Once a year I remove the battery from my '05 S40, top up the electrolyte, and give it a charge on the bench.  I did this last February.

Today when I left work, I turned on the ignition switch....the green neutral light lit briefly, then....nothing.  No lights, no horn, no starter.  I think I could hear a very faint hissing type sound.

What to do?  My plan tomorrow is to first check the fuses.  Then, check the battery connections, because I think that low battery voltage wouldn't behave like this; I might be able to beep the horn or see some light but not have enough juice to kick the starter.  If the connections are good, I'll yank the battery and try to charge it up, but it would be weird if this were an issue because it's never happened before.

Oh wise ones of this BBS, is there any other path I should follow?

Is there a ground somewhere that I should check?

If there is a blown fuse, I replace it, and it blows right away, what then?

Thanks for the help,

Paul

No horn, so...sounding like a fuse.  

I forgot to add that I left the bike at work and my wife gave me a ride home.  So tomorrow I'll take my tools to work and go for it in the parking lot.  It would be a lot easier if I posted things like this when I had the bike sitting in the garage, but how often do these things happen in a convenient location?

How true!

Quote:
The very first thing I would do is check the battery at the battery.

And don't even think that a defective battery won't go from fully charged to nothing from just the touch of a button.

Note:
If you often ride longer distances, then ok..........
If not, that battery should be charged much oftener than once a year, but of course that all depends on how long you want that battery to last