JP68 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Ok there's more this story, My wife and I have been dealing with a serious medical issue that hasn't allowed us ride for the past year. Typically what I do is to put the bike on a trickle charger in our heated garage in the fall. Our last ride of the year is typically in September or October. We then start riding again in spring about April or May. But this year was different. I stored the bike in the fall of 2010 as usual but Susan got sick and we didn't ride at all the next summer or fall. We finished chemo in November. She's doing very well and her Doctor's are very pleased with her progress. Anyway, I went out today to try and start the bike, turned on the key, all of the usual lights went on, I hit the starter and I got one grunt and then click, click, click... sort of a machine gun effect. The lights were still on and didn't dim... I was hoping one of you guys that are more mechanically inclined than myself could give me an arm chair diagnosis before I have the bike taken to the shop. I always like to know what I'm up against before I speak to the mechanic. Thanks, Link to comment
AviP Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 That's battery for sure. Looks like you need a new one. Starting has a much bigger draw than lights. Link to comment
PAS Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hello JP68, Sorry to hear of the health issues. Perhaps the the battery was cooked dry, depending on what type it is. Sure sounds like it's dead. What type of charger did you use would help. Usually a Battery Tender" is pretty safe. Link to comment
David13 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 First I would check the battery. It sounds like it just might be that simple. And that would include the load test. dc Hey? Two other people can type faster than me? Link to comment
4wheeldog Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 It is either a kaput battery, or a bad/corroded battery connection. If you have access to a volt meter, you might strip it down so you have access to the battery terminals and check voltage while you hit the starter button......If the voltage drops to less than 10 volts, you need a new lead pile. Link to comment
JP68 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thank's guys, I was thinking since the lights all came on strong that the battery was fine. I use a Battery Tender for my trickle charger... If it's only the battery that's really good news,,, Thank's guys.. Link to comment
Quinn Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Well, you could try to jump start it to see if that works. But it really does sound like a battery. ----- Link to comment
texasaggie97 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Ditto to what everyone else said. My bike did the same thing and I got a Shorai Lithium 18AH PBEq 12 Volt LiFePO4. This battery is a little more expensive but it is light and lasted a long time without any issues and the heat and cold did not seem to effect it. I did this because the BMW GS battery was hard to get to at the time and I hated messing with it. My .002 Link to comment
Selden Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thank's guys, I was thinking since the lights all came on strong that the battery was fine. . I use a Battery Tender for my trickle charger... If it's only the battery that's really good news,,, Thank's guys.. It happens -- often with little or no warning. Last spring, my HawkGT, which spends a lot of time on a Battery Tender, started to become more difficult to start. The Battery Tender would fairly quickly bring it to a "full" charge (green light), but cranking remained weak. I took the battery to a Batteries Plus shop, and they said it checked out. A week later, I stalled the engine at a stoplight, and there wasn't enough juice to restart; fortunately, I was on a hill, turned around, and bump started it to get home. This time a different person at Batteries Plus put a load tester on it, and sure enough, too few amps to start. With a new battery, starting was nearly instantaneous. Link to comment
Huzband Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Just because all the the usual lights come on when you light the ignition doesn't mean you have a good battery. You could theoretically light your start ups with a nine volt, but as soon as you hit the starter button, every thing shuts down. And that's what you have. Battery Tender or not, batteries die. But before you spend money on a new one, have it tested. If it tests good, then you need to look elsewhere. Oh, you didn't say how old the battery is. Link to comment
JP68 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Lets see we've owned the RT since 2000 and this is the second battery... I believe that the first one lasted about 5 or 6 years, but that was before I started using the tender.. I guess I thought as long as I kept it charged I wouldn't have any problems. Apparently I was mistaken... If it's not the battery what else might it be? Link to comment
David13 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 If it's not the battery it might be the Easter Bunny has cast an evil spell onto your bike and made it jinxed. It's the battery! The first battery, 5 or 6 years out from 2000 was 2005 or 2006. Since then is ... 5 or 6 years! Maybe you could get an exorcism on the bike and see if that's it. dc Link to comment
Galactic Greyhound Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Lets see we've owned the RT since 2000 and this is the second battery... I believe that the first one lasted about 5 or 6 years, but that was before I started using the tender.. I guess I thought as long as I kept it charged I wouldn't have any problems. Apparently I was mistaken... If it's not the battery what else might it be? Batteries have a finite life in terms of the total ampere-hours they can supply. The manufacturers will not release this lifetime ampere-hours information. A battery tender is only of use to keep the battery charged - if left near discharged, a battery will deteriorate rapidly and not be able to supply its designed output. You can verify the likely battery problem by disconnecting the bike's battery negative terminal and jumpering a car battery to the bike battery 12v+ terminal and the 12v- lead you have disconnected - do not run the car engine when doing this or connect the jumper leads directly onto both the bike's battery terminals. I wish you both all the best on the health problem and hope you now have many happy years enjoying the bike. Link to comment
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