Guest 91talon Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Ok, so I really have no idea how old the battery I have in my '03 is. I purchased the bike about September of last year. Anyway... the start of things: Before I parked the bike for the winter, by friend took it out for a day trip. I think the temps were in the 80's or so that weekend. On his way back home, the bike wouldn't start. All the lights came on, but would not turn over. He push started it, and it fired up. I guess a little later sitting in traffic it just died on him. It did this a couple more times, and each time he had to push start it. He finally got it back to my house, and I parked it for the winter. I started doing some research and read that during the summer you could possibly kill a weaker battery with the stress of the electrical requirements (or something to that effect), because with the headlights on, the tail light, then the fan kicking on and off, and then the added brake light and turn signals. Fast forward to today: I let the battery sit on the battery tender off and on for the past month. Each time I go out to check the voltage, it's around 12.3-12.5. Most times it fires up. Today, after letting the battery sit for 2 days on the tender, I took the battery to Autozone to have them load test the battery. the guy said it seemed to be fine. So I took it back home and put it in the bike. Checked to voltage, and it was about 12.5. I turned the ignition on, but did not start it, and watched the voltage drop to 11.5. I tried to fire the bike up, but no dice. I'm curious if that is a normal number, or if my battery is indeed toast. Sorry if that seems like along post, but I'm, still new here. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Check the charging system to be safe. Those are classic signs of a battery that no longer pulls its weight. Replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Check the charging system to be safe. Those are classic signs of a battery that no longer pulls its weight. Replace it. I've been checking connections and such as I go. I know it had the recall done, and the stator and R/R connections all look good. I'm definitely going to save up for a VFRness, hopefully later this year. I was also thinking of pulling the R/R and making sure the stuff on the backside was new and working correctly. I have a tube of silver stuff used for computer heatsinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted March 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted March 9, 2013 Get a new cheap battery, they should be 12.5~13V without ignition or anything. If it drops below 12V by just turning the key on, then you know the battery is a goner. The draw is far to low to lower the voltage that much. Especially because you put a charger on it, then drops below 12V = bad battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted March 9, 2013 When I had my Yuasa battery load tested at Batteries Plus, it had a static voltage of around 12.9, so 12.3 to 12.5 is maybe a bit low. When they tested it, they used a carbon pile tester which allowed the tech to place a load on the battery specific to its capacity - hard knowing how the A.Z. counter guy performed the test - they're probably not trained up to the level of a battery shop. IIRC, my good battery held between 10.5 and 11 volts after being under load for 30 seconds, so 11.5v with just the key on is weak. In addition to checking the charging system connectors, be sure to check the chassis grounds and connections to the starter relay as well. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Thanks all for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spicoli Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 What was the outcome? Others with similar problems are curious as to what was the problem and fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 It will probably be at least another week or 2 before I get a new battery. Once I do, I will feel a lot better about starting to check for possible issues. I have looked at and cleaned a few connectors and wires relating to the main 30A fuse. I will look more at the grounding connections this week probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 I am betting on the battery as well. Since you can get it to start, check the voltages with the bike running...most likely you will have voltages in the 13.x range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I think I tried it running once, and it was in the upper 12's. On a side note, I pulled the stator connectors and tested them today. They were all sitting around 1.7 ohm's, assuming I had my meter on the right setting. LOL Would it matter if my battery was already sketchy, as to the ohm readings on the stator? (and yes, I need to look to make sure I had my meter on the right setting.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 The largest high percentage stator failure is a short to ground , not wire to wire(which is what you stated as testing). Have to use the largest ohms scale to detect. If using too low of ohms scale you can miss that ground short. So retest every yellow wire to ground on the largest mega ohm scale. Dont even waste time checking wire to wire or voltage output until you've succeffully completed the ground short test, as with a degrading stator, success or fail with the ground test, you usually have to go no further, depending on those results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 9, 2013 Silly question, but did you get a new battery or not? As there is no point going any further until you replaced the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Mohawk Posted April 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 9, 2013 It's fairly simple to test the charging circuit on most bikes & the state of the battery. Battery first, attach voltmeter direct to the battery, note no load voltage, then turn on ignition, fuel pump etc adds load, should only see minor drop until pump is primed then voltage should return to previous reading. Then on headlights & the voltage should drop a little, but stay at that voltage, if it keeps falling the battery is NOT very good. Turn off the lights. Charging system, start the bike, voltage should rise now if the charging circuit is working at all. Should be 13.5v+ at idle, rev bike the voltage should rise to 14v+ but NOT higher than 14.5v maximum. If it goes higher than 14.5v then the Regulator/Rectifier (R/R) is broken, replace it. Repeat this test multiple times for a few minutes, as the R/R can have a HOT failure, which requires power through it over time to stress it. If the voltage does NOT increase then the charging circuit is faulty, test it (see next). If the voltage rises as expected, turn the lights on, indicators & brakes, the voltage should NOT fall whilst revving @4000rpm+, it may fall a bit when at idle. If it does fall the charging system is faulty, test it. To test the charging circuit, locate