Bike will not start up! =(

[Vansky]

Hey all,

Over the weekend I thought I'd be productive and give my bike a few tune ups. I changed my spark plug and gaped it to the recommend settings of .6-.7mm. I also replace my air filter, and finally put a new tank of gas with 3oz of seafoam. Once I was finished, I fired her up and rode for about 15-20 mins and was running very nicely, then tonight I tried to go for a ride and she would not start up.

After several tries I gave up and let the bike rest for 2 hours, then i came back and tried it again. This time when i tired the bike made a clicking sound, and almost seemed as if the battery was dying... I am not sure when the last time the battery was changed since i bought this bike about a month ago and it had 2 previous owners. Is it worth just buying a new battery or just get a battery tender to charge it? Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

[blaine]

I would first buy a battery tender as you will need it whether you need a new battery or not.Make sure battery is fully charged before trying to start bike.Did you run battery down trying to start bike?It sounds like you may have other Issues. Need more Info,keep us posted.
http://www.postimage.org/templates/images/smiley/sporty/45.gif (http://www.postimage.org/)

[Vansky]

I probably did let the bike battery die down when trying to start it after so long. Can you recommend any brands of battery tenders or point me to a website that sells them? Also, i just tried the bike again this morning and no clicking sound, it just seems the battery is low. Sorry for all the questions...is there a walk through on changing the battery on this forum? Thanks

[mrlmd1]

You didn't turn it off and walk away from the bike and leave the rear parking light on by turning the key too far, did you? That will kill the battery. A mistake more than one member here has made.

Get yourself a battery tender or trickle charger. You need no more than a 2 amp output charger for these size batteries, they are all pretty much the same and can be bought at any auto parts store or Walmart or similar place, there's not really anything special about them. If you charge up your battery and it keeps failing, then bring it into a battery shop after you charge it up again and have it load tested, that is the only way to see if it's any good. Any new battery you buy for this bike (And most are AGM's or "maintenance free") will have to be put on a charger and fully charged up before first use - be warned. Otherwise it will fail prematurely and not hold a charge. So you need to buy a charger anyway.
Nothing special about removing the battery either. Remove the side cover, disconnect the negative cable first, then the positive and take the battery out. It does not have to be removed to charge it. Reinstall the new one + cable first, - cable last.

[Easy Rider]

Can you recommend any brands of battery tenders or point me to a website that sells them?

Battery Tender is a brand name; the "junior" model is good for bikes. WalMart also sells Schumacker brand; they are good too. If money is really tight and you have a Harbor Freight store close by, their 2-piece tender is adequate for most uses and is on sale now for something like $5.....usually $9. This is the one with two "boxes" on the wires. The one with only a single "box" is just a trickle charger and is not a real tender.

BUT.......

My GZ experience says: If you reasonably suspect that the battery is more than 2 years old AND you run it down to almost completely dead (which you probably have done).......you might as well shop for a new battery too.

They are rather expensive at about $85 but are sealed and with proper care (not allowed to go dead) should last 5 years or more. I ran mine down working on the lights and after that it would only hold a charge for a couple of days.

If you do get a new battery, you probably still should get a tender-type charger too. You will need it for an initial charge on the new battery and for extended periods of not riding.

It is possible (likely?) that your only problem is a weak battery as the ignition system needs almost full power to fire properly.

[5th_bike]

After my battery died in March (?), 3 yrs old, I got a new battery from the motorcycle dealer (about $55) and a Shuhmacher charger (1 Amp, about $24) at Advanced Auto Parts.

You will need the charger too, because the battery needs charging for about 6 hours after you put the acid in.

[alanmcorcoran]

Not sure if this was stated explicitly above, but a battery tender is NOT a charger. Battery tender's are designed to maintain already charged batteries. The Battery Tender people will tell you not to use it if your battery is more than a few volts down. If you ride regularly, I think you are will get more usage from a battery charger (I sure have.) The tender is good for people with riding "seasons" for when the bike is sitting idle for long periods of time. I've run my GZ down to 0 twice, the battery is over two years old now, and it will still start right up after two weeks sitting.

You can get a fine battery charger for $20-40. Use the low setting and let it charge overnight.

