Auspanglish Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Hi guys and gals, well my knee is finally begging for me to get back on a bike so I called my mate Nipple and we went to his beach house where I've had my Silver Bullet 5th gen parked for a couple of months while I was using the VTECker. I wanted to go over her a little before getting her back on the road sometime next week. Of course the battery is down, although she had been started a few times, this was no surprise. We removed the battery ground and hooked up a charger. One extremely delicious although somewhat spicy Calzone pizza later, she sparks up no probs with the choke lever on half. It was a little cool, but was able to back the choke off lickety-split. At some stage in its life this bike came down to Spain from the UK (wise choice) so it has the On, Parker and Off switch for the headlights. Guess what?? NO LIGHTS!!! I saw a little flicker at one point but no lights, and no Hi-beam either. But wait!! The passing Hi-beam trigger on the LH bar works just fine... you know, the one for flashing at people to warn you're about to overtake. It is operated with the left index finger, like pulling a trigger... We contemplate the possible causes... - fuse: check, fuses are fine. - blown bulbs: doesn't compute as we have Hi-beam via the flasher (and neithr Lo nor Hi come on using the regular switch) - relays: we get all the fairings off (blasted plastic clips) and check them with a multimeter, live as well. No problem here. - corrosion or worn cables: there was a little white flakey build up in some spots but nothing to be concerned about. Brushed them clean. There was continuity on all wires. Hmmmm, is this just a case of the battery being lowish on charge and not having the oomph to trigger the relay and keep it that way?? I mean, on other vehicles I've owned, the lits dim before dropping out. In the case at hand, they just drop out altogether. I did get lights at one stage, after having the charger on the battery again (never quite got the battery up to full charge, being impatient), but they didn't last long. Can I assume they drained the battery again to below the necessary charge to keep the relays triggered?? I took her for a spin, but it was probably just enough to actually drain the battery more than recharge it!! As I understand, with the bike at idle and low revs, you're actually not charging the battery, you have to get around at a certain RPM for a bit. I would appreciate your opinions. Nonetheless, I was feeling quite pumped up about getting back on my 5th gen, she sure does growl and boy do I need to change the rear tyre, which has hardened on me and is down to the tread limit... the rear would spin at will under the 5th gen's powerful motor... it's been two months since I could ride!! Love is a many splendid thing... We're always clowning around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted February 17, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted February 17, 2008 Maybe the starter button is corroded? If it is not making good contact inside the switch housing it won't let current pass through to the headlights. Oh, and we don't have the passing switch so don't know how that would be affected... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Maybe the starter button is corroded? If it is not making good contact inside the switch housing it won't let current pass through to the headlights.Oh, and we don't have the passing switch so don't know how that would be affected... Could be, we did open the switch housing and everything looked good inside, no visual signs of corrosion, the soldering seemed intact, we didn't use the multimeter there though, should have... will have to go back and pay more attention to that switch, the bike has seen a lot of rainy days... and coming from the UK... I did mention we should check the switch with the meter, but we ran out of decent lighting with the sun going own and things clouding over... it was also time to pack up and go pick up Nipple's GF... think I'll be back this Friday arvo... Any other hints or tips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted February 17, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted February 17, 2008 so did you get the bike running? and no lights while running? or no lights with no running?<<<<<<<< low or bad battery any thing .bike running is a ground out ..possibly melted spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Go the bike running, no lights running or not running. They worked perfectly when I stored the bike two months ago. Can something happen if you try to turn the bike over when the battery's weak? I only hit the starte once, and on realizing the battery was low, charged her up, started the bike, noticed that not even with the motor running could I get the lights to work (only the Hi-beam flasher works (something I don't think you have in the US), not via the Hi-Lo switch). I took her for a burn came back and turned the bike off. Tried the lights again a they came on for a few moments and then dropped out again. The battery was not fully charged. Nipple reckons that is the problem... but I want to be sure. Will go back on Friday, and try with a fully charged battery. I want to avoid putting the R/R and such under pressure or if there is some short-circuit somewhere I don't want to burn more things out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted February 17, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted February 17, 2008 pull the fuse out for the lights.. jump your bike waith a car.. let the run for a while to charge up the batery or go for a ride in the day light... put fuse back..pray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I would start by letting the battery come up to full charge. If you still have a problem you'll probably have to use that multimeter. I know 5th gens sometimes have R/R problems and there are multiple post on that. Good luck and I hope charging up the battery fixes it. Action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 My vote is the battery! Sometimes sealed gel batteries will not come back to life after being fully discharged, pending it's age, I'd drop a new one in it(or at least a borrowed one for testing first). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thanks guys, let's hope it's just the low charge on the battery not being capable of keeping the relays activated... I thought my mate had the battery on a maintenance charger, as I offered him mine and he said he had one... looks like he forgot... hopefully the battery will still hold its charge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Best of luck!!! Electrical problems are almost as fun as carb problems at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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