Topic: Battery went dead...had to push bike for miles.......

[78_SaltLick]

Another joy of owning a 550 instead of a 750......you can push the thing home if it breaks down!!


So there i am at a stoplight, bike running great.....then it just died. No sputtering, no warning...just one minute running the next it dies..... i push it into a parking lot. Head light real dim, so dim i can hardly see it. Bike wont kick over, kick starting wont work. Def a dead battery. i push it about a mile to a local battery/alternator place. He hooks the battery up and sure nuff the battery is complety dead. He tries to give it a charge but it wont take one. Cells are completely dry of water. I have no idea how old the battery is in this thing. I buy a new battery and put it in, start the bike up, we hook it up to his system to see if my bike's charging system is working.....it is.

I didnt think a bike would die like that from a dead battery. I always thought if the battery was dead, as long as you got it started you would get where you wanted to go, but then it wouldnt start again, but die right in the middle of it running from a dead battery? Can someone confirm this happens, so i can let it rest. Thank you.

dave

[Buffo]

pushing sucks...never had that happen...but with a totally dry batt...more likly a cell or two went south and you didnt get 12 volts out of it

[bistromath]

If your battery is shot, the bike will die when it idles, since the alternator will not be putting out enough current to power the electrics. So, likely you'll be at idle somewhere when it will cough and die. If you have electronic ignition the dying tends to be much more sudden. Usually this all is presaged by weak headlight, blinkers blinking erratically or not at all, and the "idiot buzzer" for the blinkers will stop sounding.

[ProTeal55]

I had to push my HD Road  King once for about 4 blocks when my batt took a crap - wasnt fun 

[Buffo]

a troubled battery can indeed cause all kinds of problems

[Frrrrunkis]

I had a defective battery that ran down quickly, and died on me while going up a hill. and everything stopped. (fortunately it was in my front yard) Couldn't get the thing pushed up the hill, so I had to back it down, and take the battery out to charge it.

[johnny-from-bel]

Chances are if you fill the battery with destilled water again it will be OK.
A defective charging system will 'boil out' the water.

Well it does not actualy boils the water but electrolises it in Oxygen and Hydrogen.

Check the charging system to see if it stops charging the battery when it is full.

[puppytrax]

Another joy of owning a 550 instead of a 750......you can push the thing home if it breaks down!!

It's one of the consequences of motorcycle ownership...   

Doesn't matter what bike it is...

You could have chosen to leave it sit and walk home...   

I made the decision years ago that I would rather push it than abandon it...I've pushed Yamahas, Nortons, and Harleys...Mostly for stupid reasons (out of gas; patina on starter relay; etc)...

But I'd rather push them than lose them...   

[Gordon]

Jeez, talk about bringing back the dead!

I mean this thread, not the battery.