yamaha fz09 electrical problem

B

BigShotBob

Active member
Thanks for the lively discussion and help, everybody!

Somebody asked if I just didn't realize if that I needed to know the tens place of the voltage, which is true. I did not know that it needed to be that specific. I will go out into the garage and check the voltage more closely on the battery, and if it's low, I will attempt a jump with my car battery (with the car not started, thx for the advice ST guy).

If that doesn't seem to be the case, I'll look into the ignition switch. Also, another idea I had... I briefly installed a full M4 exhaust system, and took it off after about a week. It involved removing and reinstalling the O2 sensor, which maybe I twisted in a weird way and cause a short in the wiring. What do you think about that? I was fairly careful to not have it be too twisted, but it's possible I wasn't careful enough.
 
M

motomania2007

TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
Intermittent or non functional o2 sensor will not cause a no power situation.

What causes a no power situation is something in the battery, main fuse and ignition switch circuit.
 
B

BigShotBob

Active member
Alrighty so...

I went to the garage to test the battery, and since my multimeter is not precise, I wasn't able to get a very close reading. However, I tested where the needle rose to on the bike and compared it to my car, which has a working battery. The car battery read significantly higher than my bike battery, on the order of perhaps a couple volts.

I attached jumper cables from my car to the bike (with the car engine off) and attempted to turn on the motorcycle. The motorcycle screen lit up (YAY!), and I was able to crank the motor over. This leads me to believe my electrical systems are good, just the battery is bad, yes?

I'm surprised that I did not find any evidence of bad / low voltage battery before the bike decided to completely turn off and not turn on anything whatsoever though...I'm thinking I should keep an eye on the charging system (alternator / stator?)? Is there a good way to test that system? Continually check voltage on battery between rides?

Thanks boys!
 
M

motomania2007

TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
Yup, now you need to test the charging system. See my earlier post pointing to the thread on how to test the charging system.
 
ST Guy

ST Guy

Well-known member
Yep. Get a decent volt meter.

Sounds like your battery is shot. When you install the new one AND you gave a good meter, measure voltage at the battery with the engine running between 3000-4000 rpm. Should be around 14.4 volts. Give or take a little.

FYI, get your decent meter BEFORE you buy your battery. Take it with you and test the battery before buying. Reject any battery lower than 12.6 volts. Then fully charge it before installing.
 
Maddevill

Maddevill

KNGKAW
When my ZX14 quit, I had NO warning. We stopped to take a picture. Got back on, key on, screen lit up.." CLICK"
Tried things for over an hour. And mine was definitely the battery. Replaced it and finished the trip.

Mad
 
dravnx

dravnx

Well-known member
Maddevill said:
When my ZX14 quit, I had NO warning. We stopped to take a picture. Got back on, key on, screen lit up.." CLICK"
Tried things for over an hour. And mine was definitely the battery. Replaced it and finished the trip.

Mad
Click to expand...

Yes, that happens but I hate seeing someone shoot parts at a problem without at least making an attempt at diagnosing the fault, especially something as simple as a motorcycle charging system.
 
Darkness!

Darkness!

Where's the kick starter?
BigShotBob said:
Alrighty so...

I went to the garage to test the battery, and since my multimeter is not precise, I wasn't able to get a very close reading. However, I tested where the needle rose to on the bike and compared it to my car, which has a working battery. The car battery read significantly higher than my bike battery, on the order of perhaps a couple volts.

I attached jumper cables from my car to the bike (with the car engine off) and attempted to turn on the motorcycle. The motorcycle screen lit up (YAY!), and I was able to crank the motor over. This leads me to believe my electrical systems are good, just the battery is bad, yes?

I'm surprised that I did not find any evidence of bad / low voltage battery before the bike decided to completely turn off and not turn on anything whatsoever though...I'm thinking I should keep an eye on the charging system (alternator / stator?)? Is there a good way to test that system? Continually check voltage on battery between rides?

