Hello everyone, let me give you a quick run down of what im experiencing here.



About 4 months ago my battery went bad, so i replaced it and didnt have a single charging problem again.

2 weeks ago i went to adjust my Manual cam chain tentioner before a long ride and i adjusted it and let the bike idle to make sure it was adjusted properly and i realized when i reved it the headlight would get brighter and then go down when i let off the throttle.

it was idling below 1000 rpms also.

I took it around the block on a 4 mile ride, keeping it above 3500 rpm and i pulled back in my driveway and turned it off and went to start it right back up and it was dead.

I pulled my battery and had it load tested (before i took it out of the bike the battery read 12v before starting and as soon as i hit the starter button it dropped to 3v) advance said the battery was good and had 200 CCA.

i bought a trickle charger and plugged the battery into it and let it charge for a few days. i took it out the other day, just a short trip and let it sit for a while and it started right up.

went to take it to town to get gas today so i unplugged it from the trickle charger and went into town. stopped and got gas and started it up to pull from the pump to a parking spot and it started but seemed slow.

i parked in the spot and turned it off and went inside for a second and when i came back out it almost didnt start.

so as soon as i pulled up my driveway i grabbed my multimeter.


bike off as soon as i pulled up the driveway the battery was at 13.11v

turned the key and moved the kill switch after prime it dropped to 12.37v

press the starter button it drops to 10.2V

at 5 thousand RPM its at 13.5

now as i idle (i understand the system doesn't charge while idling) you can watch the voltage drop little by little and after 2 mins or so the bike wont start.

so my bike is killing the battery at idle making it not start the next time.

Any ideas of what im looking at here?

stator?
RR?
Battery?
something hit or shorted when i adjusted the tensioner?

any pointers would be great, im about to start pulling out hair

 

Take the battery to a motorcycle shop/store and have it tested again. Don't trust the advanced auto employees to know anything technical.

Go from there....

 

I agree with this, do it just so you can rule out the batt. What kind of batt did you put in??

If the batt checks out you will most likely have an issue with your RR or a loose connection in the wiring somewhere.

You can do a test of every piece of the charging system by following this flow chart: http://www.electrosport.com/media/pd...ng-diagram.pdf

13.5 volts at 5k rpm is the bare minimum, ideally you would want 13.5 volts at idle and high 13s or 14 volts at 5k rpm

 

Battery was just checked out at the motorcycle shop and is definitely good.

Quick question might be very stupid and a newb question


But if the cam chain tensioner is too tight or too loose works that affect the charging system?

 

Nope.
It will damage other things though.

 

ride around and honk the horn, since you cant really see the headlights, and if the hourn craps out or sounds like its dieing then its probably the stator. dont ride too far from home though, dont want the bike to die on ya.....

just what i've heard

 

okay everyone

im sitting in my garage on the lap top so i will prob be posting as i go.

like i said the local motorcycle shop said my battery checks out good.

i read on another forum that a system draw could cause my type of problem so they said connect the positive battery end and disconnect the negative and put a test light between the negative terminal and the negative wire.

i did that and the test light lit up. i started pulling fuses to see when the light dies and it did it on the clock fuse.

i then pulled the main wire harness going to the starter relay and when i disconnected it the test light turned off and then when i plugged it back in the test light still stayed off.

could that have been a draw on the charging system?

 

To test for a draw, do the same with the positive cable.

The clock will have a draw.

 

well I noticed a couple things.. at least from my recollection at 5k you should be in the 14.6V range. At idle I'm around 12.9 or so? With the power on (not bike) I think there's only a mediocre drop in Voltage.

I ran all the tests of my bike just a couple weeks ago. Tested resistance on the stator, regulator rectifier. Tested all the accessories for draw through the fuse box. Disconnected all the crap the previous owner hard wired to the battery.

Battery has to be pretty weak to not start.. I think it only needs high 10's to start.

So if you're riding for a mere couple minutes and losing that much power.. you're either not charging the battery or there's some mad electric short that is drawing a big amount of power while on.

In general though.. if you're riding.. not stalling and it's dead later. That's a symptom of a bad regulator rectifier.

 

If at all possible borrow an amp clamp. This will answer your questions in a short time. If you have cu rrent to the battery while running but voltage continues to drop then even though the battery passes a load test it is failing in its working environment. Next if you have current to the battery and you think your starter relay is causing the draw do yourself a favor and disconnect the battery and skip the battery tender. Measure the voltage when you park. And the next day it may be higher from surface charge. If you have your stuff handy and still need help pm me.. a phone call can explain things easily. And I am willing to help if you need.