ORIGINAL: kinome79

Sorry, this is long, but then again, electrical problems always are.

I have a 2002 CBR 954 RR, and lately if I leave the bike sit for more than a couple of weeks, the battery will be almost dead. The battery is about 4 years old, so I figured it was just the battery. If I run the bike for about 20 mins, the battery charges right back up, and I never have to worry that the bike won't start again unless I let the bike sit for another 2-3 weeks. I was going to buy a new battery but a new one is so expensive, and since I'm selling the bike anyway, figured I'd just let the new owner know, and take it out of the price of the bike. Plus Autozone tested it, said it held a charge, even under load.

Now, I've been working on an electrical charging problem with my other bike, a '92 VFR 750 F, and one thing I checked for was a leak in the electrical system that can drain the bike while sitting. I'm not having that problem with it, just wanted to check though. Basically, I would think if there is any continuity between + and - battery lead wires while the bike is off, current will leak from the + to the - terminal of the battery, and the battery will slowly drain while the bike is off. I checked the terminals on the VFR, and there is no continuity between them, so no current will flow. Thats a good thing. Now just for reference, the electrical system on the VFR is pretty simple, no computer, no digital clocks, nothing that needs power while the bike is off.

I thought it weird that the battery on the CBR would hold a charge just fine, but dies a few weeks later if not ridden, so I decided to check for a leak in the electrical system of the CBR as well. First I checked the battery voltage, 12.39V. I then disconnected just the negative battery lead. Now someone told me if you hook an indicator light from the negative terminal of the battery to the disconnected negative battery lead and it lights up, you have a leak. I don't have a light, so just checked for a voltage difference. Uh Oh, there was an 11.45V difference between the negative terminal and the disconnected negative terminal lead. Voltage is making it from the positive terminal through the electrical system to the negative terminal somehow. Not good. So I disconnected the battery completely. I checked for a voltage difference between the negative and positive lead wires, there was about a .400V difference that slowly counted down as I watched it (.400, .399, .398, .397, .396, etc) and would keep counting down. I have a really good Multimeter. I then checked resistance between the two leads, it showed about 3.53 megaohms, and counted up while I watched it. Apparently, with the changing voltage and resistance, I'd guess I am dealing with a capacitor or something. While I'm testing resistance(which supplies voltage through my multimeter), the voltage difference and resistance counts up as the capacitor charges. When I'm not testing resistance, the voltage and resistance counts down (capacitor charging and discharging). Now, I'm not sure, but if the bike is off, shouldn't there be no continuity between the positive and negative terminal? Or is the electrical systems on these newer bikes more computerized and complex, and therefore there is a connection between the positive and negative terminal even when the bike is off to like run the clock and stuff. Has anyone ever checked this on their bike? Is my battery old and just needs replaced? Any help would be appreciated.

ORIGINAL: demonchild

11 year battery?

Who cares? It is like these people that boast about running some oil in thier engine for 100,000 miles. If you are that cheap for maintance send the machine to me. Ill maintain it correctly.