Alright, this may be a little lengthy, but I really need some help here. I was also not around for these problems, soI am going to relay them as completely as possible.

i bought my 04 F4i 3 weeks ago and love it. the bike cosmetically is perfect, and it ran great. This week, my dad and his friend went on a ride, his friend took my bike cause he is looking at getting a similar bike and wanted to ride it. They went like 25 miles, pull over for a break, get back on it and its got nothing. battery is FRIED. they pop start it and take it to sears, test the battery and it says "BAD BATTERY." so they pop start it again and bring it to a place where we know a guy that gives us a discount, get a brand new battery.

Last night i noticed my tire was a little low so i took it to the gas station for some air, started right up, no problem. My dad went to go take it to the store about an hour later...and again, won't start. so he pop started it, rode it for like 20 miles to try to charge up the battery, pulled over. and again not enough juice.

Now the guy who had it before me had a trickle charger on it and he removed it before i bought it from him. Also, according to my dad, under the seat, up towards the passenger seat above the left rear blinker, there is a bundle of wires that looks like it doesn;t belong there. and my left rear blinker is out now too.

So i'm thinking i may have a blown alternator, or maybe in that bundle of whires i have a short or something. I am a TOTAL noob when it comes to working on streetbikes. I have a basic knowlege of mechanics and electronics so i'll probably know what your talking about. please help me out here. i'd rather not hve to take it to a mechanic.

 

over in that area you mentioned, between the plastic tail section and the subframe is the rectifier. you'll need to test it to see if the problem lies in the rectifier not working properly or the alternator not working properly. do a search for charging system diagnosis.