[JerseyMark]

Well I have my first problem.

I just got a 88 Shadow VT1100C. The guy I bought it off of said that the battery was new & it does look it. I have a battery tender hooked up to right now & the green light is on indicating that the battery is fully charged. However, I only get 2-3 trys to get the bike started before the battery dies unless I have a charger hooked up to it. Whats going on? What things should I check for? Should I buy another battery? If so, should I ditch the "T" battery & get a YTZ14s?

Thanks in advance,

Mark B

 

[xrayr]

The YTZ14s has worked well for me.

You can take the battery that you already have to AutoZone and they can perform a load test....

 

[Cbjr]

I would assume you checked the fluid level of the battery and made sure it was up to the correct level in all cells?.

Sometimes batteries (even new - and especially new cheap ones - crap out for no reason - we get a lot of questions about it on this forum).

I second xrayr's advice before purchasing another battery though.

 

[ShadowChop]

JerseyMark, I went through EXACTLY what you are going through. The second day after I bought my 92 vt600c it was bitter cold outside and I killed the battery after trying to start it too many times. I finally jumped it with my truck and rode it into work. Once I got to work I tried starting it again but it was KA-PUT...no juice, no nada....it was dead. I went to walmart, bought a 1.5amp trickle charger and once applied the green light would come on within a few seconds indicating it was fully charged. but that was not the case. I would only get like 2 or 3 cranks out of it before it was completely dead again. SO HERE IS WHAT I DID. I put some jumper cables on my buddies car and hooked it up to my bike. I had him keep a fast idle, about 3,000 rpm, and I also kept a fast idle on my bike while it was being jumped.......we did this for maybe 2 minutes straight and then let both vehicle idle as normal for about 5 more minutes. Since that day I have had not even a single inkling of trouble from my battery. I am guess I totally discharged one of the cells while trying to start it in the cold......and the charger was recharging my volts, but not my amps, therefore giving me a false reading. Once I let it power up long enough while being hooked up to my buddies, its been maintenance free. good luck.

 

[Gumpy]

JerseyMark

Try checking the battery connections. When charging or jumping, you're probably clamping right to the battery posts, so all looks good, and the battery may be good, but if there's a loose/dirty terminal connection the juice don't go no where.

In the cold weather especially, the changing temperatures; warm-cold back 'n forth can easily loosen the terminals. Remove neg.-black first, then pos.-red. A little light sandpaper or Scotchbright on terminal and battery posts, clean off, and re-tighten both terminals; pos.-red first, then neg.-black.

If this doesn't help, do what others have said, take it to a auto parts store, they'll be glad to load test it for you.

Gumpy

 

[crizyal2]

JerseyMark, I went through EXACTLY what you are going through. The second day after I bought my 92 vt600c it was bitter cold outside and I killed the battery after trying to start it too many times. I finally jumped it with my truck and rode it into work. Once I got to work I tried starting it again but it was KA-PUT...no juice, no nada....it was dead. I went to walmart, bought a 1.5amp trickle charger and once applied the green light would come on within a few seconds indicating it was fully charged. but that was not the case. I would only get like 2 or 3 cranks out of it before it was completely dead again. SO HERE IS WHAT I DID. I put some jumper cables on my buddies car and hooked it up to my bike. I had him keep a fast idle, about 3,000 rpm, and I also kept a fast idle on my bike while it was being jumped.......we did this for maybe 2 minutes straight and then let both vehicle idle as normal for about 5 more minutes. Since that day I have had not even a single inkling of trouble from my battery. I am guess I totally discharged one of the cells while trying to start it in the cold......and the charger was recharging my volts, but not my amps, therefore giving me a false reading. Once I let it power up long enough while being hooked up to my buddies, its been maintenance free. good luck.

This is a very dangerous practice to jump a bike with a car that the engine is RUNNING! I do not know the specifics, but I have heard that the electrical system in a motorcycle is quite different than a car and will quickly burn out stators and other important parts. Please be cautious when doing this or don't do it while the car is running.

 

[mark v]

The battery can be fully charged and be junk at the same time. Have a load test done on it.

 

[Kframe]

JerseyMark, I went through EXACTLY what you are going through. The second day after I bought my 92 vt600c it was bitter cold outside and I killed the battery after trying to start it too many times. I finally jumped it with my truck and rode it into work. Once I got to work I tried starting it again but it was KA-PUT...no juice, no nada....it was dead. I went to walmart, bought a 1.5amp trickle charger and once applied the green light would come on within a few seconds indicating it was fully charged. but that was not the case. I would only get like 2 or 3 cranks out of it before it was completely dead again. SO HERE IS WHAT I DID. I put some jumper cables on my buddies car and hooked it up to my bike. I had him keep a fast idle, about 3,000 rpm, and I also kept a fast idle on my bike while it was being jumped.......we did this for maybe 2 minutes straight and then let both vehicle idle as normal for about 5 more minutes. Since that day I have had not even a single inkling of trouble from my battery. I am guess I totally discharged one of the cells while trying to start it in the cold......and the charger was recharging my volts, but not my amps, therefore giving me a false reading. Once I let it power up long enough while being hooked up to my buddies, its been maintenance free. good luck.

This is a very dangerous practice to jump a bike with a car that the engine is RUNNING! I do not know the specifics, but I have heard that the electrical system in a motorcycle is quite different than a car and will quickly burn out stators and other important parts. Please be cautious when doing this or don't do it while the car is running.

:shock:
Yep, you can fry the R/R and other things if your car (or god forbid, truck) is running when you jump a bike.
There are plenty of CCA's in a car battery to jump a bike, don't run the car/truck!
-K

 

[JerseyMark]

Battery was bone dry. Filled it up, charged it & now it works like a champ!! I should have checked the water level before I even asked the question.

Thanks guys.