Help....No Electrical!!

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Chuck Waldrep

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Jun 30, 2020
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So..... my 1985 VMAX has been sitting idle for a while. I bought a new battery and charged it up. When I tried to crank it up, it turned over twice and died. Now, there's no signs of electrical life whatsoever. I have a battery tender and afterwards connected it and the battery tender showed it was charging. However, I also have a small led battery meter connected and it shows no power and nothing energizes (no lights at all) when I put in the key and turn on the ignition. I didn't have a lot of time to troubleshoot, so I checked the main fuse and they both look fine.

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks,
Chuck
 
Clean your battery terminals, shiny-bright. Clean the grounds on the right side of the engine, the rear of the side cover. Check the ignition switch wire harness, disconnect it and ensure the contacts are shiny-bright. Flex the wires from the plugs for it, with the key on to see if you have an intermittent short.

Check your engine kill switch.

It's a remote possibility, what does a volt-meter show for a battery charge? Battery Tender, off.
 
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Also did you check the main fuse (located usually above the positive battery connection). There is another area of fuses under the faux cover but the main is under the seat as mentioned.
 
...and "check" can sometimes mean ohming it out with a meter. Occasionally, they can blow and look OK visually. Or the contacts might not be "shiney-bright" as FM suggests. Worth a close look.
 
I recently had a similar issue with my 2000 and a did quick test suggested my brother (who owned an '86) by connecting a set of jumpers from a small car just to rule out the battery (I used my CR-V, engine not running). Do not try to start the bike while doing this! It is just to see if the battery is the issue. I had my battery on a high-end trickle charger showing full charge and a multimeter was showing ~16 VDC from the battery, but this test showed that the battery was in-fact not holding enough charge to even light the gauges. I know you have a new battery, but stuff happens.
 
Thanks guys for all the responses. I have checked a few of your recommendations, but not all yet. I'm leaving on a trip and won't be able to get around to it for a week or so, but I'll check back in when I do.
Thanks again!
 
Guys,
Just wanted to check in. I ended up getting a new battery (sealed gel) with more CCA and installed that today. I got the bike to turn over which is a step! It will take some coaxing to get it to fire up, but I'm sure its just a matter of getting fluids running through her again.

Thanks for all ya'll's help!!

Chuck
 
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