Strangely Dead People 50

[rwsykora]

My 2003 People 50 worked flawlessly last fall. When snow came, I pulled the battery and kept in in the shop for the winter. I re-installed it this spring and ... no starter, no clock, no horn, no lights. Yes, the battery polarity is correct. There's zero battery connection corrosion. But it's as if the battery isn't there. The voltmeter shows it with a 12.8v charge. AND -- get this -- when I touch the battery's + terminal with the red probe of the voltmeter and put the black probe on a chassis bolt by the rear wheel ... it shows 12.8v on the meter! Anyone with electrical smarts have an idea?

[Chris0381]

When the batteries are fully charged, they read about 12.8 volts with the charger on mine. After a long ride it reads 13.2 volts.

Are all your fuses OK and no corrosion? Are your wire harnesses all connected nicely with all bullet connectors well seated ?

[rwsykora]

Fuses test OK! All connections as clean as can be. I suppose a mouse could've chewed wiring inside that I can't see, but I don't think there's anyplace for a mouse to get in.

[wkreps]

Will it kick start?

[rwsykora]

Tried kick start, no luck. But that might not help the analysis, since it usually is pretty difficult to start with a kick.

[BettinANDlosing]

If the battery sat during the winter without being on a maintainer it's dead. Static battery voltage doesn't tell you much. Put the volt meter on and check the voltage with the key on, most likely it'll drop too near zero. These scooter batteries do not like to sit around. Also your bike will need a carb clean to run right, along with fresh gas.

[CROSSBOLT]

Battery or ignition switch.

Karl

[rwsykora]

Yup: with ignition on, voltage dropped form 12.8 to 0.05. New battery; all is good. Thanks for the excellent advice, I no longer see Dead People!

[BettinANDlosing]

Yup: with ignition on, voltage dropped form 12.8 to 0.05. New battery; all is good. Thanks for the excellent advice, I no longer see Dead People!