the R/R connectors & Stator wires, feel them for HEAT are they HOT ? if yes that's bad, means high resistance. Stop the engine, disconnect the R/R, check the state of the pins in the connector & the connector itself, has it melted or discoloured from heat ? If yes, then the R/R my be faulty. Next use an Ohm meter on its lowest resolution & measure each stator wire to earth, should be NO reading indicating isolated from earth. Then measure between each wire & the other wires, there should be between 0.1-1.0 ohm reading (@20c ambient temp), if all good the R/R is faulty. If there is a zero reading on any wire, then the stator/alternator has a winding or wiring fault, Check the wiring from the connector to the coils in the stator, you will have to remove the left engine case to test this ! Hope that helps. Batteries do die over time, but most will survice 10+ years on a bike if the charging system has been working properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 9, 2013 10 years is a lot for a bike battery. Mine never lasted that long, at best 5~6 years. If you start the bike during very cold conditions, it drains it too rapidly and it's easy to kill it. Happened to me a couple of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Check you Run/Off switch on the right handlebar switch pod. Ran into undervoltage problems recently and it turned out that the switch just needs to be cleaned. A bad functioning contact in that switch might also cause arcing in it and maybe eventual failure of the switch contacts.too Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Oh, lots of good input here. Let me try to adress some of the comments... spud786 - I did a ground test, and there was no reading at all - which I read was a good thing. Although, I didn't have it on the highest setting, only 200, IIRC. I will go back and test it again. bassie - I don't have a new battery yet. I have to wait for my tax return before I can order one, so hopefully this week. I'm still debating on a Yuasa YTZ14 I've seen on ebay, but it doesn't come with a warranty, or a Motobatt equivalent with a 2 year warranty and 4 posts. mohawk - When I tried it before, yes the voltage rose, but nowhere near 13.5 at idle. I was going to wait and do a more thorough testing of the electricals once I had a good battery in the bike. I am going through and checking/cleaning as many connectors as I possibly can. I still need to get some oxguard somewhere... Also, I was reading about adding more grounding points, which I may look into. Beck - hey, thanks for that idea! I hadn't thought of looking there. Man, this forum is awesome in regards to tech support. You all based in India? (was that ofensive? LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 You need a taxreturn for a 30~40 euro/dollar battery? Simply get the cheapest battery you can find, as those lead batteries are all the same and all die somewhere after 6 years. I fail to see why you keep searching after a problem when you know you battery is 10 years old and needs replacement anyway. And warranty on batteries is very limited to construction problems, I doubt they give it after a year as a construction problem would have shown way before. These are 30~40 euro/dollar devices I'm pretty sure you are fine with a new one. Playing with a broken one can lead to far more serious costs, like a burned charging system, I would not risk that over a pretty cheap part that is old and probably broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 You need a taxreturn for a 30~40 euro/dollar battery? Simply get the cheapest battery you can find, as those lead batteries are all the same and all die somewhere after 6 years. I fail to see why you keep searching after a problem when you know you battery is 10 years old and needs replacement anyway. And warranty on batteries is very limited to construction problems, I doubt they give it after a year as a construction problem would have shown way before. These are 30~40 euro/dollar devices I'm pretty sure you are fine with a new one. Playing with a broken one can lead to far more serious costs, like a burned charging system, I would not risk that over a pretty cheap part that is old and probably broken. Unfotunately, my finance manager - AKA the wife - has decided that the funds cannot be used for the bike until the tax return comes back in. The bike hasn't moved since I parked it in November, which is fine, since I didn't have a chance to properly look it over after I bought it in June or July. I've been cleaning, changing, and checking things as I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 I have such a manager too, but luckily she's a biker too and rather let the children starve then leave the bike in the shed for an extra sunny day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I have such a manager too, but luckily she's a biker too and rather let the children starve then leave the bike in the shed for an extra sunny day Mine usually does as well, but I bought too many things without looking at the finances this winter. hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 I have one too but since I earn the money I spend it but we all understand your a young couple. Time will solve these problems. Hope you get the bike running, I have shorai, really like it. Aftermarket Parts Electrical Batteries More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on print VIEW LARGER IMAGE CLOSE What parts fit my machine? To find the parts that fit your machine, click on the link below and select your make, year and model. Only the products that fit your machine will be shown in the product list Click Here to Add Your Machine! >> Need more help? Contact Customer Service 0.0 (0 reviews) Shorai LiFePO4 LFX Battery LFX14L2 Shorai LiFePO4 LFX Battery LFX14L2 FIT MY MACHINE EARN $3.60 Bandit Bucks with Purchase Free Shipping! Ask a Question Write a Review $143.96$159.95 Save 10%! Shipping Restriction: This item ships via Ground Services to addresses within the 48 Contiguous US States only. Does This Fit Your Machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Young? Nah, we've been married for 14 years. Well, I guess that's young compared to some... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 10, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 10, 2013 Same here but for 24 :D Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 On a side note, I should be getting some Ox-Guard in on Friday. Needless to say, I will be going through ALL the connectors I can get to and cleaning them and applying this stuff. I don't see how it would hurt, but it should be OK to put small amounts on the ground connections too, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Picked up a new battery today. Out of the box voltage was about 12.4. Letting it sit on the battery tender overnight, and then let it sit tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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