Brand new battery Now wont hold charge!!

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PAdalerider · #1 Post by **PAdalerider** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:05 am

I have a brand new battery. Worked great for 3 weeks. Now all of a sudden it wont hold a charge. Any help is appreciated.

Thank You

kdeal · #2 Post by **kdeal** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:40 am

What brand is it? I hope it's not a Walmart battery... Quality batteries can be a real issue in today's market. But first you should check to make sure you do not have a short or other issue first. Put your hand on your fuel pump and see if it's running all of the time. If so unplug it and try recharging your battery again. There is a problem that allows the fuel pump to remain on all of the time. It involves the ECU and a circuit that burns out leaving this condition. A switch can be wired in if needed or a by pass harness. It is normal to have power for up to 2 minutes after the key is off to certain circuts. This allows the fan to run to cool off the motor after the key switch is turned off.

If that's not the case, have the battery load tested.

wistech · #3 Post by **wistech** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:03 pm

One thing I think seems to becoming an new issue is I am seeing more and more regulators overcharging far above 14 volts. Several have been 16 to 19 which will boil the water out of any battery in just a few hours causing the symptom you are describing.

jesshamner · #4 Post by **jesshamner** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:04 pm

Batteries definitely seem to be an issue for me. I seem to be getting about 1.5 years out of a battery. But I'm not riding every weekend and I don't keep it on the tender all the time.

cannondale27 · #5 Post by **cannondale27** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:55 pm

Also regarding the regulator/rectifier is they can put out AC voltage. That is bad and will kill your battery quickly. Other than having a scope to check it I am not sure any other way to diagnose? A common symptom is like Wistech said over or undercharging. Voltmeter will not tell you if battery is receiving AC as far as I know. I think alot of blame is put on batteries when it could be spread around to anything in charging system.

pcleiter · #6 Post by **pcleiter** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:01 pm

I've been having the same prob w/mine. I had the battery out for a month and a half and it held its charge during that time but when I put it back on, it was dead within a few days unless I kept the trickle charger on it. We were out on a trip in WV last week and I decided that it was time to figure out what the prob was. I checked for continuity between the black & red terminals of the bike w/the battery disconnected and found that there was major connecting going on. I then disconnected the voltage regulator and had no continuity in the same test. I then pulled the manual and did the test (pg 81 I think) on the voltage regulator and found continuity between the red & black wires. Haven't yet picked up the new regulator, but I'm figuring that my problem will be solved when I put in a new one.

PADaleRider - where in PA are you?

riverat1540 · #7 Post by **riverat1540** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:18 am

I am experiencing this problem as well due to my regulator over charging my battery and killing it dead, Wistech, Ill be getting at you soon, work has been busy, were at like 4 auctions a week so its been long hours