So I bought this bike recently.. I didn't drop the bike but it came down decently on me trying to stop it. (I have a steep steep driveway and I was actually trying to push it up, rather than right it up the first day). Anyways.. battery almost completely dies?

So I need to jump it.. then like I moron I run the bike for like 30 min (idling) thinking that would charge it. Completely forgetting it has to hit north of 2k rpms to actually charge.

So again.. basically dead. (at least not enough to start).

Jump yet again.. ride for a while.. then trickle charge that night.. everything is good for a day.. Ride next time, no trickle charge, next day.. doesn't start. It did start immediately after I was done riding to check to see if the charging system did it's job.

So my ideas. The guy had a cigarette lighter installed in the back (direct hookup to battery). Also had LED lights direct hookup to battery (on/off) switch. Also aftermarket flush front (fronts on when bike on, blink w/ signal), and rear turn signals. Also the fan switch was busted so he installed a on/off button for the fan. (ugh.. will have that part this evening).

I ripped all the wires out last night. LED lights and Cigarette lighter under back seat. Question is did that cig lighter constantly draw power? keep in mind direct connect to battery. Just ordered a new battery and I'm taking a multimeter today to look for any possible drains. I feel the charging system is working correctly though. Any thoughts/opinions?

 

Sounds like a bad battery, a lighter added to the battery shouldn't be drawing much power when not under a load.

 

well the awkward part was an almost total discharge after a strong jolt.. that really pushed me to the notion that there's a short somewhere..

 

What does it read on a Volt meter when fully charged, the difference between a good and bad battery is less than a volt when fully charged. Found this chart on-line so cannot attest to its accuracy but should be close.

State of Charge Voltage
100% 12.7 - 13.2
75% 12.4
50% 12.2
25% 12.0
Discharged 0 - 11.9

 

I've seen that same chart and it is accurate.. (at least to my knowledge). When the bike is running it should read 14.x. I forget what the exact number is..

The one thing I didn't realize is to NOT jump the bike w/ a car when the car is on.. The CCA's coming out of a car battery while it runs are enormous.. far more than a motorcycle battery is meant to handle. So much to learn.. When you know cars you keep trying to apply that knowledge and it doesn't always apply.

 

i didnt know any of that stuff before i jump started my bike with a car battery while the car was on. it messed up my regulator rectifier, haha had to get a new one. didnt know about push start at that time and was stranded.

 

now I take it because your regulator rectifier was messed up the bike didn't charge at all?

also maybe I should look at the stator?

 

yup. bike did not charge because of that. so bought a used rr off ebay and got a new battery, all fixed after that.
stator is the least likely to fail. but you can always test it with a multimeter. forgot how maybe someone else can help.

 

Depending on how the bike landed, you could have pushed the stator cover into the stator and or crankshaft or crankshaft into the stator and stator cover. Happened to me when I lowsided the bike. Had similar issues as well, when it happened the stator would charge the bike, but not sufficiently to combat the internal gounding/short that had developed. I would suggest you ohm out your stator windings at the plug. There should be a chart floating around here somewhere about the process/suggested readings.


Edit :

Here's what I was talking about but as basic guide is that there should be around .1 - .5 resistance on the coils with no continuity to ground

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pd...ng-diagram.pdf