Battery Problem

[AANASA]

I was ridding with a buddy two days ago, we were about two hours in when he laid down his bike on a roundabout (which is a story for another post). After I made sure he was all right and his bike was redeemable again I rideable starting up my bike and low and behold, she turned over twice then went dead. I am perplexed by this because I was ridding for about two hours, why should the battery die? I was able to push start it home but she'll die if she gets down to an idle and on the way back my gages were total dark... No RPMs, no nothin'! So now I went and bought a new battery and am waiting for the trickle charger to finish up.

Does anyone know from this story if its a dead Bat. or something worse?

[md86]

SOunds like a fuse went , too . Might've knocked something loose . I know somebody who kept blowing fuses because some wire was knocked loose . It IS entirely possible the battery just happened to go , too . Make sure you fill it before you charge it with distilled water . It COULD have enough juice to start the bike but still be about done for . But push-starting is pretty easy ...

[The CyberPoet]

Three questions first:

(A) How old is the existing battery? I'm going to guess it's the original one that came with the bike (since the bike is an '02 model).

(B) How long did you leave it standing there with the headlights on while you were checking on your buddy?

(C) How far was it from the accident site back to your house?

---------

1. It might be your battery, especially if it's still the original battery ('02 model, battery probably build during '01). If you parked the bike for the winter and didn't keep the battery hooked to a trickle charger during that time, then it probably went dead during storage; every time the battery goes dead it loses between 25 and 40% of it's remaining ability to store power -- thus dead each winter would mean this battery has seen better days. You can find the battery and charge system tests here: CyberPoet's "How to diagnose and remedy motorcycle electrical and charging system problems" at MotorcycleAnchor.com

2. It could be your rectifier pack/charging IC pack, but the odds are against it on a bike as young as yours. The page I listed will also show you how to test that.

3. You may have popped some fuses, but again, I suspect it's just the battery. Fuses are easy to check -- remove the seat and look in the little black box over the battery marked "Fuses".

KNOW THIS:
For most riders, a motorcycle battery will be 100% reliable for the first two years. After that, the reliability falls off from heat and vibrational damages, and it could go dead unexpectedly at any point, possibly a week, a month or years later... As a result, I usually replace mine every other year to be on the safe side... Keeping it hooked to a suitably rated tricklecharger will extend the lifespan some by virtue of keeping from deep-discharging while parked unused (Deltran BatteryTenders are a good example -- their WaterProof 800 model is my favorite because low charge rate is compatible with 98+ Kats and they are truly waterproof).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[AANASA]

Thanks for all your help! I took the bat in to checkers and they said it was only reading in at 9 volts. so I just went ahead and replaced it. Put it in this morning and shes running like a dream.

Although the bat. that died was a closed cell battery and so I bought one as well... Is anyone elses Bats on their Kats Maintainence Free???

[The CyberPoet]

Is anyone elses Bats on their Kats Maintainence Free???

Standard battery on the 98 - 05 Kats is maint free. Many owners of previous Kats tend to switch to the maint-free ones when it's time to swap batteries as well.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet