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Message started by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 11:06:37

Title: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 11:06:37

So I go out today to play around with the savage for a bit, and it don't start. NOTHING. I push the starter and don't get anything. Not a click, not a cough, nothing. I might as well be trying to start the darn thing without the key in it. After a few minutes the neutral light slowly starts to fade, along with the other lights. What the hell happened???? The last time I started it was no more than a week ago and the freaking battery is brand new! I put it in no more than a month ago and it's a sealed maintanance free battery. What gives???

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Serowbot on 06/06/10 at 11:16:35

Tighten terminals?...

... or look for short... :-?...

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by kevinphan on 06/06/10 at 11:18:21

Sounds like a dead battery

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 11:22:02

Terminals are good, the battery is brand new. Fustrating. >:(

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by cursal on 06/06/10 at 11:22:25

return with receipt....if dead
shame...but it does happen

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 11:37:52

So that's the verdict? Dead battery? Bought the darn thing on eBay so I'm probably effed.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 11:51:16

what else can i look for? None of the electrics light up, nothing. i was cleaning the controls with some degreaser, but i already took apart the starter/kill switch control and its dry in there. how would i find a short?

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by bobbed750 on 06/06/10 at 12:22:57

maybe a bad ground? should really check the voltage on the battery, i have had a month old battery develop a bad cell and be completely dead

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 12:47:26

717C71717677242623130 wrote:

maybe a bad ground? should really check the voltage on the battery, i have had a month old battery develop a bad cell and be completely dead

I'm looking for 12v right?

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Mr. Hyde on 06/06/10 at 13:10:58

I went through 2 brand new batteries from the dealer before I got a good one. They tested great but under load they both had a bad cell (or 2). >:(

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by WD on 06/06/10 at 16:39:54

Check the fuses. Bike only has 2 and it only takes a micro-short to fry them. A bit of water in a connector will do it. Yeah, I mean condensation. Mine goes through fuses like a fat kid goes through M&Ms, I keep it outside and the fuse box fell apart years ago.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Routy on 06/06/10 at 16:46:38

First of all, disconnect one of the battery cables, then verify that the battery is fully charged,....and if it ain't, charge it. Yes, you need a voltmeter, or a charger that shows when its full charged. If it doesn't stay charged w/ cable disconnected, the battery is bad !

If the battery stays charged, then the battery is most likely good. Then connect one of the battery cables if it isn't already. After making sure everything on the bike is turned off, touch the last batt cable to the post on the battery and look for any continued sparking (best to do at night) if you see any continued sparking....no matter how small, there is a short somewhere in the electrical system. If no sparking, everything should be ok.

I have this feeling that the battery was not charged properly. Just because a battery starts the bike, that don't mean it was anywhere near full charged. Most battery failure is caused from sitting around 1/2 dead all the time, even if you ride the bike on short trips quite often. If the bike is not run for at least an hour or 2 everytime you start it, the battery state of charge is slowly going down hill, till all of a sudden one day it won't start. Sound kinda like your problem ?

.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by marine5317 on 06/06/10 at 17:52:38

After charging your battery and installing it back in your bike. Leave the pos cable off and hook up the neg cable. Now take a 12 V test light ( a 12 V single filament 1156 with 2 leads soldered on with gater clips is fine) and bridge between the pos battery terminal and the pos lead. Make sure everything is turned off . If the bulb shows any light at all , you have a short to ground somewhere in the system The brighter the light the bigger the short. The light will not glow at all if everything is normal. When hunting for a short, feel the wires as a wire that is shorted will be warm to the touch.
Ride Safe
Marine5317

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/06/10 at 18:00:56

26293328343221232B2532400 wrote:

Yea it does sound kinda like it. It's not my daily driver so it only gets ridden on my days off fora few hours. I'm at work, but once I'm off tonight I'll head over to wal mart and buy a charger and a voltometer cuz I couldn't find mine anywhere earlier. But just to verify, when I disconnect the cable to check if it charges, am I looking for it to say 12volts? And does it matter which one I take off? I hope it's the battery man, but it's only a month old!

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Charon on 06/06/10 at 18:10:31

A "new" battery is not necessarily a "charged" battery. EVERY new battery should be charged before it is ever installed. Get a low-rate charger, no more than two amps for the battery in the Savage/S40. Charge the new battery overnight, then install it. If you do not do that, you are almost guaranteed a short battery life.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Routy on 06/07/10 at 17:04:58

Quote:
But just to verify, when I disconnect the cable to check if it charges, am I looking for it to say 12volts? And does it matter which one I take off?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are disconnecting a cable to check for a short,.....not for if it charges. It doesn't matter which cable you take off. I told you to check for sparks, but if you have a 12v test light, (everyone should have one) do like Marine 5317 says to do.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/07/10 at 21:36:54

So I was pretty sure it's the battery because the meter read an output of 9.34. I connected a motorcycle battery charger from wal mart at about 1am last night, it's pushing 10pm now and the fully charged light hasn't come on yet, is this how long it takes???

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Educatedredneck on 06/07/10 at 22:19:08

It can take all night. Just be sure you dont have a short when u put it back in. Watch how the cables mount to the battery, and make sure they are good and tight. When I went to put my new one in, I shorted it out and melted my clutch cable, DOH!!!
Needed a new one anyway. ;D ;D

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Routy on 06/07/10 at 22:20:11

If its a 1 1/2 amp charger on a 20 amp hr battery, it seems like it would be charged by now. But leave it on till morning.

I hope you left a cable disconnected just in case you have a short in the system. If there is a short or something is left on, the charger never will show full charge.

Check the voltage on the battery while charging,....it should be in the hi 13 or 14 volts by now.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/07/10 at 22:47:01

39362C372B2D3E3C343A2D5F0 wrote:

It's not in the bike so nothing is connected, the meter is at a steady 15. Should I still leave it or am I gonna cause harm to it

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by verslagen1 on 06/07/10 at 22:58:19

What I was told, is those meters aren't worth a sh!t.
But regardless of what amperage it's charging at... 24 hours should be fully charged.

If it's brand new, take it back.

If it's old, then get a new one.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Edgar on 06/08/10 at 00:21:39

The battery finished charging so I popped it back in and it started right up on the first try! That's a relief! Thanks to ALL of you for your help!!! Saved me a lot of kicking and cursing!

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by stinger on 06/08/10 at 00:23:19

I had the very same problem once and it drove me nuts. I found out the bolt on the bottom of the kickstand was loose. Most likely the battery but check it anyway. If the kickstand is loose the bike will do nothing.

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by stinger on 06/08/10 at 00:24:10

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by Routy on 06/08/10 at 04:55:35

If the charger has a float/maintain stage in it, it may get to near 15 volts just before it goes into float mode, which then will drop to 13.4 maximum, and which is thenok to leave connected as a maintainer charger. check the voltage, and check for a short in the system !

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by derder on 06/10/10 at 15:37:49

Shutting the bike off and unknowingly leaving the key in the "Park" position will run a battery down, not that I have any first-hand experience of this of course ::)

Happy riding,
Kirk

Title: Re: A little angry....
Post by weracerc on 06/11/10 at 06:39:06

i got my used bike a month ago - the battery was supposedly new but had been setting for a while - the day i got the bike it started - due to papaerwork issues i did not try to ride it for almost 3 weeks - the bike would barely turn over - the lights dimmed - i checked voltage 11.1v...i went to walmart and got the $20 battery charger/maittainer - it took from 8PM to 8AM the next morning for the battery to show charged - i started riding the bike last week - and i dont ride more than 10 miles a day (work and back) - but i put the battery on the charger every night and it cranks every morning......