[alantf]

You can get a fine battery charger for $20-40. Use the low setting and let it charge overnight.

Just an add on, if you're not sure about chargers :) Most tenders/bike chargers have a short cable that is connected permanently to the battery, with a socket on the other end. You can feed this to the box under the saddle, then when you're going to use the charger, there's no need to get to the battery, just lift the saddle & plug the charger into this socket, then plug it into the mains. :2tup:

[dentheman]

Not sure if this was stated explicitly above, but a battery tender is NOT a charger. Battery tender's are designed to maintain already charged batteries. The Battery Tender people will tell you not to use it if your battery is more than a few volts down. If you ride regularly, I think you are will get more usage from a battery charger (I sure have.) The tender is good for people with riding "seasons" for when the bike is sitting idle for long periods of time. I've run my GZ down to 0 twice, the battery is over two years old now, and it will still start right up after two weeks sitting.

You can get a fine battery charger for $20-40. Use the low setting and let it charge overnight.
Now I'm confused, you say the battery tender is not a charger. I thought the 'battery tender jr.' (Deltran brand) was both a battery smart charger and a smart maintainer. The factory package states: "The world's most advanced battery charger" (photo on amazon.com) and the item description on amazon (copied from the battery tender web site) makes several references to its use as a charger. Or are you just refering to battery tenders in general? When I hear 'battery tender' I think of the Deltran brand Battery Tender.

[Easy Rider]

The Battery Tender people will tell you not to use it if your battery is more than a few volts down.

And that is because.....a wet cell battery that "is more than a few volts down" is not only discharged but DEAD......more than likely, beyond recovery.

A battery tender ABSOLUTELY IS a battery charger.....just a very low capacity one with an automitic "float" feature.

If your battery is just barely down enough that it won't fire the bike up.......which is most often the case when you first notice a problem, a tender is just as good as any other charger for bringing it back up to a full charge. It might take a bit longer but it works just fine.

A battery that a tender WON'T recharge (if you have enough patience) likely doesn't have much life left in it anyway. There are exceptions to every rule, however, and having BOTH around when you really do have "riding seasons" is really the best plan.

A tender won't help you much if you are late for work already and just discovered that you left the parking light on all night (car or bike).

[Easy Rider]

Not sure if this was stated explicitly above, but a battery tender is NOT a charger.

Now I'm confused, you say the battery tender is not a charger.

He shouldn't have said that. It is not correct.....as the literature with your "tender" clearly states.

It will not attempt to charge a stone-cold dead battery; that is true.

A "normal" charger will blindly try to charge anything it is connected to.

On rare occasions, a normal charger will recover a completely dead battery but that is rather rare. A battery so recovered actually lasting more than a couple of weeks is even more rare.

[Vansky]

WOW!!!!!!! I can't not believe this! I think I may have found my problem. After going through in my head all day what I did when i replaced parts...I kept thinking spark plug....I believe I gaped the plug too much. Lucky I bought a spare just in case this happened. Once I get my battery recharged I'll post an update. Thank you all who have helped so far.

[blaine]

WOW!!!!!!! I can't not believe this! I think I may have found my problem. After going through in my head all day what I did when i replaced parts...I kept thinking spark plug....I believe I gaped the plug too much. Lucky I bought a spare just in case this happened. Once I get my battery recharged I'll post an update. Thank you all who have helped so far.

You can take out the plug and regap it.No need to replace it unless you want to.

:roll:

[Vansky]

Okay GZ250 IS UP! re-gaped my spark plug and charged my battery and she zip up right away! Rode my bike around for about 10 mins...hope that keeps the charge over night...

[blaine]

Okay GZ250 IS UP! re-gaped my spark plug and charged my battery and she zip up right away! Rode my bike around for about 10 Min's...hope that keeps the charge over night...

:2tup: Great.What kind of battery charger did you buy?If the battery loses it's charge over night you will need a new one.

[Easy Rider]

Great.What kind of battery charger did you buy?If the battery loses it's charge over night you will need a new one.

And/or get the charging system tested.

We just had another GZer report needing a new stator and regulator.
I think that might be a first for us here.

