Connected Negative Terminal First On New Battery.. Bike Won't Start.?

Question

My old battery died and my bike wouldn't start so I bought a new one. I added the electrolyte and the voltage read 12.8 which is good. So I connected it to my Suzuki SV650, but w/o paying attention I connected the negative terminal (Black) first (I thought Red was negative) I didn't see a spark or here a ticking sound or anything. And now the lights won't come on and my bike won't start.

What can be the problem? And how do I fix it?

Answer 1

whoooops - may have burned something out

may be just a fuse

may need to ask a dealer

(had a friend who did the same thing - the car had less than a 1,000 miles on it when it needed a jump - and the helper criss crossed the wires - thinking the positive had to go to the negative (same error)

warranty covered his boo boo

all the best

Answer 2

Did you connect the negative (black) wire to the negative terminal first, before attaching the positive (red) wire to the positive terminal?

If you did that, there is not problem.  If you connected the black to the positive and the red to the negative, then you have problems.  It will usually tell you by sparking loudly and letting all the smoke out.  Getting the smoke back in the wires is difficult and you will need to see a mechanic.

Check your fuses for a burned fuse.

Also, is the kill switch on?

Clutch in, kickstand up?

Answer 3

well first off "step away from the bike & never assault it with a tool again"- rule of batteries ,positive allways gets connected first,then negative. yea you proably popped a fuse,be carefull not to damage plastic fusebox.

Answer 4

The reason why negative is connected last is this:

The negative is connected to the frame of the motorcycle.  If you connect it first, you risk contacting the frame to the positive terminal of the battery when connecting the positive terminal.  If you did this, a fuse would be the last of your worries.  Double check your connections, then check the large fuse.  Also, most batteries do not come fully charged.

John