getting close to the moment of truth.....put the battery in to test my wiring....... it is a walmart battery...not even 2 years old.....turn the key and
nothing......check the battery with a volt meter switched to the 20 mark and it reads around 8 or so. threw a test light on it and it is dim but lights
up......check it again after i left the test light on a minute and it dropped to like 6....WTF. i just charged it up like 2 months ago to make sure it ws
charged and it charged up....i got one of them Schumacher smart chargers......now when i keep hooking it up to the charger it keeps defaulting.....wont
charge....says in the Schumacher manual that when the battery keeps defaulting either a bad connection or the battery is bad. sanded the connections clean and
cleaned em off with acetone...did the same to the clamps on the charger...still keeps defaulting....is the battery too low to take a charge and can i try to
jump it off my car battery??? or do i need a new battery??
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is my battery toast?
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 222CT |
is my battery toast? |
Lead | |
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Posts: 601 (05/10/08 1:10 PM) |
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mad750 |
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Posts: 329 (05/10/08 1:25 PM) |
Jump it off your car. Didn't turn the car on but just hook to the battery. Connect to bike and ground it to the bike frame. If it starts up, ride it for a
bit to see if the charging system will keep it charged. If not your battery is dead and check your rectifier/regulator.
"If you don't love the blues, you got a hole in your soul"
-Jimmy Rogers |
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 Roadcat |
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Posts: 168 (05/10/08 2:16 PM) |
A 12v lead/acid battery is a box with six 2volt cells in it. You need a battery hydrometer to check each of those cells. A fully charged battery will have a
specific gravity of about 1.265 in each cell. A battery that had a full charge recently and became discharged (leaving lights/ign on, etc.) can likely be
charged fully and be useful again. If the Sp.G. reading is the same in each cell whether charged or discharged, there's a chance it's salvagable. If
the readings vary from cell to cell, prolly it's scrap. Your volt meter will tell you the battery voltage but it will not tell you the condition of each
individual cell. The most important tool to determine battery condition is a hydrometer. In the battery business, the specific gravity is the first thing
checked when determining battery condition. Charged or discharged. The next test is a load test. The starter is the most commonly used.
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222CT |
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Posts: 602 (05/10/08 2:19 PM) |
well i hooked it up to the car battery....after about 3 minutes i went and checked the voltage and it said 10 volts. threw the clamps back on and went and
checked my grounds connections......went back after another 3 minutes and the battery reads 12 volts.....how can that be after like 5 to 6 minutes??? so for
shits i threw it back on the schumacher charger and it reads fully charged green light. threw it in the bike and the lights work......i dont
understand...could this battery be charged that quick or is going to go anytime???....the lights seemed dim but the bike is not ready to be run yet...CLOSE any
day....maybe monday. maybe it needed a kick in the ass after sitting for so long. since about dec with one charge in between then and now. should i get a
better battery??
maybe a stupid question....But..will a SLA battery work for these bikes.....such as a power wheels battery. i have a selection...a 12 volt 9.5 amp or i could use two 6 volt 14 amp wired in a series. |
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222CT |
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Posts: 603 (05/10/08 2:27 PM) |
could advance auto check the gravity??? guess i could call. there is acid in it and it is full. cant believe it would be bad after not having a problem with
it since i got it 2 years ago. actually most of the time i had it i was running it off the old electrics(old reg rec and old wiring from 197whatever)i only
recenttly redid all the wiring. added a reg rec from LRT...maybe the old wiring which was sparking did the battery in.
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TexasRon |
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Posts: 1844 (05/10/08 3:08 PM) Senior Member |
Fuck all that.....go get another battery, walmart ones suck......maintinence free is 10 bucks more @ battery plus
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brianis |
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Posts: 196 (05/10/08 7:13 PM) |
yes walmart batteries suck i have to put mine on the tender every night
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74rat |
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Posts: 4447 (05/11/08 5:51 AM) |
It does`nt take long at all to charge a battery to where it reads 12 "volts", but to get a good "deep" charge in it, but to get it where it
puts out the amps its suppose to, may take quite a bit longer..
I`m thinking your battery is fine, but is going to need a good few hour charging at around 2 amp.. or all day on 1 / 1.5 amp charger.. I`ve read other post where guys have had bad luck with wal mart batts, but I`ve had the same one for the third season now..and I dont even take it out of the bike, or charge all winter..maybe once if it gets real nice out for a day, but thats about it.. I wonder if the brand ect of batt, is differant in other states/stores?.. I have an automatic batt charger, and if for some reason Itry to use it on a very dead batt, it will peg over to the "full charged" position, and the green light will come on, saying its charged, yet the batt will be dead as hell.. Point is, some chargers will falsely show a batt is charged, when its actually dead as hell.. I`ve had to switch my charger from automatic, to manual to get a batt to charge.. when in doubt..knock`um out...H.C.C.M.F LOCAL 6978 Flint Michigan..3rd most dangerous city in the USA..come back and visit us..sorry we "missed" you the first time..LOL |
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baz7504 |
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Posts: 1233 (05/11/08 6:37 AM) |
Here is my .02, If a battery is less than say, $50 and I have to lose a weekend screwing with it....replace it. The other reason is because I had to push my
bike from Minneapolis almost all the way to St. Paul (not as close as they look, LOL) because of a battery that took fiddling with to get to charge. Trust is
worth a few extra bucks. Plate type batteries can be good for 3years or not even one full season, regardless of brand. I buy gel-cell batteries as they are
less suseptable to vibration. And I shake it like I spent my birthday buck-naked.
If I can't kill it, f*#k it, or paint flames on it...I have no use for it.
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