Click.....nothing

[varmint]

Number Seven started fine this morning. Rode into town, got mail. Came out and click....nothing. No fuel pump whirr. No starter noise. No lights.

Trailered her home. On a charger now. Green light indicates charged, right? Faint buzz when I turn the key. Am going to wait a few hours and try again. Instrument light on. Green neutral light shows. And kickstand up. So it’s not one of the safety lockouts ****ing with me.

Battery is a year old. Was on a trickle charger over winter. Has been starting without incident the last two months.



What else should I be looking at?

[varmint]

Haven’t ridden in about a week, rain. Battery charger light shows steady green. That tells me fully charged. But the bike acts like the thing is near dead. If the battery is cooked it’s a strange way to die.

[wswartzwel]

Corroded battery cable end? could be loose at the starter or the ground strap to the engine.

[varmint]

Fair guess. The ground strap sounds interesting. I get no fuel pump whirr either. Trying to figure a common denominator.

Now when I turn the key I get a low buzz.

Have Thursday off. Going to dig into it then.

[ckcarr]

Green light on a Battery Tender doesn't mean a good battery sadly enough.

Happened to me long ago, as the bike was on my Tender, lights green, go for a ride and same thing. stuck in the middle of nowhere...

Not saying buy a battery since you say it's newish, but it's possible that it has good voltage, but no power. If you could hook in a multi-meter somewhere, then observe the voltage when attempting to crank... If it immediately drops way down, there's a problem.

[varmint]

Because the battery is so easy to get to,


I’m gonna take it out Thursday and have the local auto parts store test it. A new one is expensive. But it would be a relief that it’s not something more complicated.

[Swamper]

Expense is relative when your stuck out with no help. Batteries are best a two year rental.

[sgoodwin]

If you replace the battery go lithium, you'll appreciate how it spins the motor over so much faster not to mention major weight savings up high.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by sgoodwin

If you replace the battery go lithium, you'll appreciate how it spins the motor over so much faster not to mention major weight savings up high.

You beat me too it...who the hell fits lead acid...it’s 2021

[wswartzwel]

How do lithium batteries do in cold climates, like "secure undisclosed locationville"?

[sgoodwin]

From what I read you need to wake them first by say turning on lights, which with most bikes isn't a problem as you can't turn them off anyway, but what do I know, 60 degrees is cold here.

[Chris Canning]

I have a bike that has had a lithium battery for over 7 years...only ever had one glitch...fitted an aftermarket Reg/Rec on a bike that didn’t like lithium and the supplier very quickly put a red letter warning on the site, never had a problem with OE Kit.

Even have lithium on a 1290 KTM turns it over like a good’un.

[varmint]

The battery is dead. Deader than dead.

Ordering a new one today. Probably won’t be able to pick it up for two weeks.

[sgoodwin]

Try this, I have 2 of these now. Their older one without the over/under charge circuits lasted 6-7 years before crapping out. These come with the Tender cord with the reset button built in. It gives you two ways to hook up a charger if you already have the BMW outlet. They weigh next to nothing & I simply use my standard Tenders with no problems. They come with a pile of stick on foam pads to fit them in your battery box. I highly recommend them.

www.ebay.com/itm/202968319079

cured!

[varmint]

Does not ship to Alaska.

I’ll be up an anchorage in a couple weeks anyway. Trying to think of anything else I need while there.

[sgoodwin]

Well bummers. I can't believe how long that link was.

[ckcarr]

I still go with the PC680 Odyssey.
It's heavy, but gives you good traction...

[BikerMiker]

I use this now: https://antigravitybatteries.com/

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by sgoodwin

Try this, I have 2 of these now. Their older one without the over/under charge circuits lasted 6-7 years before crapping out. These come with the Tender cord with the reset button built in. It gives you two ways to hook up a charger if you already have the BMW outlet. They weigh next to nothing & I simply use my standard Tenders with no problems. They come with a pile of stick on foam pads to fit them in your battery box. I highly recommend them.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/202968319079?epid=252104310&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item2f41dac467:g:bxcAAOSw1tVemiNz&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkP rKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSjVt3vLKCbov98Z19qhuwY9WmuIOuKg8 kmqIW9fnpexPb2HfJqxuPCnNLqSTcEQmcgR2Y1FjX8fIPASXzH X86OpOuug8enEdVHQHm05lEA8Mte38yAtCKwbWAhezZRVUMgyl 2rniB4L26zaBZC84PFZ1fESisWDyQ5BUBMgMmtJU1PGuQBwm1z mssY3nIjdVcMu8NFQgn5NfiDey3WhyzRssNcuoQE1UbPFq1wo% 252FZruqilpvNEHBPVbH1aVM0c9avbcWas%252Fge0fiiS0w6Y %252B7LIZu3kr%252FV0q7MoC3a%252FYbWaGxE%252Fcszwru tCLPOXxuFPeZ7dPOcFYSw1%252FtqqDd9gA4tY6DIfFHNGm84o wTpOBm36SgDRmAOUR7FGBT6H0DYcPgzIVodXuLJDSr4uZJG9Fp t6lMRfGhKZVpa7qjgVVlO6aRoGwNkmmznhGoGRoK%252FN7g%2 52F6y9j0E6TlYzv3EsgJ%252BoZuOXR7%252BGA%252FdweYkc obs1w6cWLfYBhwcnjUZsAA%252BNqBTXb4RLw4Fy2aAZPE9eOm V4U6qXp7kEec0BhyTFeRdBGwM1cjSsLW1jeaQGFXUNWfYUTft5 2hKgzutpv30q1d2qkmHwXGaVscVMCYbYeFmVL%252BfhviMgp1 %252FEdaEQnpj8%252B3MdgBWlAZLH5i%252BKSTuaew2TQ72x M351G3hQXHgAOegQivSM8uSD9OPNKk%252FwViK2T5DvSFj9rh 0LrFu3A7P63DuaqPnC8gNs9mqODqBDNHlBArVCGjW1J5Lbx0KJ HJezmltiQvWgGstCUgPvF41AfrR%252FRQr5Z8Ch6jJPYk0x9% 252FdS2cGgZbefKLL%252F3%252FtdR9V4776ynYmbSsjHbhH% 252B%252FZSb4y%252BLg0Q%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK %7Cclp%3A2334524

Jeez that’s one big lithium battery 😳

[sgoodwin]

Larger than their original but about 2/3 or less that the stocker & many times lighter.