges and shuts down when the battery is full. A straight 6 amp car charger will damage a small battery in a hurry. I was multitasking poorly when I responded to you earlier. In Georgia, we get many 100 degree days, and a few 16 degree nights. My bike has the origional battery and has never been on a tender or charger. I did leave my Magna, with a old lead plate battery on a 1 amp charger for a couple of months. It went from slow start, to no lights. I pulled the battery to find I had boiled all the acid from the battery. I would charge my new battery, and let it sit overnight. Measure it not connected, then installed with the switch off. There should be very little difference. Then start her and measure the voltage at the rpms described in the test guide. If the charge voltages are good, run with it. I would try not using your tender for a while. As I said, I ride every couple of weeks, worse case and have 7+ years on my battery. I am changing it soon, but this is because I don't want to stress the charging system with a old battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Best bet is to pick up an actual "Battery Tender" from Deltran. I leave mine on one of these whenever the bike is not being ridden: I couldn't agree more. I don't use it in them summer because I don't think that it needs it but it gets it the rest of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDXX Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 THANK YOU- Got new gel battery charged plugged her in and the bird fired right up. riding tonight but everything seems okay no damage done. still nedd to test that charging system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 still need to test that charging system Yes you do. At least make sure you are not overcharging the new EXPENSIVE battery. I suspect all is well and your substainer was actually a trickle charger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDXX Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 I WAS USING A CHEAP HARBOR FREIGHT FLOAT CHARGER- IT'S SUPPOSED TO SHUT OFF WHEN IT'S FULLY CHARGED. I BOUGHT THE BATTERY TENDER JUNIOR AS SUGGESTED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 nm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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