No power

[Southern Man]

I just took the 2004 GL1800 tirke out of the shed. Been in there since Oct. NO power whatsoever so I assumed the battery was dead. The battery is 1 year old. Put the trike on the charger and several hours later still nothing.
Is there some main fuse, breaker, or relay that would prevent power from lighting up the dash.
Usually just hooking up the charger will at least light up the dash even if the starter will not turn over.

THanks from south Georgia.

[redial]

You have to love and care for batteries - otherwise they let you down, but always at the wrong time.

For a 6 month break like that, your battery may have destroyed itself by sitting there, with nothing to do, and no charging. Take it out and to a battery place and let them charge it, test it, and see if it is recoverable. They should put a load tester on it, not just a voltage check. You could also use a hydrometer if it is a wet/flooded battery, and see what the specific gravity of each cell is reading. Most hydrometers are coloured so that if the level is red in any of the cells, then it will let you know that it is time to start looking for a new battery. Most people have gone to AGM technology, a bit dearer; however, those that look like storing their GWs for six months, should really consider a LiFePO type battery, as they can withstand being stored and doing nothing for long periods, but again dearer.

As it is only 12 months old, you may be eligible for a warranty claim, but just tell them that it died. Do not mention that you did not put a tender on it and it sat in the cold for six months. While you are there, you might inquire about a battery tender, that is suitable for your type of battery, as you should have one.

Enjoy your days in the light!

[Fatwing Chris]

The 1800,1500 and some of the previous Wings have a very slight parasitic draw.Less than 5 mA's,but over that period of time it would completely drain even a good battery.If you don't have a tender then you would have to disconnect it from the bike to give it any chance at all over that length of time.Hopefully you can get warr. on it.

[MikeB]

Southern Man, a lot of assumptions are being made here so I have to ask, did you check the battery voltage before or after the charger was attached? What was the voltage?