Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > Help! My bike's dead!

[phil_h]

Originally Posted by david.hicks

Two days later and the optimate lights are indicating that the battery is currently holding a weak charge.

Does anyone have any idea what would have caused the battery terminal connections to get really hot when turning-over to start?

A bad connection causes resistance, and resistance causes heat.
Yes, that simple.
A bad connection to the battery will also cause a charger to cook a battery, as it never gets to see the real voltage reading.

Usually the earth connection actually, and I've moaned about this prob before.
If you have some right-angle metal connectors on either end of the battery, they are usually the problem - the fixings that stick out 'fore and aft' are just splined into the body of the bracket, and if you try to tighten them up, the connection actually gets worse. The simplest fix is to solder them up on the backs.

btw
I never leave anything permanently connected to a charger myself, even a good one can cook a battery.
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