Bad battery first season

[freezingalaskan]

So, last week I was going to take a quick ride after almost three weeks without riding. Bike started, hopped on the bike but since I had the side stand down it quit when I put it in gear. Prepared to start it again, but nope. A little turning happened, but then click click click.....

Put it on my 1.25A charger overnight, but no luck. Put it on my 2A charger overnight, still no luck. Bought new battery, and it starts just fine.

I put some electrical farkles on it early in the summer, such as two 12V outlets, Denali lights, and a fuzeblock. All of my farkles are switched, so unless there is a parasitic draw, I could have just a bad battery. I will do my best to measure that and report....

But now to my question: I saw a post some time ago about push starting, but cannot find it. Is it possible to push start the NT700 or is that impossible due to the electronic fuel injection?

freezingalaskan

 

[Rocky]

Way back in 1982 two days after I picked up my GPz 750 I was riden along minden my own buisness and the bike just died, pulled over and had no electric at all. Got a new battery and all was fine! Last week on a little trip I took b4 I got my NT I took my 1985 fuel injected turbo GPz and broke my sealed beam headlite by a rock chip and riding in a downpour the rain shorted something with the headlight and volts went down to 8. Fuel pump could not keep up anymore. I pulled over and when I figured out what was going on I pulled the headlight fuse so that circuit would not drain, turned the bike on and the fuel pump limped up to pressure and I push started it no problem. Not possitive about the NT but if you have enough voltage to get the fuel to correct pressure she should start.

 

[nccmpig]

I had a bad battery while under warranty and Honda replaced it.

Jim

 

[ARKNT]

With newer bikes like the NT it may not be impossible to push start but probably improbable most of the time.
You need enough voltage to run the fuel pump and the computer to tell it when to fire and open the injectors. Also the headlight will be drawing current while you are pushing it around. Since there is already a low battery voltage it would be difficult to generate enough to fire off the bike.
Besides I wouldn't be able to ride the thing while recovering from the heart attack pushing it would give me.
Now if I was at the top of a long downhill it may work out just fine.

Brad

 

[Phil Tarman]

I went in to eat in Colorado Springs one day and left the ignition on. (I realize that you're not supposed to do that.) I was inside for about 45-50 minutes and when I came out it wouldn't start. But there was a long, fairly steep downhill through Wendy's lot and the lot of the bank next door. I felt sure it would start while coasting down that, but I was wrong.

I'm guessing that the fuel pump doesn't get enough pressure or that the computer doesn't get "booted" properly.

 

[freezingalaskan]

Phil,
I thought I had read about your experience before...Thank you all for your replies. I have a long hill down the street from where I live to try it, but that benefit turns into a severe negative if it doesn't work. My new battery is in, and I will monitor its health to see if I have a draw. If not, I guess I had a bad battery, and may or may not be able to get it covered under warranty after the fact. I really thought it was my fault. We shall see.....

freezingalaskan

 

[Rotorhead]

Re: Bad battery first seasos

My OEM battery died, so I just ordered a replacement on line for $45.00 delivered to my door

 

[Bear]

Re: Bad battery first seasos

Out of stupidity, I left my aux lights on while going for lunch. When I came out and turned the key, that exuberant "clunk" that goes with engaging the guage cluster was gone. I immediately turned the ignition off and pulled the fuse for the headlight (good reason to have the shop manual aboard--tells you where it is) I let the bike relax a few minutes, turned the key, and it started. I considered myself very lucky. I do have a set of jumper cables aboard --one end fits the battery tender plug and the other would fit into another bike's battery tender plug or the adapter that has alligator clips. Of course if the battery fails because of a shorted out cell, you are out of luck and hope there is an Auto Zone within walking distance. They sell MC batteries.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Re: Bad battery first seasos

That's happened to me twice, Alex. I tried bump-starting the bike down a long and fairly steep hill. That doesn't work.

The 2nd time, I tried using a set of jumpers through the battery tender plug, and was glad that was a fused extension. The auto battery had too much oomph. I ended up going home (I was only a little over a mile away) and got the battery tender and 100' of extension cord, plugged into an outside plug on the hospital wall and waited for about 1/2 for the voltage to get up to 12.4V. It started right up then and so far the battery seems OK.