New Battery Dead Already???

[440BEAST]

I bought a new battery and I installed it... I rode all weekend on it and had no problems... I went to start it a week later and it has little to no power... It will only turn over one time and then nothing... I also tried to charge it and it started after that, I rode it for a bit, turned it off and tried to start it immediately after that and it didn't start again... Any suggestions????

[underpowered]

sounds like an electrical problem with the bike. stator not charging, loos wire somewhere, a short causing the battery to drain, or you may have just gotten a bad battery.

[kc 300EX]

Did you charge the battery before using it? Most batteries require atleast a few hours of charge time before being used.

[TANNER250r]

did you put the acid in there some don't come with it in the battery

[red4ever]

make sure the battery is tight. sometimes the wires will rattle loose and wont make a connection. try wiggling the wires around while you try to start it

[400exrider707]

I know all the 400ex batteries I bought required me to put the acid in then charge them for a while. You could just dump in the acid and go, but the battery will die very quickly. Sounds like you might have to go buy another one and do it right this time.

[440BEAST]

I wasn't aware that you must charge it first... The guy that I bought it from (interstate) told me as long as I was going to be riding the bike right away that I would not need to charge it... Maybe he didn't know too much about that particular battery... I am going to buy another before I put it in the shop for repairs... For some reason it just feels like there is more to my problem... Who knows...

[flyin#5]

well you can find out of its charging pretty easily if you have a voltage meter or can get your hands on one.

set your meter to volts DC and hook up your meter to the terminals... check how much voltage its reading. write it down or remember it. now do the same thing while its running.... rev it up just a bit and you should be seeing a greater voltage (even at idle)

make sure you have the battery charged up first.

if you dont see a voltage increase your charging system isnt working properly... take it to a shop or pm me and i'll try to explain how to diagnose the problem.

[440BEAST]

Originally posted by flyin#5
well you can find out of its charging pretty easily if you have a voltage meter or can get your hands on one.

set your meter to volts DC and hook up your meter to the terminals... check how much voltage its reading. write it down or remember it. now do the same thing while its running.... rev it up just a bit and you should be seeing a greater voltage (even at idle)

make sure you have the battery charged up first.

if you dont see a voltage increase your charging system isnt working properly... take it to a shop or pm me and i'll try to explain how to diagnose the problem.


Thank you for this info... this reassures me that it is not my charging system... I performed this task as one of my friends and I were trying to figure out if it was my charging system or not... I was getting a greater reading when I reved the motor... So this must mean it is my battery... Thank you and if you have any other suggestions please let me know... This must be my battery right???

[rooster300ex]

I know us men say the hell with instrutions sometimes, but I do I read the instr. before I do anything. I did and my battery has been starting my quad for years. I even left the switch on a few times and had to recharge it. I bet its a bad battery. Or trying putting it on a battery charger on its lowest setting for awhile.

[Honda#4]

When I put in a new battery a year ago I did'nt have to charge it up nor did I have to put acid in it. I get the sealed batteries.

[Ralph]

Ive gotten my batteries from kenny (interstate batteries) for a while now and i never charged them after i put the acid in. As long as you ride enough the quad will charge it just fine.

Im thinking there is something else causing a problem here.

[bwamos]

Originally posted by 440BEAST
Thank you for this info... this reassures me that it is not my charging system... I performed this task as one of my friends and I were trying to figure out if it was my charging system or not... I was getting a greater reading when I reved the motor... So this must mean it is my battery... Thank you and if you have any other suggestions please let me know... This must be my battery right???

Have you removed and cleaned the ground strap going from the ground terminal to the frame? Pull that off and hit it and the frame contact point with a wire brush, some contact cleaner, and then hook it back to the frame.

You may have a good charging circuit.. but you may have resistances on the grounding side.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Honda#4
When I put in a new battery a year ago I did'nt have to charge it up nor did I have to put acid in it. I get the sealed batteries.

Its the same battery. It would be more beneficial to buy it without the acid already in it. Its almost like buying a used battery if the acid is in it already. After the acid is added you cap it off and are not to reopen it, this is a sealed battery. The ones that are not sealed are the ones with water in them.