Check and clean your battery terminals.

[SCOTTx88]

Yesterday afternoon, hour away from home, got gas and half a crank,then Completely DEAD. Checked everything I could think of, got half a crank out of my booster pack, then nothing again, saw a spark from positive terminal, took it off gave it a wipe and boom fired up. Had a ride coming to go pick up the trailer, Gave the turn around phone call and headed home. Cleaned everything up when I got home and fires up like a new battery now. Fifteen minutes of sweat and cursing.

 

[francoblay1]

Yup! Clean & Tight! I use a drop of blue loctite on them and they do not loosen up so far.

 

[Sven]

(1) Whenever a current of electricity flows through a conductor, it produces a magnetic field around the conductor... [insert battery posts].

(2) Whenever a current of electricity flows thru a conductor, the wire becomes heated.

(3) Sometimes, an electric current may produce a chemical effect...
...Fundamentals of Electricity by Theodore Benjamin

Ahhhh... said the blind man feeling the white/green crap on the battery terminals, wipes it on his pants and now holes galore in his Levis. So he found a straight edge razor, scraped the top of lead post clean and at the bottom side or the touch side of the cable end to the battery post, vaseline is used there and also to coat all the nuts, bolts, touch pads [that were scrapped off] so raw metal to metal is now the fresh contact... I need to remember, 'magnetic field-heats-my chemical reaction' and will happen to my battery posts I do not grease with vaz so lean am I pushing my bike home and that exercise is choose your poison.

Very typical... so typical I did not vaz my batt cables and lead posts/screws/nuts... "Hello, pick me up." ... gets home to pull the batt and oh look, Moe! Clean my posts is yes, the battery was being fed current back in, but the load stops at the posts---> No crank... First check is to look at the batt posts for corrosion.

Signed,

NOLTT heading for the med cabinet.

P.S.

Dip the corroded battery cable end into a cup of vinegar and when the bubbles stop... Mr. Clean-- Mr. Clean! Dip in fresh water to neutralize--scrape for a fresh raw surface--coat with vaseline, etc.

 

[Sven]

I use a drop of blue loctite on them and they do not loosen up so far.

Bad move! The nut and bolt are now frozen more or less. This now spins or chews out the lead hex in the battery post. A small screwdriver tip is inserted in the hex or flat so the nut stops from spinning, now turn the bolt.

 

[Peckerwood]

Yep, keep 'em clean and tight-I learned the hard way by melting one of the lead posts on a battery that was less than a year old.

 

[francoblay1]

Bad move! The nut and bolt are now frozen more or less. This now spins or chews out the lead hex in the battery post. A small screwdriver tip is inserted in the hex or flat so the nut stops from spinning, now turn the bolt.

Thanks for the tip! it was very minimal amount what I put in there... just a liiiitle touch, it wasn't a full drop.

 

[Sven]

Your welcome, franco. Like Pecker said, clean and hand tight, this side of spinning the nut, or more like, think of that nut sitting in that lead hex so the nut does not spin as you tighten. Last thing you want to do is show how well you gorilla things on... This baby is your gauge is to step away from the bike, do not pick up wrench; did you tear out the lead hex?

Where is that biker/enthusiast thread where universal JoeA enthusheers out the hex. Biker comes to the rescue meguyveer style.

 

[FrankBDPS]

Good advice and a good reminder.