Weird problem with new battery.

Bob KellyIII · March 25th, 2023, 01:43 PM

Ok I got a IGEL battery from walmart about a week ago it came charged
so I just put it in the bike without charging it....
I ran the bike 5 or 6 times for short periods of time not running it long enough to re charge the battery..... so I pulled the battery out and put it on 2 amp charge for 2 days and into the 3rd day.... when I went out to put the battery back in the bike I noticed the battery charger had reduced the power to the battery to almost nothing...meaning it is fully charged.
I take the battery and poke the LED button in it and it reads 12.86v FULLY CHARGED. so I put it in the bike....
I turn on the key and no power at all on anything...
I pull all the fuzes and they are all ok nothing wrong there.
I slide the battery out a bit so I can get to the LCD screen on the battery and it reads 12.4 v ......that is a big drop from what it was ! I thought....
I pull off the positive lead too the battery and the LCD screen jumps back up to
12.8v..... I touch the termanal to the battery several times and see absoultly no sparks... I turn on the key and repete the touching of the cable to the battery..... no sparks at all !
.... at the top of the LCD screen in print very small it says matenance...
so I'm thinking maybe this battery is in a mode that prevents use when in that mode.... so I leave the battery disconnected and head into the house because it started snowing like a blizzard while I was out there.... (it was sun shining when I went out !)
I get in the house and grab the instructions and try to find how to change the MODES ..... it says it is all automatic and if you push the button 2 times it will change the screen to hours of use poke it once to get the voltage back....
....
I haven't done anything to the bike sense I took the battery out to charge it
so nothing has changed....although I did grind the battery fairly low trying to start it last time so I stopped and put the battery on the charger....
....
but NOW i have no voltage to the bike ! WTF ????
.....
I'm thinking I didn't wait long enough for it to switch modes as it was snowing on me and I was in a hurry.....

.....
I'll go out there and hook it back up when the snow stops and then have a cup of coffee and then go back out and try it and see if that works !
.....
I can't think of anything else to try as it was working fine .....Weird !
.....
Bob....

Bob KellyIII · March 25th, 2023, 04:08 PM

Ok..... My bad ! I went out and double checked the battery did 2 long presses on the button turned on the key and still nothing.... I said ok if there is juce in the battery then it should work.... so I went into the shop and got a test lead
shorted directly accross the battery terminals I got spark and lots of it.
infact the test lead got real warm ! so there is alot of amps in the thing.
then it dawned on me.... hay stupid... safety switches !!!!!
I turned on the key and hit the horn...it beeped ! AHHH HA !
I looked at the dash indicator lights... none were lightening up....
so I put the side stand down bingo the indicator light lights for side stand...
nex to it is neutral and I know damm well I left it in neutral last time but it is not lit up... so I shift it into neutral as I know these darn safety switches won't alow the bike to start unless the clutch is in or it is in neutral..... now the neutral light indicator comes on.... I hit the starter and it turns over...
in a few revolutions it fires up and runs like it always has.....
....
so it wasn't a battery problem I guess the cats got playing on the bike and shifted the thing out of neutral .....
.....
I don't think I will ever get used to those stupid safety switches ! that got me on the Ninja and the RX4 and XR now..... seems stupid to me to do that to a bike ! .... OH well..... nothing like me being my worst enemy some times ! LOL......

SO.... if your having problems like not getting power to the starter with the key on.... check the safety switches.... there are 3 on most bikes .... the side stand and the neutral switch the one in the clutch lever is also a safety switch that prevents you starting it in gear if the clutch isn't pulled in.
....

you can sit on the bike with the kick stand up and hit the start button and nothing will happen.... it has to be in neutral OR the clutch has to be pulled in ! that has got me more times than I care to mention....
..... if you kill the bike at a stop sign simply pull in the clutch and it should start..... if nothing happens then you have to put it in neutral....
that happened to me on the RX4.....
there is none of these problems with the 1977 Triumph 750 infact I had to install electronic ignition on it....it had points !
but the new SAFETY features that everyone knows about and never even thinks about it.... some people find them aggravating !!!!

