Picked up a '97 max, won't stay running.. Please help

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_MaXiPaD_

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Hey guys.. Bit of a problem.. Just picked up my bike from the transporter (haul bikes ) and the battery rolled out dead.. Eventually since the transporter refused to let me charge my bike with the battery tender he had on his, I had a buddy bring his truck and cables to charge my bike.. We eventually got it started, but when I went to ride it, it would eventually die.. Did this multiple times.. I eventually just left the bike on the side of the road and I'm heading home now to pick up a trailer.. Btw, the delivery point, where the bike basically is now, is 35min from my home, so this is a bit of a hassle..

I was just wondering if anyone had any idea what the problem is?

When the bike is running, it runs great.. Just seems to me like the battery is refusing to hold a charge, but Idk.. Another thing is I talked to the previous owner on the forum, and he said the battery was put in the bike 3-4 months ago and was taken care of.. My bike had been in transport for about a month and a half and the transport company didn't charge the battery or anything.

I was wondering if anyone could plz help me? Sorry if my post is hard to read, since I'm on the road right now and typing it on my phone.

Thanks in advance!

Sent from my HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 2
 
Some random thoughts....
Is there enough fuel, is the fuel filter plugged? How long did it stay running and does the fuel pump click with the key on?
Did it die abruptly or cough like it was trying to run but couldn't?
 
Charge the Battery Fully with a trickle Charger, don't just Jump it off from a car/truck.
Once it is fully charged see if it will remain running.
If not then check the Battery Voltage (with and without the Bike running) with a multimeter and see what it shows:
Here's a good reference for what it should show:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108
 
Well, the bike is finally home. Still same issue but I went and bought a new battery just in case.. I think I'm going to trickle charge the old one overnight though and see if that works before I put the acid in the new one.
Thanks everyone for the help! I'll keep you guys posted.

Sent from my HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 2
 
I agree with others. Also a month and a half is too long for the bike to just sit. I would hurt the battery, probably deducted some time from its lifespan, not to mention the condition of the gas.

Battery should definitely needs to be fully charged 4/8 Watts charger then probably switch to a trickle charge mode for conditioning for a day or so.

As dannymax asked, how it dies when it does will probably clue you in on what the problem could be (electrical if it just dies clean or fuel/air related if it was choking) or probably both even?
 
I would hurt the battery,

Now, why would you want to do that?:biglaugh: That comment makes me think of Boy George.

If you had a Ballistic Li-ion battery, a month & a half not being used is just a good reason to see why these are the best, your bike will still crank & start, no issues. Plus, you lose five lbs.

Charge that thing up slowly, & see what happens w/it. Don't forget to check the electrolyte. Might as well do the connections too.
 
The original battery has been on the battery tender for about 4 hours now.. Hopefully it'll be fine.. If not, I'll try the new battery

When I did have the bike running it ran great but after a bit it'd kind of feel like as if I hit the kill switch, yet the bike would also bounce the revs back and forth trying to stay alive

Sent from my HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 2
 
Iatb = I'm A Total B*st*rd, but that's just my intrepretaion of it. LOL
 
The original battery has been on the battery tender for about 4 hours now.. Hopefully it'll be fine.. If not, I'll try the new battery

When I did have the bike running it ran great but after a bit it'd kind of feel like as if I hit the kill switch, yet the bike would also bounce the revs back and forth trying to stay alive

Sent from my HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 2[/QUOTE

If it were me,I'd not use the trickle charger for the dead battery and put 10 amps to it for 1 1/2-2 hours. Trickle's are to maintain a near fully charged battery. Check the voltage, after sitting over night disconnected. If it's under 12.5 volts, load test it. It's prob. n/g if under 12.5 volts.
Not sure it's a battery issue once the bikes is running. The kill switch idea is a good start. A connection issue somewhere,could be the problem. The bike may not have been treated all that gentle in shipping. If you raise the idle speed does the tach fluctuation stabilize?
Steve-o
 
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I forgot to mention to you guys that I stopped in at Advance Auto Parts last night and had them use their battery checker. When he first hooked it up to machine (while the battery was still in the bike) the guy said that it was reading a 9.4 and "dropping fast." After a while, he reset his machine to get a new reading and said that it had dropped down to .89 (or .98?). After that, we unhooked the battery and brought it in to find another one like it. We checked one last time (with the battery unhooked) and the machine could not read it.


Well, after being on the battery tender overnight, I checked the battery and it read 13.34 and it says it's still charging. Do you guys think I should wait a while to try it or just try it now? (Or zap it with a bigger charger?)
 
Yes as was said, you need a larger initial charge & then a trickle to maintain it. I always heard for a lead/acid battery the optimal charge is 10% of its
amp/hr rating but when you're talking about an 18 A/H rating, that's only <2 amps. I think what you don't want to do is put it on a starting function for a 'quick-charge' of 20+ amps, that will overheat the battery and possibly damage it. Also, remember that as the battery recharges, it's giving-off explosive, corrosive hydrogen sulfide gas which could really ruin your day! I treated a few people on fire/rescue that had batteries blow-up on them and they all were in a world of hurt.

Batteries need to be strong & reliable w/capacity & reserve to run electronics. It's not like points ignitions where a bump-start on a bad battery could get you home w/no issues, unless you stalled it.

From what you are describing, it sounds like the battery won't handle a load, irrespective of what the no-load static charge reads. I think in a post on-here mention is made that if the battery drops below 10.5 volts across the terminals while cranking the starter, it's not long for this world.

Nothing to do w/this issue, specifically, but, a story. I took a KZ1000 to Highland NY (17W, just below the Mid-Hudson Bridge) for a friend of mine who was the plant engineer at a 100+ year old winery founded by an Italian immigrant, right on the west bank of the Hudson River. I had the bike on a trailer, and I dropped it in the yard. It was late fall. I came back in the spring, and the bike had been outside during a Catskills Mountains winter. I had owned the bike, and gave it to my friend for a bunch of machine work he did for me. It had a new battery when I dropped it off in NY from FL that fall.

In the spring, (April), I came back to Highland, and not really expecting anything, I slid the key into the ignition, and was surprised to see the lights come-on. I hit the starter, and after a bit of cranking, the bike started! I really wasn't expecting that. It was before the gasohol production, 1989-90. So, anything is possible. It just doesn't sound like your battery in-place is going to get the job done for you in the long-term.

BTW, I also have heard in times of disputes, the supervisior will say, "Iatb!"
 
I forgot to mention to you guys that I stopped in at Advance Auto Parts last night and had them use their battery checker. When he first hooked it up to machine (while the battery was still in the bike) the guy said that it was reading a 9.4 and "dropping fast." After a while, he reset his machine to get a new reading and said that it had dropped down to .89 (or .98?). After that, we unhooked the battery and brought it in to find another one like it. We checked one last time (with the battery unhooked) and the machine could not read it.

I had this exact situation.

You need to put in the new battery.

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Well... I unhooked the battery from the tender while it said it was still charging and I put it in the bike. Got everything hooked up and the bike fired right up! I rode it around the neighborhood then brought it back home and shut it off for a few minutes to see what it would do. Came back and it fired right back up. I took it over to my brother-in-laws so that he could see it running. He hopped on his 89 vmax and we went out riding around town for 10-15 minutes. Everything seemed great, until I went to leave his house. When I went to turn the bike back on, the bike did not have enough juice to turn it over. The battery still seemed to have power, just not enough.

So, I'm thinking about getting my new battery all ready to go. I'm thinking it has to be the battery. Anyone object? lol
 
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