Electrical gremlin

[JohnT_98300EX]

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction here. My problem is that my battery doesn't seem to be charging.
With my old battery it would be fine for a while then I would have to jump it to start it. Eventually later after jumping it I could start it with the button. So I bought a new battery. With the new battery it was fine for a week then would not start. This battery will not charge properly on a charger. It skips the "charging" cycle and goes straight to"charged". After charging (on a charger) the new one shows 11.5 volts. After charging the old one it shows 12.7 volts.
Should I be looking for a bad connection? A new regulator / rectifier? Or something else?

[moonshiner]

fter a good charge on a eternal charger a good battery should sit at close to 13v if yours is sitting at 11.5 after a charge it must be flty sorry..to check your bikes charging put your meter across the battery in the bike ..11.5v and start the bike and at a quicker idle speed volts should rise past 13v.

[bwamos]

ATV Batterys can go bad quickly if they are allowed to run down a couple times.

After going through many expensive batterys I've learned to always keep my ATV's battery on a batter tender (float charger) when put away. My most recent battery has lasted me 3 years, as before I would have to replace my battery at a minimum every year.

If you're maxing out at 11.5 volts, your battery is toast and you need a new one. As the other guys said you should be right around 13v.

[HmF300ex]

Ok, gotta few questions...How old is your new battery?.....How long have you left it on the charger?.....Is the charger a fully automatic charger?....What amps does the charger charge at?

[HmF300ex]

own a battery shop:devil:

[HmF300ex]

If you have an automatic charger then whats prolly happening is some auto charges shut off if the battery is outrageously low, if thats happening then you have to get a manual charger.

[JohnT_98300EX]

The charger I got is a 1.5.amp automatic shut of with "battery tender" feature.It cycles to keep the battery charged. The first time I charged the 1 month old battery the charger display did not go to Charging it went to charged. I left it on the charger and the "new" battery held the charge for 2 days.
I tried my old battery and the charger went to charging then (overnight) went to charged. But this battery didn't even hold it's charge overnight.
Either the new battery is toast or my bike is not charging the battery. How can I test to see if the bike is charging?

[HmF300ex]

To test the charging system on your bike check the voltage of the battery, normal is 14.5 but it will probably be a little under. run your bike for some time and then recheck your voltage. If the voltage went down then your alternator/regulator isn't working.

If you had a new battery threw it in and it didn't work for long then it is the alternator or regulator, whichever your bike has. The reason is the charger isnt working is because it is a tender, they are ment to keep a battery charged if it is going to sit along time, what the bike does when it is running. If it is a battery tender then even when it says charged it should still be "trickling" volts into the battery. If it is a battery charger w/ a tender feature then it could be the problem of it automatically going to charged but not sure. The next step to take would be check to make sure your electrical system in your bike is working and if it is then I would suggest just getting a cheap/manaul battery charger that has no auto shut off or anything. Throw the battery on overnight and check it in the morning and keep on charging until it is at 14.5. The battery might be toast, either because the charger is really muffed up or it was just bad in the first place. I would take it back and try to get a refund or replacement just to get a fresh one to make sure its not the battery.