won't start, battery?

[nychris]

I took my bike off the charger and tried to start it for the first time this year. When I press the ignition button, it tries to turn over once but stops and all of the lights in the dash turn off until I let go of the button. The battery connections look okay and I put a volt meter on it and it read over 12V. What else can be the cause of this?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[kromdom]

for starters, take it to your local auto parts store to get it tested. how old is the battery?

 

[nychris]

The battery is 3 years old. It's a Xtreme Permaseal High Performance AGM Motorcycle Battery XTAZ14S from Batteries Plus.

What would the auto parts store test other than what I tested with the voltmeter? Would you say this is most likely the problem?

 

[GoldenChild]

They will test with a load.....

 

[dadofthree]

They'll load test the battery, but at 3 years I'll wager a guess that you need a battery.

 

[twotonevert]

I agree, new battery needed. You can have 12 volts, and not have any cranking amps.

 

[kromdom]

You can have 12 volts, and not have any cranking amps.

ding, ding, ding, ding!

 

[nychris]

You guys are awesome! Every year I ask a stupid question and it always gets answered. I went to a Suzuki dealer and bought a Yuasa YT12A-BS, installed it and it started right up!

Thanks again everyone

 

[twotonevert]

You guys are awesome! Every year I ask a stupid question and it always gets answered. I went to a Suzuki dealer and bought a Yuasa YT12A-BS, installed it and it started right up!

Thanks again everyone

Make sure you put a good initial charge on it.

 

[Busa1166]

whats the voltmeter reading with the ignition switch open??? Whats the voltmeter reading when you crank it.

I am replacing my battery tomorrow. Reads 12.6, when I open the switch it drops to 7 volts.. When I crank it .... why bother Charging system is a ok reading 13.5 when running.