Thanks boys!
Click to expand...

:facepalm

Robert. there have been multiple posts on how to properly diagnose your battery and your charging system. Having said that, instead of just continuing to ask folks, "So what should I do now?"

1. Maybe re-read through the Sticky on charging systems first.
2. Get a proper DVOM (if you don't know what that is, you haven't done the first step)
3. Try to fully charge and THEN (and ONLY then), test your current battery and the charging system.
4. If your current battery is poop. Get a brand new battery (FULLY charge it) install it in your bike and then re-check your charging system.

If you value your own time and money (and you value ours), please, for the love of dog, don't just shoot the parts cannon at your bike.

Please post your results so that those here who have posted to help you, get some closure to this thread.

Cheers! Good luck and Dog Bless!
 
Last edited:
seadog

seadog

Veteran
Also, for future use, you can get a dash mounted voltage display. You'll know what your system voltage is just by looking at the display.

voltmeter
 
Maddevill

Maddevill

KNGKAW
dravnx said:
Yes, that happens but I hate seeing someone shoot parts at a problem without at least making an attempt at diagnosing the fault, especially something as simple as a motorcycle charging system.
Click to expand...

Well, I did say he should have the battery load tested....

Mad
 
ST Guy

ST Guy

Well-known member
Maddevill said:
Well, I did say he should have the battery load tested....

Mad
Click to expand...

Just remember that the electronic load testers at places like O'Reileys and such are crap. You need to apply an actual load to the battery to get meaningful readings.
 
B

BigShotBob

Active member
Thanks again for the input, friends.

Spent some time on the bike today.

Purchased a new battery, charged up the battery with an automatic battery tender / charger. Put it on the bike, and gave it a read with my new and fancy DVOM, coming out at ~13.1. The bike did start just fine, and read ~14.2 at 3.5k RPM, after warming up.

All seems well? Perhaps old battery was the original on the bike, making it 6 years old, which seems like when a battery might crap out from normal use. If this is the case, it seems to make sense, I'm just curious as to why all systems on the bike shut down all at once, without warning. Kinda strange...
 
M

motomania2007

TC/MSF/CMSP/ Instructor
BigShotBob said:
Thanks again for the input, friends.

Spent some time on the bike today.

Purchased a new battery, charged up the battery with an automatic battery tender / charger. Put it on the bike, and gave it a read with my new and fancy DVOM, coming out at ~13.1. The bike did start just fine, and read ~14.2 at 3.5k RPM, after warming up.

All seems well? Perhaps old battery was the original on the bike, making it 6 years old, which seems like when a battery might crap out from normal use. If this is the case, it seems to make sense, I'm just curious as to why all systems on the bike shut down all at once, without warning. Kinda strange...
Click to expand...

That is typical!
 
haybaler

haybaler

Mechanical
"...curious as to why all systems on the bike shut down all at once, without warning. Kinda strange..."

How many times can folks remember starting their car, truck or motorcycle, and thinking that the starter was going a little slower/weaker, and gradually over the next few days, it just wouldn't work? There was a sense of fair warning that it was time to replace the battery. Now, everything's fine, then BAM! battery's dead. Is it an issue of lower quality components?

Some folks replace batteries on a set time schedule, every 3 or 4 years, whatever, not a bad idea.
 
ST Guy

ST Guy

Well-known member
First off, batteries don't always die gradually. Sometimes they can be completely dead in an instant.

Second, OP: one of your clues later on would be the 2+ volt discrepancies between your bike and car batteries.

Third, always charge a bike battery with a charger that puts out approximately 1.25 - 1.5 amps. No more or you'll fry he battery easily.

Fourth, always wait at least 2 hours after the battery has been removed from its charger (engine turned off or charger disconnected) before taking a reading with the volt meter. Otherwise you'll be reading an artificially high surface charge.

13.1 battery level and 14.2 sounds fine. Go ride!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top