Battery Problems - Need help ASAP

Hey guys. I think I may have a problem with my battery.
When I turn the key over, the lights all come on and it goes through its start up sequence (all the little clicks and all) like it should. But when I go to start the bike, it tries to turn over but then stops and the bike resets. Now I'm not sure if it is a starter problem or the battery simply doesn't have enough juice to turn the engine over.

Let me remind you, I live in Chicago and it has been sitting in my garage for about 2 weeks since the last time I started it. It has also been in the 30's/20's which is the reason I have to believe it is the battery.

-I hooked up a battery charger to it at 10 amps for 1hr, nothing changed.
-I NOW have the same charger hooked up at 2 amps and I'm leaving it for about 5-10hrs.

I have Chicagoland Toys for Tots ride tomorrow morning. They are going to be about 5 presents short if I can't get my baby running

Please guys, any help would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
-Danky

How old is the battery?....Do you have access to a voltmeter?....It does seem like the battery if it ran 2 weeks ago...try to get a jump start from your car, that should tell you something

Be sure the car is not running when you jump your bike. I have heard a cars charging system can fry a bikes system. Not sure how true it is, but I never take that chance. The cars battery has plenty of CCAs to start a bike.

It indeed was the battery. The problem has been fixed.
Thanks for your help!

Steel said:

Be sure the car is not running when you jump your bike. I have heard a cars charging system can fry a bikes system. Not sure how true it is, but I never take that chance. The cars battery has plenty of CCAs to start a bike.

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There shouldn't be a problem as long as it's a 12v charging system on the car. Current is not pushed from the car to the bike, the bike should only draw what it needs to start. Current is variable when voltage is constant. This is why you can hook up to a car battery with a much higher current output rating for a jump. The older bikes that ran off of the 6v batteries, connect that to a car for a jump and you will let the smoke out of the wires....

All that said I agree with Steel, no harm in not starting the car.

Malcy warned me and Richard about the risks of jumpstarting Rockets. Malcy is an electrician by trade. Maybe need to get a bit more input on this one as now i'm wondering if it's actually ok or not to jumpstart from a car in an emergency.
Danky glad you got your bike sorted and got the toys delivered.

Over 2 winters I probably jumped my bike from the car a dozen times, each time with the engine running. Malcy reckons I'm lucky not to have done some damage. It actually wasn't a battery problem as such because I had it checked out by an auto electrician. Bit of a mystery really, but the problem was very similar to what Danky said. Even happened after I had been using a tender every night. I have a few things on the battery so the bolts no longer reached right through the terminals. I replaced them with new longer ones and all has been well ever since. Bottom line, before replacing a battery, make sure all your contacts are clean and good.

Good to hear you got going Danky.

I know that you can damage the motorcycle battery by connecting it to a car or it's battery...for too long, the difference between boosting and charging. The regulator on a bike or car, for 12vdc systems regulates the output of the alternator/stator to a similar 13-14 vdc +/- to charge the battery. The current produced out of a bikes stator as compared to a cars alternator varies. When you connect battery to battery (car to bike) even though they are both 12v batteries, you have nothing in-between the connection to regulate the amount of charge that will be going to the motorcycle battery. Because a bikes charging system is different from a car's, and that the physical composition of the two batteries is very different, if left too long you will cause a buildup of heat in the motorcycle battery which could lead to battery explosion which may cause damage to the bike. This could happen wether the car runs or not. If the car is running the alternator senses the load and wants to charge all batteries at the same rate it charges the car battery. A rate that may be too high or fast for a motorcycle battery resulting in a situation where the battery could explode. If you are just boosting the bike you are not leaving the connection intact for very long. Same would happen if you used a battery charger where the regulator in the charger fails causing the battery to overcharge. It's not instantaneous, overcharging takes time, especially if the rockets battery is stone dead.

Where a car running could cause damage to the bike, not just the battery is if the peak voltage that comes from the cars alternator is higher than the peak rating of the motorcycle's charging system. This could happen if the cars regulator was not functioning properly. Normally if the regulator goes, you get no output from the alternator, not too much, but I suppose it could happen. Some of the larger trucks may have a higher rate of charge than some cars, all depends on how the system was designed. The only way to know is to take a multimeter reading across the battery of the vehicle while running, with a load, to see what it is charging at.

Based on theory there is no reason we can't use a 12vdc automotive system to boost a 12vdc bike, but we should not use it to charge a bikes battery. This is why in some cases when boosting we go positive to positive and neg battery post from car to chassis on the bike. This competes the circuit for the starter but does not provide a direct battery to battery connection. Personally I would use a car battery for a quick boost but I wouldn't necessarily run the car. Not that it's going to hurt anything but I don't carry a voltmeter with me to check to see if the system is compatible. If a car battery won't start the bike, there may be other issues.
I hope this all makes sense and doesn't confuse anyone.

Cheers

CanberraR3 said:

Bottom line, before replacing a battery, make sure all your contacts are clean and good

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Changing out the 8 gauge battery cables for 4 gauge will help a lot too. Even just changing out the negative cable will make a huge difference, and is fairly easy to do. The stock 8 gauge cables are just barely adequate. It doesn't make much sense to get a new or a more powerful battery if the cables cannot transmit the full power of the battery.

I keep my bike on a battery tender - always.