Battery problem?  Gotta fix before the Bash, help?

[ericyow]

Here's my issue. I got a brand new battery from Batteries plus and it still won't crank. When attempting, the guages shut off and nothing happens. It'll try once or twice, then no more, when the battery is fully charged. The bike will push off easily, but that's no fun. It jump starts fine too. I suppose I'll take it to Autozone and get the system checked? But I figure I'd better ask for some input from you guys since I HAVE to get it right before the Bash!

Thanks for any input.

-yow!

 

[TurboSN95]

Almost sounds like the terminal is loose and barely touching... then when you crank it, it can't get full power.

What happened with the last battery? Same issue and that is why you replaced it?

 

[BowDown]

Sounds like a relay issue. Do you hear a click when you press the start button?

 

[ericyow]

I don't know if it clicks, I'll check that out and get back to you. It shouldn't be a connection issue, at least at the battery terminal, as everything is super tight and doesn't show corrosion at all. The last battery was the same Xtreme brand XTA12A-BS from Batteries Plus, also, that the former owner had on it. I had the old battery tested and it came back faulty, so I replaced it with my new one. Now that there's a new battery, and fully charged with my overnight trickle charge, there's got to be something else.

I planned to ride today, but I won't be if I can't get this sorted. What's more important is that I get it figured out before the Bash. Should I just take it somewhere? Trying to save the dough if I can.

 

[zukracer]

ummmm yeah, so I had a dead yuasa 14 and replaced it with the same one you did (due to lack of options available at the time) and it was supposed to be "fully charged"

Ask PDBusa, it sat on the charger at his house for almost a week before the stupid battery had enough charge to turn over the bike. Not sure if its a brand/battery issue or if we both got the lower charged ones or what but I'll probably be replacing mine with another Yuasa 14 from Charles very soon

If you turn the key on and have it "ready to start" (neutral, set to run, etc) you should hear the fuel pump prime up (a whine noise). If you hear that, do you get enough juice to power your head lamp? When you press the start button does it try to kick over or does it just click as mentioned before? Might try to jump start it from another power source (car/jump box) and see if it starts. If so, the battery is probably to blame. As with anything, make sure your connections are solid, I know this one was a pain in the anus with the stupid nut/screw setup they provided

 

[ericyow]

Well, my trickle charger said it's "charged" as soon as I hooked it up. When we jumped it off, it had to turn over a bunch to crank, but other than that it was fine. It's got to just be that cheap, crappy battery, I guess. I get power to the fuel pump (whine) and lights. Charging it overnight, I went out this morning, installed the battery, it tried to turn over maybe 2-3 times before it lacked power to even pretend to care.

Maybe I'll take the battery back to batteries plus and go buy the $110 Yuasa from the stealership.

 

[mrninja9]

i wonder if the starter isnt going out

 

[zukracer]

do you have a battery tender? I know mine said it was at 80% but took forever to get back to 100% and then it seemed ok... maybe the charger is bad? I'm probably replacing the cheapy one with a yuasa but if you get one, get the 14 not the 12, you'll enjoy it much more

Look up Charles @ street and track (board sponsor) he has the 14s and a great price on them if you can get the cheapy one working in the mean time. I would take it back to batteries plus and get them to make it good otherwise

 

[ericyow]

Well, the bike starts when jumped off by a shop's starter machine, so I wouldn't think it's the starter. Right? I'll try to get the 14 but the only one local is expensive. If batteries plus will take mine back, so be it, I'll bite the bullet. I just want it to be reliable already! We'll see.

The battery tender was the trickle charge I left it on overnight at 1.5. As soon as I hooked it up it went from "charging" to "charged". So I'm not sure what the deal is.

-yow!

 

[Aquaman]

Sounds like that new battery is junk

 

[GSXRFANN]

Sounds like that new battery is junk

That is what I was thinking!!

 

[Sloto200]

Do you hear the fuel pump running when you turn the key on? I'm guessing not since the gauges dont move.

 

[ericyow]

Yeah, I hear the whine of the fuel pump. The guages and lights come on, but when I hit the starter they go off completely, as long as the button is held down.

Thanks for ya'll's help. I'm going to take that battery back to Batteries Plus later and hope they'll give me my money back.

 

[ericyow]

Well, Batteries Plus took my battery back and swapped it out for the more expensive one. Since I had the bike in the back of the truck, we tested it out. They're telling me all is well with my system but they couldn't explain how the other battery got drained so quickly. If my new battery drains down, I'll know there's a problem somewhere.

Thanks for the help. If you see me at the Bash, the battery's working out!