Triumphrat

ljnichols · 07-17-2010, 02:55 PM

I have no clue so I hope you guys can help:
I rode my 2007 Bonnie to work a couple of days ago and 10 hours later the bike wouldn't start. No turnover, no lights, nothing. A friend brought me the battery from her Bonnie which I installed and everything was fine. I took my battery to get tested today and the results were good. Battery A-OK. I reinstalled it thinking maybe my connection had been faulty and tried to start her up. No go, but I heard a click from the area of the starter switch. Tried again and heard a click from the area of the ignitor. Again and there was a pop and spark from the negative battery terminal. The last time I tried the same came from the positive terminal. I checked all of the fuses thinking that I must have blown at least one during all of that and they are all good. Any ideas?

Forchetto · 07-17-2010, 03:03 PM

If the battery terminal screws are done up there's no way you can get sparks and pops from them. There is the possibility of a broken crimp connection though. Peel back the sleeving that covers the battery ring connectors and check they're not broken.

clydeturbeaux · 07-17-2010, 03:07 PM

I got fooled once like that years ago and it was the battery post itself. The torque of tightening the terminal was "just enough" to exacerbate a broken internal connection.
With the battery out and the test clips on there was enough contact to provide a false test result. As soon as the terminals were connected, it was dead.
You might try putting your battery in your friend's Bonnie and see if it starts her bike.
Usually, weird stuff like this only happens to me...
Keep us posted on what you find out- there's a great deal of compound interest to be gained from the brain trust on here.

Good luck!!

ljnichols · 07-17-2010, 03:59 PM

I went out and rechecked the battery ring connectors as Forchetto suggested. I had previously applies dielectric grease to the battery terminals. Maybe too much? I don't know but I made sure to wipe it all off and it started right up. Thanks for the input, problem solved.

Forchetto · 07-17-2010, 06:23 PM

It's OK to put dielectric grease on connectors that have a wiping action and terminals with sharp edges that cut throught the otherwise insulating grease film, but not on the battery terminals.

If you do, then connect and tighten up the terminals dry, and then smear the grease on top of them, but not on the mating surfaces.

ljnichols · 07-17-2010, 06:27 PM

That's actually the way I did it. My bike then sat in the direct sun on a 95 degree day for about 10 hours. Do you think the grease melted into the wrong spots?

Forchetto · 07-17-2010, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljnichols

That's actually the way I did it. My bike then sat in the direct sun on a 95 degree day for about 10 hours. Do you think the grease melted into the wrong spots?

Might have been. My 09 model came with every terminal and connector liberally smothered in the stuff, and I've had a couple of instances where connections have failed due to the insulating effect of the greasy muck. My headlamp plug for instance needed a couple of insertions/extractions before it worked right.

ljnichols · 07-17-2010, 07:23 PM

I think I'll abstain from applying anymore of it to my battery terminals. Thanks again for the great info.