dead battery?

is it possible to totally kill a new battery by leaving the ignition/lights on for a few days?

just found my key in the bike with ignition on, no power to anything, chucked it on the charger but nothing, not registering as charging at all!

Crap!!!

Matt

How long did you leave it on charge? and how New is New?

Years ago i got told that you could do something with asprin ?
I found this on the web..

One little known secret for long term stored batteries is to put a half of an aspirin in each cell of the battery to remove the sulfates that collect on the plates from lack of use. Aspirin also restores the electrolytes that convert the deionized water to acid. Do this and then put it on a charger (low amperage) and charge for a couple of days then give it a try. By the way this only works on servicable liquid acid batteries. It will not work in a gell type battery.
- Mechanic for 30+ years.

but i spose if you have to stuff around with it better off getting a new one..

What charger are you using? I've found the maintenance charger I've got won't start charging if the battery is too low - chuck a regular charger on it an it should come good (my tracky is doing just that as I type).

I've had a maintenance charger on the tracky battery for weeks, and it has 12 volts but not enough current to start the bike, it's dead to me. Not sure if that helps but it's a cool story?

Trickle chargers can't save every battery it seems.

Sounds like a dud sell?

it's only about 2 months old or so, been charging for about 7 hours so far, I'll leave it on overnight and see how it goes.
if no luck I try a proper charger and see how we go.
cheers
Matt

As an old telco battery man a trickle charger is a battery killer. You need to charge it with a charger that will force 15 to 20 amps through it, (for this battery size). It may still be farked but it's worth a try. If you can start your moto with a jump the alternator will give you enough voltage, (with the headlite disconnected) at around 4000 rpm to save it if it can be saved. But in reality it's probably farked. Have a Jim and!!!!!?????

As an old telco battery man a trickle charger is a battery killer.

How so?

Took it up to the mechanics yesterday and he stuck it on a charger all day (thanks Lloyd!) it's now accepting a charge from my maintenance charger as well, so I'll get it back in the bike on the weekend and see how we go.

Matt

I went to start the Zec last night, no go, lights on the dash barely lit up. Tried to clutch it but I'm guessimng there is not enough to even run the fuel pump. Put it in charge and got 13.5 or so. Put it in made all the right noises and tried to start this AM - nothing.

I'm going to get a new one tomorrow

As an old telco battery man a trickle charger is a battery killer.

How so?

A trickle charger will give the battery what is known as a memory or a surface charge. Meaning that there is a large portion of the cells that does not recieve a charge. A trickle charger is ok but you need to equalize or charge the battery under higher voltage conditions occasionally to break this surface charge down. Riding the bike does this as the alternator charges at around 15 volts which is enough to put a higher level of current through the cells.
Leaving a battery on trickle all winter may kill the battery! Gel cells get a surface charge much easier than lead/acid, (h2so4) batteries.
The battery also needs to be loaded once in awhile as this will also break down the surface charge. When you load a good battery the voltage will drop from it's initial reading, (say 12.8 volts as an example) to a point really close to 12.0 volts and then start to rise slowly. If it keeps dropping down below 12 volts you either have a bad battery or it has a low charge.
Starting your moto is usually enough to do this. The starter draws enough current that the battery will read something below 12 volts. This does not mean the battery is bad.
A good test load is one headlight for the size of most moto batteries.

happy days, battery alive, bike started and out for a fang!