I left it on the charger yesterday for a couple of hours. The battery seems OK. Is it possible that the barrety seems fine, yet still won't spark right?

 

Yes...

After spending five months in Alaska this year I came home to a dead battery in my pickup truck. After getting a jump and driving home from the airport I figured it would be alright. The next morning it started even...but I noticed in the little window (still talking about my pickup) on top of the battery that usually glows green there was a little red dot...I was getting ready to go to the dunes so instead of blowing it off I went to autozone and had them run a load test on my battery and it was in fact about to give up the ghost.

There is more than one model of the Battery Tender...I like the one with the 'idiot' lights...

 

When a battery starts to "wear out" a condition called sulphation occurs. When this happens it won't accept a full charge. Kinda like your cell phone batteries that after repeated chargings don't hold a charge as long as they used to. What happens is that there is enough amperage to spin the starter but not enough to fully charge the coils at the same time. There are varing degrees of this condition, so what happened to one guy may not directly relate to what is happening to you.

Due to the small size and capacity of the battery in your DS you can't perform a traditional load test. You can, however, perform what is called a conductive test. This test requires an electronic conductive tester such as are made by Midtronics, Snap-on, and others. These testers are relatively common in the automotive repair industry. I understand that the Bomb battery is pretty pricey so you may want to see if a repair shop in your area can perform this test if you bring them the battery.

I'd be willing to bet that the battery is your problem, but I won't bet with your money. Buying a battery without testing it first could be an expensive mistake.

PS, the battery tender is a good suggestion. Just don't buy the cheapest one, the cheap ones can do more harm than good.

 

Are the batteries in my wifes 400 & my DS interchangable? They look to be. I thought maybe I'd 100% check with her battery & see if it solves my problem....

 

It may not fit the holder but it should work to test with. Most ATV, jet ski, M/C batteries attach with a 6mm bolt, if the 400's is like that it would. If it's fully charged just bungee cord it to the battery tray and attach the cables and see if the DS starts. Don't ride this way though.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]