killed my battery

[Guest]

I took the cover off my bike to find the key in the on position, battery drained of life (it's on the first floor of my house, non-running condition, only lights that work are the idiot lights). It's been on a trickle charger for almost three days and reading 4.27 volts; will it ever reach 12 volts or should I buy a new one?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

That doesn't sound good. My battery sat for 9 months after my accident. It charged up in less than 24 hours on a trickle charger and it's still going strong. Can you take it somewhere to have it load tested to be sure it's a goner?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Turtleface]

Hi,

That doesn't sound good. My battery sat for 9 months after my accident. It charged up in less than 24 hours on a trickle charger and is still going strong. Can you take it somewhere to have it load tested to be sure it's a goner?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Good idea, most any auto parts store should be able to test the battery if you bring it in to them. There's nothing inherently special about most motorcycle batteries, right? Same electricity as a 12v automobile system?

[posplayr]

I took the cover off my bike to find the key in the on position, battery drained of life (it's on the first floor of my house, non-running condition, only lights that work are the idiot lights). It's been on a trickle charger for almost three days and reading 4.27 volts; will it ever reach 12 volts or should I buy a new one?

sounds dead; should not require more than 24 hours

[midnightcafe]

yeah it's dead. 6 more hours and it's at 4.36v. I hate silly mistakes thanks for the advice guys.

[brveagle]

If i remember correctly, a trickle charger won't bring a battery back to life, just maintain it.

Before you toss the battery, I'd hook it up to a real charger. 2-5 amps... rather than a few tenths of a amp that a trickle charger provides.

[posplayr]

If i remember correctly, a trickle charger won't bring a battery back to life, just maintain it.

Before you toss the battery, I'd hook it up to a real charger. 2-5 amps... rather than a few tenths of a amp that a trickle charger provides.

That is true, but 4V is very low.

measure the voltage at the terminals with the trickle charger connected. It has to be above 13.0 to charge at all. If the trickle charger can't get the terminals over 13V then the battery is likley shot. More than likely you will see something like 6V at the terminals and it drops to 4V when disconnected (just guessing)