8 Reasons Why Your Dirt Bike Battery Is Going Dead

I have seen so many people that their dirt bike battery is not working and they do not understand why or even try to check why the battery is not working. And Instead of trying to figure out what the problem is and solve the problem in a few minutes, they went ahead to buy a new battery, which is definitely spending another money.

If your dirt bike doesn’t start, don’t worry because, in this post, I’ll show you 8 common reasons why your dirt bike battery keeps draining (going dead) and how to fix it in a few minutes. So, let’s get started.

8 Reasons why your dirt bike battery is going dead (list)

The battery is bad or old

You did not turn off the dirt bike

You use too many electrical accessories when riding

The battery works under hot conditions

Riding in cold weather

Short in power system

Battery sulfur

Bad charger

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1. The battery is bad or old

The first reason why your dirt bike battery is not working may be that the battery is old while it is important to note that the average dirt bike batteries can last for 3 to 5 months which means you will need to replace your battery at least 3-4 times in a year on average, so do not be surprised.

In general, if your battery doesn’t work, you need to do the following as listed below to know if the battery is old and has ended its life:

The first thing you have to do is load test. This means you need to check if you are getting enough battery voltage in the engine brace, which must be a voltage of at least over 12 volts.

To check the voltage of your battery, you need to first turn on all the lights and flashes.

Hold down the starter button for ten seconds.

Then check if you get at least a suppressing voltage of over 12 volts. If you don’t get a voltage of over 12 volts, it means your battery is old and you need to replace it, while at times, if you also know that you have been using your battery for up to 3 to 5 months and it does not work, this is telling you that it is about to end its life, without even having to check the battery voltage.

2. You did not turn off the dirt bike

Yes, it sometimes happens that you just thought you turned off the dirt bike but you mistakenly did not, and the sticks are in a shutdown mode which means the dirt bike is still on and your battery is running out. This is common to most people, and they think there is something wrong with their battery, where they just accidentally replace it with a new one without knowing that it’s because they didn’t turn off the dirt bike.

Because of this, you need to know how to turn off dirt bikes correctly and properly so that you won’t suffer from this problem. So, there are 3 things to help you completely make sure your dirt bike is off:

Check an ignition to see that the dirt bike is not working
Make sure the headlights and lights are off
Make sure the ignition key is idle

If you have a display meter or dashboard to show if the dirt bike is off, wait at least a minute after turning off the dirt bikes to make sure they have stopped working.

3. You use too many electrical accessories when riding

A common mistake that many riders make and are unaware of is that they add too many accessories to their dirt bikes which can be a simple thing for them to do, but adding too many accessories causes the battery to run out because you use most of the power from what the charging system can deliver which can drain the battery while riding.

In addition, when I talk about electrical accessories, I mean GAS, phone charger, performance meter, and more. Know that the more you use electrical accessories, the more your battery will drain quickly, and it can even be damaged and have its life shortened to such a degree that it will be destroyed, so you must be very careful.

Also, I’m not telling you not to add electrical accessories to your dirt bike, but my point is that you need to limit the number of accessories you add to your bike. If you want to add more accessories, I recommend you consult a mechanic or professional to help you know which accessories you can add.

4. The battery works under hot conditions

Heat can destroy the battery and cause irreparable damage to it. It usually shortens the battery life and, in some cases, even cause the battery to bloom and spark, which can cause the battery to burst and can eventually burn the dirt bike. I know you won’t want that to happen but I know people that this happened to and just burnt all their dirt bikes.

You must understand that you need to keep the battery away from heat no matter what, especially in the summer. The main reason why your battery can be damaged by heat is that it is located in an area that accumulates much heat, which is at the top of the dirt bike.

To reduce the amount of heat that accumulates in your battery, I recommend that you first transfer the battery to an area where the amount of heat does not accumulate too much and also consider wrapping the battery in a heat shield. This is not usually mandatory but if you are living in the desert or in the hot land, it is definitely necessary for you to get a heat shield.

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5. Riding in cold weather

I am sure you will be surprised to hear this but cold weather can also ruin and shorten your battery life because of the cold damages the charging system which causes the battery life to short. So, during winter, you have to keep the battery safe from the cold in the following ways:

Park your dirt bike in the garage – Do not park your dirt bike in your garden (outside) during winter because cold will make your battery die in the night. So, you have to park your dirt bike only in the garage or even at home during the winter.

Charge your battery up to 100 percent – Studies show that a fully charged battery can handle cold weather than a not fully charged battery. A not fully charged battery will last much less in the cold and, in general, its life will be shortened.

Maintaining the Battery – Maintaining a battery well gives the battery itself the ability to cope with the cold better and become more durable, so it’s important that you keep the battery as long as you can.

Winter motocross group of riders at the first corner after the start

6. Short in power system

Short circuit in the electrical system is a relatively common problem that can happen. The electrical system of the dirt bike is quite complicated and it is quite dangerous to mess with it because it can lead to a short circuit. So, I will advise you not to try repairing the electrical system alone, but rather with a professional technician who knows how to deal with short circuit electricity.

But before you call a technician to come and help you, there are a few things you can check to know if the power system is the problem which will help you save a few bucks.

Check for bad wiring or broken parts – When I say broken parts, I mean anything that looks broken or disconnected like too much wired, bad connectors and, in short, anything that looks disconnected.

Check your main fuse – The main fuse is the one that usually does the short and can damage all electrical components while sometimes, it may appear that you have bad electrical parts and the real problem is simply a bad fuse that requires replacement.

7. Battery sulfur

The sulfur battery has a pretty common problem that indicates your accumulator is charged to the end, but even if you are checking with a voltmeter and you do not get a voltage of over 12.4, it means that the battery is sulfate. Sulfate means the battery decomposes itself much faster than normal and the battery will not hold a full charge.

If your battery is sulfate, that means you will need to replace it with a new battery.

8. Bad charger

Sometimes, the problem may be from the charger and not the battery itself, so it’s important to check the charging cable and make sure there are no problems with the charging capacitor. Also, check if there are some ruptures that can damage the lead’s charge, which may be why the battery doesn’t charge. So, if you think the problem is in the charging capacitor, it is important that you replace it with a new one.

In addition, it is important to keep the battery recharging and do not pull and act aggressively in order to preserve it over time.