.....
anyway..... you wouldn't think it would be that hard but I don't think about Modern bikes.... my mind is stuck back in the 1970's when I think Bike ! HAHAHAHAHAHA
....it works again.....geeeez !
Bob....

Snake · March 25th, 2023, 06:45 PM

Yeah safety switches can be a pain in the arse but they can also save your arse. Glad you got it figured out.

Bob KellyIII · March 25th, 2023, 07:15 PM

the only time I ever seen a benifit from the above mentioned safety switches was when I was taking the RX4 out for a ride.... I started the bike and put it in gear and it imediately died.... confuzed I put it back into neutral and started it again.... and I thought if it does it again I'm doing something wrong....
I put it in gear and it immediately died again.... so I thought ok.... it's helping me to keep me from doing something stupid...what is it ? I looked down and saw the side stand was down.... I thought Ah HA ! the bike is smarter than I am !
i put the side stand up , pulled in the clutch and hit the starter and it fired up and away I went.... it did actually keep me from driving away with my side stand down.... so they are helpful.... because in the past many years ago I dumped it hard from doing that..... I took off made several right turns and then turned my first left.... the side stand hit and kicked the back of the bike up so hard i lost control and slid to a stop.... that was definitely RUDE and uncalled for but very logical in how it happened.... you can't think of everything all the time and some times you miss important things... having safety switches in almost every case is a good thing....
until you forget about them ! HAHAHAHAH
....
I did have a side stand safety switch die on me and it took me about 3 days to find the problem..... it showed up as a no spark issue....
and I played hell finding it.... but I bypassed the switch and got spark
it was like you dirty little switch !!!! I never replaced that switch and just hot wired it....i think that was on my VT700 honda shadow....I had to trace the wiring diagram following the power to the ignition system and I finally found the switch either grounds or completes the power to the system...I don't remember which..... but it was a bugger to find !
....
Bob.......

Triple Jim · March 26th, 2023, 05:35 AM

In England, having a stand catch the pavement on a left turn can throw you into oncoming traffic. A guy I knew died that way.

March 25th, 2023, 01:43 PM	#1
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	Weird problem with new battery. Ok I got a IGEL battery from walmart about a week ago it came charged so I just put it in the bike without charging it.... I ran the bike 5 or 6 times for short periods of time not running it long enough to re charge the battery..... so I pulled the battery out and put it on 2 amp charge for 2 days and into the 3rd day.... when I went out to put the battery back in the bike I noticed the battery charger had reduced the power to the battery to almost nothing...meaning it is fully charged. I take the battery and poke the LED button in it and it reads 12.86v FULLY CHARGED. so I put it in the bike.... I turn on the key and no power at all on anything... I pull all the fuzes and they are all ok nothing wrong there. I slide the battery out a bit so I can get to the LCD screen on the battery and it reads 12.4 v ......that is a big drop from what it was ! I thought.... I pull off the positive lead too the battery and the LCD screen jumps back up to 12.8v..... I touch the termanal to the battery several times and see absoultly no sparks... I turn on the key and repete the touching of the cable to the battery..... no sparks at all ! .... at the top of the LCD screen in print very small it says matenance... so I'm thinking maybe this battery is in a mode that prevents use when in that mode.... so I leave the battery disconnected and head into the house because it started snowing like a blizzard while I was out there.... (it was sun shining when I went out !) I get in the house and grab the instructions and try to find how to change the MODES ..... it says it is all automatic and if you push the button 2 times it will change the screen to hours of use poke it once to get the voltage back.... .... I haven't done anything to the bike sense I took the battery out to charge it so nothing has changed....although I did grind the battery fairly low trying to start it last time so I stopped and put the battery on the charger.... .... but NOW i have no voltage to the bike ! WTF ???? ..... I'm thinking I didn't wait long enough for it to switch modes as it was snowing on me and I was in a hurry..... ..... I'll go out there and hook it back up when the snow stops and then have a cup of coffee and then go back out and try it and see if that works ! ..... I can't think of anything else to try as it was working fine .....Weird ! ..... Bob.... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

