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Battery ok?- clicking noise but will not start

53K views 12 replies 13 participants last post by  bill corkey 
#1 ·
I recently discovered that my nephew may have drained my battery...indicator lights work and headlamp turns on. Charged the battery on my charger and...

Trying to start the bike all I get is an annoying clicking noise and no rumble!

could the issue be non-battery related? how can I tell if I am flooded?

advise please, can't stand seeing the sporty sitting and not movin'
 
#3 ·
morpha said:
I recently discovered that my nephew may have drained my battery...indicator lights work and headlamp turns on. Charged the battery on my charger and...

Trying to start the bike all I get is an annoying clicking noise and no rumble!

could the issue be non-battery related? how can I tell if I am flooded?

advise please, can't stand seeing the sporty sitting and not movin'
If the motor is not turning over then it's most likely your battery. If you've already tried to charge the battery and checked the connections, then take the battery somewhere and get it checked. I'd bet it's either not charged completely or it's bad.
 
#6 ·
Gotta go with the battery here also. Usually that "click click click" noise from the starter means battery's croaked or you're not gettin' any juice.
 
#7 ·
It is your battery, it may have 12 or even 14 volts to light up the little bulbs, but not the Amps to cranks the engine...
BTW, get a battery tender (original brand) or Harley's OEM, will be the best money spent, particularly if your bike has an alarm system.
 
#8 ·
If you're not sure if it's the battery...Jump it! You can jump it with any 12 volt car. DO NOT HAVE THE ENGINE ON THE CAR RUNNING!!! Connect the cables to the car, Then connect the ground cable to the Neg. terminal on the bike battery
Then CAREFULLY connect the hot cable to the Pos. terminal on the bike battery... Hit the starter on the bike. If it's your bike battery the bike will start. If it's anything else...It won't.

Make sure you DO NOT have the engine running in the car 'cause it will burn out the voltage regulator on the bike. I use a car battery at my shop for jumping dead bikes all the time and have never had a problem.
 
#9 ·
You'll want to connect the positive jumper cable to the dead battery first, then to the good battery. Next connect the negative jumper cable to the good battery, then to a ground on the dead vehicle (not the battery terminal).
If you connect the positive jumper cable to the dead battery last, you risk drawing an arc that can cause the dead battery to explode. You also risk accidentally touching the positive jumper cable to something other than the positive battery terminal on the dead vehicle which will result in significant arcing.
 
#10 ·
batteries

Here is a little more for you. just because the lights work doesn't mean that the battery has enough cold cranking amps to turn the engine over. Take you bettery to an auto parts store and have it load tested. Then check the measured load (amps) against the rating oh the battery.

Another was to test is to put a volt meter on the battery with the engine off. You should be getting at least 12 volts. Then when you start the engine up you can remeasure the battery with the engine running and you should get more then 12.5 volts.

The measurements I speak of will also tell you if your charging system is in proper order. Hope this helps.


-2$en#e-
 
#11 ·
morpha said:
I recently discovered that my nephew may have drained my battery...indicator lights work and headlamp turns on. Charged the battery on my charger and...

Trying to start the bike all I get is an annoying clicking noise and no rumble!

could the issue be non-battery related? how can I tell if I am flooded?

advise please, can't stand seeing the sporty sitting and not movin'
well seeing yer riding a sporty and its not fuel injected...bump start the thing...
 
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