RiderSite.com - Motorcycle Forums

I returned from a ride yesterday evening and put the Falco in the garage. All was functioning perfectly when I left it. This afternoon I came out and found it completely dead - no messages on the display, no lights when I turn the key - nothing!

When I plug in the Optimate all that illuminates is the mains light, nothing on the battery side LEDs.

This is desperate - can anyone shed light on where to start?

Dave

try another battery - sounds as if something has drained yours so it is dead

i assume you did not have it on the optimate last night?

have any obvious drains - heated grips that can be left on?

On the odd occasion I quickly attach my optimate and it goes straight to red! This obviously sometimes means that the optimate hasn't connected properly The alarm is the only thing that can drain it fully, unless you have a loose wire or worn sleeve somewhere taking the charge to earth If you have an alarm, suggest you disconnect it, take battery in house and plug in there, the warmer atomsphere might help alittle seeing as it is frosty tonight. Then check battery manana. If it has regained it's charge great, if not, look at getting your pennies out of the jar fella...

It may be frosty where you are Greg ....

Aladinsaneuk wrote:try another battery - sounds as if something has drained yours so it is dead

i assume you did not have it on the optimate last night?

have any obvious drains - heated grips that can be left on?

Quite right - no Optimate last night, and I left the heated grips switch on!

Have left it on the Optimate tonight so we'll see in the morning.

D

England fella central land mass of the UK... check outside Brrr

GregD-UK wrote:On the odd occasion I quickly attach my optimate and it goes straight to red! This obviously sometimes means that the optimate hasn't connected properly .

You have remembered to switch the optimate off at the wall when you reconnect it? If you don't, you don't reinitialise the charging cycle.

D-Rider wrote:

GregD-UK wrote:On the odd occasion I quickly attach my optimate and it goes straight to red! This obviously sometimes means that the optimate hasn't connected properly .

You have remembered to switch the optimate off at the wall when you reconnect it? If you don't, you don't reinitialise the charging cycle.

Not so sure about that, I rarely switch mine off at the wall just plug and unplug the bike.

The standard Optimate connector is crap though. Mine used to give all sorts of odd readings for no good reason and it was all down to the connector. I took mine apart and crimped up the female connectors a bit to make them a tighter fit and never had a problem since.

GregD-UK wrote:On the odd occasion I quickly attach my optimate and it goes straight to red! This obviously sometimes means that the optimate hasn't connected properly The alarm is the only thing that can drain it fully, unless you have a loose wire or worn sleeve somewhere taking the charge to earth If you have an alarm, suggest you disconnect it, take battery in house and plug in there, the warmer atomsphere might help alittle seeing as it is frosty tonight. Then check battery manana. If it has regained it's charge great, if not, look at getting your pennies out of the jar fella...

The Optimate was not interested in getting charge into this battery, but I have an old car battery charger - probably 25 years old, so no electronics just brute force and ignorance! Took the battery off the bike and stuck it on that for 4 hours. Reattached it to the Optimate and it started charging. After around 24 hours it is now showing fully charged and in maintain mode. Sometimes the oldies and the goodies.

Amen to that! You can't beat brute force and ignorance!