2011 RT won't start - any ideas??

[yankeeDoolte]

I have a 2011 Rt that with a brand new battery and 12.5 volts. The engine won't start, all I get is the dash and lights blink on and off. But put a jumper or battery charger on it starts right up.

[K80Shooter]

It sounds as if you either have a bad battery (I know it's new, but it happens) loose connections or a bad starter.

[Peter Aawen]

If you can see that the new battery has 12.5 volts in it (which BTW, is not all that great for a supposedly fully charged new 12v battery!) then you've gotta have access to some form of volt meter; so try reading what the volt meter says WHILE your starter is actually cranking. If it goes below 12 volts much at all, then your battery is just not up to starting one of these power hungry Spyders!

That said, I'm with K80 on this, bad connections somewhere or a bad starter.... Have you checked, cleaned, & tightened ALL the connections, including the various earth points around the body/frame?? Just beware the main earth under the seat on your model too, if you over-tighten that one, it'll likely strip the pressed nut out of the frame & reduce that earth point to a meaningless decoration!

[BajaRon]

What is the CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) rating on your new battery? It should be at least 330. 350 is better.

Good advise above. Check voltage while cranking. It's not static voltage that is so important. It's cranking voltage. If it drops below 11.5v (which I think likely). Then the battery is either not fully charged. Or, it's got a bad cell or 2. Can happen even with a new battery. Sometimes new batteries have been sitting on a shelf for a long time. What is the manufacture date on it?

Connections are also extremely important, as Peter mentioned. If they are not Tight and Clean, that will give you starting and charging issues.

[Woodenfish]

I’ve seen automotive batteries have proper voltage when measured statically but just fall on their face when the current demand of the starter motor was applied. I don’t have X-ray specs but I believe that there was a poor connection inside the battery that would cause an open circuit under high loads. A new battery fixed the problem.