[mrlmd1]

A simple test to see if your charging system is working is to measure the battery voltage at rest, then start up the bike and rev it to at least 3000 rpms and measure the voltage across the battery terminals while the bike is running. You will see if your charging system works or not by the voltage coming out.

[alanmcorcoran]

To clarify my comment above - the people at Battery Tender are the ones that advised me against using a battery tender to charge my battery when I let it run down (in the park setting once, and once with the headlight on.) They told me falt out it would not work to charge it back up. one of the scenarios mentioned above is that the bike might have been left in park. A Battery Tender (at least according to the Battery Tender) folks would not fix that situation. But Battery Charger would. Thus, my comment - a battery tender is not a battery charger.

[dentheman]

To clarify my comment above - the people at Battery Tender are the ones that advised me against using a battery tender to charge my battery when I let it run down (in the park setting once, and once with the headlight on.) They told me falt out it would not work to charge it back up. one of the scenarios mentioned above is that the bike might have been left in park. A Battery Tender (at least according to the Battery Tender) folks would not fix that situation. But Battery Charger would. Thus, my comment - a battery tender is not a battery charger.
I went to the Battery Tender site and pulled up their instructions, which state it will not charge a battery with less than 3 volts (it won't even come on). I am not a battery expert so I wonder if any charger will bring back a battery that is that discharged?

[alanmcorcoran]

I went to the Battery Tender site and pulled up their instructions, which state it will not charge a battery with less than 3 volts (it won't even come on). I am not a battery expert so I wonder if any charger will bring back a battery that is that discharged?

Yes, they will. As long as the battery is still chargeable. I have run both my Strat and my GZ battery down to 0 (no click, no light, no nothing) and brought them both back to life with a simple Manny, Moe and Jack (pep boys) charger. They have been running fine for over a year since. (I'm not a battery expert either. Mrlmd and Easy know more than I do and I think they'll agree with me.)

Battery tender people told me if the charge was DOWN more than 3 volts the tender wouldn't work. Maybe I misunderstood, but the lady basically told me not to buy their product, and to buy a charger. I bought a tender (in addition to the charger) anyway, but I haven't even opened it up yet. That was over a year ago. The charger I've used three times successfully.

[blaine]

Yes, they will. As long as the battery is still chargeable. I have run both my Strat and my GZ battery down to 0 (no click, no light, no nothing) and brought them both back to life with a simple Manny, Moe and Jack (pep boys) charger. They have been running fine for over a year since. (I'm not a battery expert either. Mrlmd and Easy know more than I do and I think they'll agree with me.)

Battery tender people told me if the charge was DOWN more than 3 volts the tender wouldn't work. Maybe I misunderstood, but the lady basically told me not to buy their product, and to buy a charger. I bought a tender (in addition to the charger) anyway, but I haven't even opened it up yet. That was over a year ago. The charger I've used three times successfully.

:plus1: IMO You are better off getting a 2 amp trickle charger with auto shut off.
:rawk: :2tup:

[Easy Rider]

Battery tender people told me if the charge was DOWN more than 3 volts the tender wouldn't work. Maybe I misunderstood,

Yes, I think you did.
AND I don't think that you ever had a battery with 0 volts; not one that recovered anyway.

A wet cell battery that is completely discharged, after sitting for a while, usually shows at least 6-8 volts just from "surface charge", much like static electricity.

A "normal" charger is a pretty simple, brute force device. It will contiune to work, for a while, if you just short the clips together. A tender is more delicate and has built-in protections against things like that. Thus it won't try to charge anything with less than a 3 V static charge because that likely indicates the operator has screwed up or the battery is beyond hope.

So......one more time: For most "normal" situations where the battery is not stone cold dead but just too weak to get the job done.......a "tender" will work fine for getting the charge back up; it just might take a L O N G time to do it.

Flattly stating "A tender is not a charger." is giving out incorrect information.

I do agree, however, that a person with a 12 month riding season probably has no real need for a "tender" and a regular charger would serve you better.

And a P.S.............This may NOT apply if we were instead talking about a BIG battery, like in a big car or truck. A big enough battery, thorougly drained, connected to a small enough charger may never get the job done.