Modern Buddy

Hello all, poor buddy has been sitting for a long long time. I think her battery is past due to replace. I kicked started her and everything worked just fine except:

Turn signals lights come on but do not blink. One click from the relay is all.

Horn is kind of weak.

So, going to put the battery on a rejuvinator that has restored a number of batteries from the dead. Its a friends, I don't quite understand how it works but it does something aside from just charging. If that does not work I will just have to get a new one.

Here is my first question, should the flasher relay and horn work OK just with a kick start/battery out and whatever voltage they get that way? If so I'll probably just order a new relay for what they cost. I did clean all the connections and so on, I do not think it is a resistance issue.

Second, I'm told that in a car a bad battery can eventually kill and alternator. This battery probably should have been replaced a season or two ago. Could the same thing happen with a scoot? In other words, could riding around with a bad battery have killed the charging system? (Stator right?)

Thanks in advance. Scoot on in peace!

I think I can answer part of your question. While the Buddy can run without the battery, certain parts of the electric system won't work, including the horn and turn signals. Don't know if running with a dead battery can damage the stator.

My understanding is that riding without a battery can hurt the charging system. I don't think that a bad battery will have the same effect since it's still introducing some resistance. Your symptoms certainly seem to indicate a bad battery, though, so I'd recommend taking care of that before you bother messing with anything else. Even if you need a new one, it's not that expensive.

Thanks to both of you. Did not occur to me to check the voltage from the charging system while it was running...will put a meter on it when I get a new battery to make sure I'm getting the right output.

Will hold off on the new relay for now though.

Thanks again! I'll let you know what happens.