powabyke 6 gear euro charger turns on/off straight away

[russell]

I was given this powabyke,,,no sign of life from the batteries or controller.

I understand it has not been used for a long time.

When i plug the charger in it turns off immediately.

I have tried my other charger from my 5 gear Euro but that does the same thing.

Is this something that would happen indicating that the batteries have had it or could it be something else... I am happy to buy a new set of batteries as long as i can be sure the existing ones are shot..

Is there any way of checking the batteries,,,they are lead acid
thanks

 

[neptune]

A multimeter used on a suitable DC volts scale will at least show if there is any life at all in the batteries, but a more meaningful test would be to make up a 36 volt lamp load consisting of three 12volt car headlamp bulbs in series. These should light to full brightness, pulling about 4 amps. If you open the battery case you could test each 12 volt battery with one headlamp bulb. In fact there is a small screw on cover on the right side of the battery box. There are 4 pins on which the individual batteries are terminated . You could test on these pins with a multimeter to check voltage of individual batteries.Be VERY carefull not to short out these pins as they have no fuse protection. I do not know how competent you are, but if you have any doubts please ask for more info. Short circuiting batteries can cause severe burns and even an explosion.

 

[flash]

Sealed lead acid batteries do not like been left for long periods without use or charge. This will lead to sulphation (link below)

Sulfation and How to Prevent it - Battery University

You will probably find that the voltage is very low and it will not be possible to carry out normal tests.

I would suggest you try the batteries from your other bike on your new one. This will tell you if the bike is faulty or more likely the slabs need replacing.