[barkle]

I let my battery run all the way down and now it won't take a full enough charge to start the bike. I want to fire it up using jumper cables off my truck's battery. Anything I need to know ??

 

[dickmadison]

Just a shot in the dark, but I recently pulled the battery box apart to get at the cables and the positive cable was very loose. I have read of others having the same problem.

 

[dickmadison]

Sorry about the double post.

 

[Topgun]

When I put my winch on, the factory battery terminal screws seemed a bit short. I replaced them with longer ones and added lock washers. Seems to help keep them tight.

 

[MeanGreenRincon]

Same here, twice now my positive cable has come loose.

 

[04RinconMan]

I have had the positive cable come loose from the starter before it took me for every to find the problem.

 

[barkle]

Thanks, guys. Well, I put a multi-tester on my battery and it's deader than a rat after 24 hrs on the trickle charger. Calls to the two Honda dealers here produced quotes of $70 and $90 for a replacement (14 Amp Hour)battery. The Rocky Mountain catalog showed that they now recommend a 20 AH battery, so I got the larger battery for $48 plus $7 shipping.

Incidentally, I had your same experience with the bolts loosening from the battery terminals. At first I used Loctite, but now I use a glob of "Household Goop" (purple label) on the side of the bolt head. This stuff is great. Pick up a tube at Home Depot and you'll find a hundred uses for it. It dries just barely pliable but is really tough stuff. Much tougher than silicone caulk.

 

[SXflyer]

LOL, I went camping and someone left a light on in my Pickup truck, killing the battery and I jumped my GMC with my trusty Rincon. Started it with no problem or ill effects. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Added note. Since then I made jumper cable that plugs into my Rincon's winch plug on one end and has small battery clips on the other, for when I'm riding with my buddies in case they or me ever needs a jump. You can wear a battery down quick trying to restart after swamping or with excessive winching.

 

[DRock]

As a word of caution when jumping to / from your ATV. I would reccomend it as a last resort.

I can attest from experience that this is not always a good option. I jump started a SeaDoo PWC from my friends boat battery with bad results. The inrush of a high amount of current was more than the little battery (similar to the size and capacity of an ATV battery) could handle. It buckled the plates inside the battery and destroyed it. I later found out that the slower you charge it the better off it will be, since it will not generate as much heat - that notoriously destroys batteries.

Jumping from ATV to ATV would be a better option, since the batteries are similar in size and capacity - i.e. the lower inrush of current from the smaller battery would be less likely to do damage.

Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[SXflyer]

you must've had the boat's charging system operating or a bad battery already. causing it to go dead in the first place. 12 volts is 12 volts in a static battery. There is no inrush of current. The rinny will use the current it demands from the donor battery. In some situations a small ATV battery may not have enough current supply for a larger demand like a full size vehicle or such, but in a pinch it usually would for a quick start. Just be sure to use 12 Volts and correct polarity.

 

[Chyknskyn]

I too have had my positive terminal come loose. Thanks for the tips on how to fix it. Will be trying them soon.