March 25th, 2023, 04:08 PM	#2
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	Ok..... My bad ! I went out and double checked the battery did 2 long presses on the button turned on the key and still nothing.... I said ok if there is juce in the battery then it should work.... so I went into the shop and got a test lead shorted directly accross the battery terminals I got spark and lots of it. infact the test lead got real warm ! so there is alot of amps in the thing. then it dawned on me.... hay stupid... safety switches !!!!! I turned on the key and hit the horn...it beeped ! AHHH HA ! I looked at the dash indicator lights... none were lightening up.... so I put the side stand down bingo the indicator light lights for side stand... nex to it is neutral and I know damm well I left it in neutral last time but it is not lit up... so I shift it into neutral as I know these darn safety switches won't alow the bike to start unless the clutch is in or it is in neutral..... now the neutral light indicator comes on.... I hit the starter and it turns over... in a few revolutions it fires up and runs like it always has..... .... so it wasn't a battery problem I guess the cats got playing on the bike and shifted the thing out of neutral ..... ..... I don't think I will ever get used to those stupid safety switches ! that got me on the Ninja and the RX4 and XR now..... seems stupid to me to do that to a bike ! .... OH well..... nothing like me being my worst enemy some times ! LOL...... SO.... if your having problems like not getting power to the starter with the key on.... check the safety switches.... there are 3 on most bikes .... the side stand and the neutral switch the one in the clutch lever is also a safety switch that prevents you starting it in gear if the clutch isn't pulled in. .... you can sit on the bike with the kick stand up and hit the start button and nothing will happen.... it has to be in neutral OR the clutch has to be pulled in ! that has got me more times than I care to mention.... ..... if you kill the bike at a stop sign simply pull in the clutch and it should start..... if nothing happens then you have to put it in neutral.... that happened to me on the RX4..... there is none of these problems with the 1977 Triumph 750 infact I had to install electronic ignition on it....it had points ! but the new SAFETY features that everyone knows about and never even thinks about it.... some people find them aggravating !!!! ..... anyway..... you wouldn't think it would be that hard but I don't think about Modern bikes.... my mind is stuck back in the 1970's when I think Bike ! HAHAHAHAHAHA ....it works again.....geeeez ! Bob.... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

March 25th, 2023, 07:15 PM	#4
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	the only time I ever seen a benifit from the above mentioned safety switches was when I was taking the RX4 out for a ride.... I started the bike and put it in gear and it imediately died.... confuzed I put it back into neutral and started it again.... and I thought if it does it again I'm doing something wrong.... I put it in gear and it immediately died again.... so I thought ok.... it's helping me to keep me from doing something stupid...what is it ? I looked down and saw the side stand was down.... I thought Ah HA ! the bike is smarter than I am ! i put the side stand up , pulled in the clutch and hit the starter and it fired up and away I went.... it did actually keep me from driving away with my side stand down.... so they are helpful.... because in the past many years ago I dumped it hard from doing that..... I took off made several right turns and then turned my first left.... the side stand hit and kicked the back of the bike up so hard i lost control and slid to a stop.... that was definitely RUDE and uncalled for but very logical in how it happened.... you can't think of everything all the time and some times you miss important things... having safety switches in almost every case is a good thing.... until you forget about them ! HAHAHAHAH .... I did have a side stand safety switch die on me and it took me about 3 days to find the problem..... it showed up as a no spark issue.... and I played hell finding it.... but I bypassed the switch and got spark it was like you dirty little switch !!!! I never replaced that switch and just hot wired it....i think that was on my VT700 honda shadow....I had to trace the wiring diagram following the power to the ignition system and I finally found the switch either grounds or completes the power to the system...I don't remember which..... but it was a bugger to find ! .... Bob....... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

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March 25th, 2023, 06:45 PM	#3
Snake ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Rick Location: Alexandria, Louisiana Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 05 Blue Ninja 250 Posts: Too much. MOTY - 2017, MOTM - Jan '19, Oct '16, May '14	Yeah safety switches can be a pain in the arse but they can also save your arse. Glad you got it figured out.

March 26th, 2023, 05:35 AM	#5
Triple Jim Guy Who Enjoys Riding Name: Jim Location: North Carolina Join Date: Jul 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Oct '18, Aug '17, Aug '16	In England, having a stand catch the pavement on a left turn can throw you into oncoming traffic. A guy I knew died that way.