Dead Battery

[txtimberwolf]

I went out this morning to take a nice long ride to work today and noticed that someone (my 7 year old had turned my key on and left it on. Now I have a dead battery. I know what your thinking why did i leave the key in. Well i have little chance of someone trying to take it since they would have to get past the 2 trucks in the driveway and Max the Bull Mastiff, then in the garage and worm it out through all the odds and ends.
So my battery is dead as a door nail. i put the charger on it and after about 3 minutes it gives me a reading F01 meaning bad cell or overload during charging. I decide to try to jump it off with the truck.
I hooked up the jumper cables. Let charge a few minutes turn on the switch hit the starter button. It turns over and over and over but will not start.
It has been my experience with bikes in the past that I had to jump when you hook up the cables they have all fired up and ran.
This is the first one that has not started when jumped. Is there something I am missing or is it just the battery ??
Any ideas would be great before I go buy a $100 battery

[ringadingh]

Try to leave it on the charger for a few hours and see what happens. Ive boosted my bike with a car a few times and it starts right up providing you have a good connection.
But it looks like your going to be buying a new battery anyways, since you have a bad cell.

[chainsaw]

If your seven year old was playing with it. Could he have turned your kill switch to off?

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Txtimberwolf, you didn't mention what year your Nomad is. I looked at your post and didn't see the year anywhere. I have found when a battery is completely dead you have to leave the charger on for quite a while. My grandson did that to my riding mower year before last. I like to never have got that thing to fire back off. I found when I put the charger on it it would come up with bad readings. I wouldn't rush out and buy a battery until you give it a chance. I think if you put the charger to it and when it shows it is charged it still may not start. Keep putting the charger on it and it should eventually take a charge. At least that is what happened with the mower. Ended up and had to buy a new battery for it last year. I think it shortened the life of the battery. After that I always took the key out of the mower. And I never leave the key in the Nomad.

[macmac]

Oh Chit!!!!!!! Please say the truck was NOT running! If it was and the key was off the entire time that is one thing, but if the truck was running and you just turned that key to on it could spell disaster, and if it didn't, count yer lucky stars!

Try the charger putting it on and taking it off many times. Repeat that many times since the charger is reading the battery wrong which is tyipcal to AGM batterys that go dead. It takes time to get them sorted out again.

Check the main fuse 30 amp under the seat and I hope it is blown..

If you turned on the key with the truck running tell me what the truck alternator puts out in AMPS!

Go get a multimeter if you don't have one, and if you don't go to a Radio Shack and get alligator ends that fit the probes.. Your gonna need both hands, and not for holding probes from the meter.


02 or 03 bike if I guess right, a 1500 for sure. It has virtutually 2 alternators, 2 rec' regs too, and 18 diodes. Not a fun system to pay for and no fun at all trying to fix.. I am not sure I can even fix one on line.

[hammer]

Oh Chit is right macmac. Off a car/truck battery, OK. Off a running car/truck, ouch.

I hope that has not happened.

It's a good lesson for folks on the forum. I think there is a page on Gadget's site that shows how to make cables and how to jump the bike.

[ringadingh]

The car isn't running when I boost the Bike.
Actually I just installed a new battery in the bike yesterday, It starts up a little quicker and has a faster cranking speed than the old one. Eight years on the original battery is pretty damm good as far as Im concerned.

[macmac]

I hope to get 8 years of mine too..

One night a few years back, wll later afternoon I met friends out at a tavern and left on passing lamps in my excitements. partied around 4 hours opps!

I did take a running car jump with the keys in my tight little fist and the switch locked. I rolled one, smoked it, real baccua you wise guys, no wild woodland weeds fer me ANYMORE.

When I flicked that butt, I had the car turned off, but left the cables in place. Started up the nomad, bang just like that. hauled off the ground cable, then the hot one, and was bolting up the seats... off we went.

Whars' TX?

[hammer]

I can't see myself waiting 8 years to replace the battery. I know you can but when it starts to go, are you not putting extra work on the stators until it finally does go? If I am going on a long trip after 4 or 5 years, I replace it anyway.

I do have to say though that the last one I pulled is still sitting on the bench as my test unit and it holds a charge forever. It's now 8 years old.

I am not sure if I would tell my friends again that I have it. I have started a few bikes with that bench unit.

[txtimberwolf]

Shes a 01. Truck was running key in my pocket. No fuse blown, Put in a new Bat and fired right off so all is well now if the wind will lay so I can go for a ride I will be happy

[hammer]

Glad to hear that's all it is tx.

[clayton]

So for future reference (yes I'm writing this down ;) )
If I ever have to jump a bike battery I should simply make sure that the other vehicle being of mass weight and size should be turned off before turning the bike key on?
Now in the same breath can the other vehicle be turned on to give a charge to the bike for a bit 1st?
Thanks ahead of time....off to work..

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Glad to hear the purchase of the new battery solved your problem.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by hammer

I can't see myself waiting 8 years to replace the battery. I know you can but when it starts to go, are you not putting extra work on the stators until it finally does go? If I am going on a long trip after 4 or 5 years, I replace it anyway.

I do have to say though that the last one I pulled is still sitting on the bench as my test unit and it holds a charge forever. It's now 8 years old.

I am not sure if I would tell my friends again that I have it. I have started a few bikes with that bench unit.

Yes this is correct... A dying battery will over load the system, and make the system work harder, which creates heat, more heat than normal.

While my hope is 8 years, that doesn't mean I will get 8 years. On the other hand, since I run a full time voltmeter I can monitor starting loads in dcv and monitor charging, and the combination should be all I/ we need to monitor when the battery is giving up life. I battery that can't hold a load, also can't be charged no matter what you do.

That is like trying to fill a bucket that leaks water.

The oem AGM battery is a very good battery and if cared for, may exceed 8 years, as others that are not cared for can make 8 years. Just because it is cared for, doesn't mean for sure it will last any given time, but it doesn't hurt to try.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by Clayton

So for future reference (yes I'm writing this down ;) )
If I ever have to jump a bike battery I should simply make sure that the other vehicle being of mass weight and size should be turned off before turning the bike key on?
Now in the same breath can the other vehicle be turned on to give a charge to the bike for a bit 1st?
Thanks ahead of time....off to work..

Yes and Yes..

With your keys in your pocket and in the case of 1600's the ignition locked OFF the charging system is off line... The battery can only take what it wants from a jump from any modern other vehical, usually rated from between 55 amps charging to 160 anps these days. The 55 is older, and there are not many left, even my old car makes 65.

This is a far cry in AMPs from what Nomads make and Nomads make a lot compared to most bikes.

This is where the problem comes... The other charging system will see a empty bucket and try to fill it. When it is just the battery, it will only fill the battery to what that battery wants.

When it is the whole charging system it will dump as many amps into it as the larger charging system can, and over load, cause high heat and fry the rec/reg and maybe the stator.. very expensive...

It is OK to have the ign OFF to take a quick charge, around 7 minutes.. Then STOP the larger charging system, but leave the jumpers in place to start the bike, sharing both batterys as that start happens.