Is this a battery issue?

[mel3535]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzatdCKR-To&list=UUhkkPL3Jd0NENCWeSmIhfRw

Background:

Bike had not been started in about month and half, I took a lot of aftermarket parts off and returned to stock. I started it and rode it after all the parts swap was done, started fine with no issue and rode like normal.

I got new gas and came home and saw the idle was "funny", it was spiking intermittently and my light were flickering so I turned the bike off and attempted to start it again and nothing happened. Came back that night and fired right back up with no issue, I left it running for 5 minutes or so and everything was fine including the idle.

Fast forward about 5 days to today and does not start this morning, tried again few hours later thinking it might resolve it self like last time and nothing again. Light and electronics seem to be fine.

Any idea? I was thinking something with the battery but then again the lights and etc. work fine.

 

[BillSmith]

Does not take much power to light the lights and run electronics. Takes a big jolt of volt to kick over the starter, in comparison, especially if the temperature is cold.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=394141

 

[busapassion]

Most bikes don't charge while idling. Idle has to be above 2000-2500 rpm. Get a battery tender.

 

[mototireguy]

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=394141

+1

Guessing without basic metrics is bad for your wallet, actual test results based troubleshooting good.

Please beg, borrow or buy a basic $20 voltmeter, run the basic battery voltage tests with and report back with your numbers.

 

[dkcwenge]

sounds like your battery is low / toast. and as it's true for a car as well, a battery can have enough juice to power lights but not enough to turn over. deep discharge can really kill a battery. keep it on the tender for your next battery!

 

[channelcat]

all of the above. and...
charge the battery properly. it should have a resting voltage of at least 12.5 to 13.4 volts.
start the bike and put your newly acquired voltmeter, set to 15 DC volts, across the battery terminals, red to pos, black to neg.
at idle it should show 13.8 volts or so, rev the motor, and that number should rise to no more than 14.7. Thats your charging voltage. If those numbers don't happen, something in your charging circuit is bad, and may gawd have mercy on your innocent soul.

If they do happen, and your bike still runs, then doesn't, take your meter, same or less setting, and see if, when the key is off, battery properly charged, significant, not the itty bitty bit it takes to power the computer mileage etc. reads, current flows from the neg post ground to the neg post. if it does, you have a short somewhere, and m.g.h.m.o.y.i.s.

if there is no current draw there, and your charging voltage is correct, then your battery is toast, usually happens every three years weather you ride or not, and replace it.

best I could do, here. anybody got corrections or clarifications, go for it.:ride

 

[Maddevill]

Before you toss the battery, check to see if any of the connections are loose, especially your battery ground.

 

[channelcat]

Before you toss the battery, check to see if any of the connections are loose, especially your battery ground.

^ yup. or corroded at all.

 

[ALANRIDER7]

all of the above. and...
charge the battery properly. it should have a resting voltage of at least 12.5 to 13.4 volts.
start the bike and put your newly acquired voltmeter, set to 15 DC volts, across the battery terminals, red to pos, black to neg.
at idle it should show 13.8 volts or so, rev the motor, and that number should rise to no more than 14.7. Thats your charging voltage. If those numbers don't happen, something in your charging circuit is bad, and may gawd have mercy on your innocent soul.

If they do happen, and your bike still runs, then doesn't, take your meter, same or less setting, and see if, when the key is off, battery properly charged, significant, not the itty bitty bit it takes to power the computer mileage etc. reads, current flows from the neg post ground to the neg post. if it does, you have a short somewhere, and m.g.h.m.o.y.i.s.

A decent free standing charge on a good battery should be at least 12.6 to 13.2 volts.

13.8 volts at idle isn't going to happen on most bikes.

Current flowing with the key off indicates a draw, not a short.

 

[mean dad]

Have you checked your flux capacitor yet?

 

[ST Guy]

A good free standing charge on a lead/acid battery is 12.8 volts. Anything higher and it's likely you didn't wait long enough after shutting the bike down or removing an external charger. Lead/acid batteries require some time to stabilize after seeing any kind of charging current. 1 hour minimum, 2 hours or more is better. Otherwise you get an artificially high reading.

Battery voltage is only part of the picture. The battery must also have the amps to do the job. It's possible, for instance, to have a bike battery read 12.6 volts or better and barely be capable of lighting a flashlight, let alone crank an engine over. A load test of a fully charged battery is the best way to tell. And that means a real load is applied. Do not use those crappy electronic load testers like the ones at O'Reillys, etc. They don't work for shit and will give false positives. (Good for the store as they can say there's nothing wrong with the battery.)

If the battery voltage is good and it spins your engine over properly, then I'd suspect that fuel you put in just before the problem occurred.

 

[OldFatGuy]

I turned the bike off and attempted to start it again and nothing happened. Came back that night and fired right back up with no issue,

No dead battery will magically come back to life. Like others said, check your connections. And do some actual diagnosis with a multimeter. Don't just throw parts at it.

 

[channelcat]

A decent free standing charge on a good battery should be at least 12.6 to 13.2 volts.

13.8 volts at idle isn't going to happen on most bikes.

Current flowing with the key off indicates a draw, not a short.

Current draw beyond what is required to maintain computer setting, such as clock/mileage indicators, and perhaps, on newer bikes, stored previous run stats, indicates a short.

my ol' beemer has a charging voltage at idle of 13.4...I assumed modern bikes would be better than that.

M.O.B. also at this moment has a standing voltage of 12.5 after 2 hours of running over the last three weeks, will spin the motor, and start the bike in 1 or 2 revolutions, but, granted, the compression is relatively low...

 

[mel3535]

Ok thanks boys and girls. Looks like it was a dead battery issue.

Old battery was in the 8-10 range, I got a new one and charged it and like a previous poster said, it was around 12.8 fully charged.

I put it in the bike this morning and it fired up, went around for a ride and everything seems fine. I will check it out again tomorrow and see if it is a issue with a regulator-rectifier. I assume if its a R/R issue the battery wont charge properly and my bike will be dead again soon.

 

[mototireguy]

I got a new one and charged it and like a previous poster said, it was around 12.8 fully charged. I put it in the bike this morning and it fired up, went around for a ride and everything seems fine. I will check it out again tomorrow and see if it is a issue with a regulator-rectifier. I assume if its a R/R issue the battery wont charge properly and my bike will be dead again soon.

Congrats it's running again but please don't make any assumptions.

Check the battery voltage when the bike is running at low-mid rpms. If you don't see 14-14.5v when the bike is running then your new $100 battery will soon be another dead battery.

If you don't see that magic 14-14.5v voltage when the bike is running suspicion then turns to either the reg/rect or the stator or both. Again some simple voltage tests will point you in the right diagnostic direction.

 

[channelcat]

spent $$ before testing. channelcat no-no. :nchantr
but, sometimes, ya just gotta get the thing running, so you can take a ride, or get to work, $$ be damned. meh.

 

[ST Guy]

Congrats it's running again but please don't make any assumptions.

Check the battery voltage when the bike is running at low-mid rpms. If you don't see 14-14.5v when the bike is running then your new $100 battery will soon be another dead battery.

If you don't see that magic 14-14.5v voltage when the bike is running suspicion then turns to either the reg/rect or the stator or both. Again some simple voltage tests will point you in the right diagnostic direction.

This. Do NOT assume every thing is good until you check the charging voltage.