THRASHED Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I've been having issues keeping my battery charged. If I put it on a trickle charger every two to three days it is fine (I commute daily ~80 miles round trip). I started checking the system and the first suggested test is the leak test. I disconnected the negative cable and checked voltage from the negative of the battery to the negative cable. 11.85 volt reading. So this seems like it's likely the main issue but why does the battery drain so slowly? I had 12.20 Thursday night and just read 12.16. I would imagine this is because when the bike sits there is nothing really drawing down the battery (clock...etc)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 A Top shelf excellent agm battery will read 13 volt freshly charged and hold that weeks later . you may have other issue, but a 12,2 battery in a rested state is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Your test is invalid. With ignition off use the same connection, negative terminal to cable, using ammeter mode. Start the setting at 20A, then move to 10A, moving down until you get a reading. This is to avoid damaging the multimeter. It should read 3mA or .003A maximum. The clock and cabling use a couple of milliamps. Anything higher is a short and should be investigated. Unless you wrote volts instead of amps, but 11 amps being used while off would be an extreme power loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 I did the Ammeter and got .47 Also, below is the description of the leak test. Both the Clymer and the Honda shop manual describe this test. Am I missing somethiing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 13, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2016 What scale was the DVOM set on for the .47 reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checksix Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 That manual page doesn't seem right. You want to measure current, not voltage. To measure current you put the meter in series with the wire you want to measure and set it to "amps". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I apologize, that old bike must run a little different than the newer bikes. That test can be valid if, when turned off, there should be zero current. In the newer bikes there is always a small current. So I just learned something about the older bikes. If the multimeter scale you were on was "2" or "1" or a single digit, then that number should be the exact current. If the scale ends with a zero, (I think) you would multiple the reading by 10 to get actual. Next steps: You may pull fuses and re-test. You will pull a fuse and that leakage current or voltage will drop to zero. Then note the fuse and compare it to the electrical diagram for the bike, and trace down that circuit. From your previous information you may already know the circuit but need to figure out how to physically access the wiring. When you are not working on the bike you will want to leave it disconnected. It is just killing the battery while connected. It could also cause high heat or additional melting in the circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted March 13, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2016 I guess, on this bike, internal battery resistance is the ONLY load that should be present. So 470mA is way to high ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 On the amp reading. I followed the suggested instructions here. I started with 200ma, 20ma,, then 2ma. At 200 nothing, 20 .047 and 2 .47. Great suggestion on the fuses. I was blindly checking wires so it makes much more sense to know where to start. I'll try to get back on that this afternoon. The good thing is that my seat is off at the upholsterers so I have a week to calmly find this issue. Also, my new Shorai battery just showed up so I have that to look forward to when I fix this problem. Thanks for all the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 So I pulled every fuse on the main fuse block and no changes in readings. Then I pulled the main fuse and both amps and volts went to 0. Anybody have any ideas before I continue? Is there some common failure between the main fuse and the fuse block? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 I can't answer the immediate question, but how does the fuse itself look? (burnt, indications of a gap?) Also are there additional fuse blocks on this bike down the line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gswanson Posted March 15, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2016 Could be a short in the stator wires? Do "The Drill", you can search and find the instructions in the electrical section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 All right, more ammo for when I get home tonight... Knight, all fuses looked good. Not bent, burnt, or broken. There may be an inline fuse somewhere, I haven't pulled the tank to give me more room to maneuver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 You don't have an alarm installed, right ?? Have you checked charging voltage at the battery terminals @ 5k rpms ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Quick update. I've traced it to the Rectifyer (spelling?). When I unplug the three yellow wires to the stater I still have a draw. When I unplug the four-wire plug (two red/white, two green) everything reads 0. I've got a meeting tonight, hopefully when I get home I'll have time to do the Ohm test described in the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 16, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 16, 2016 Good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted March 16, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 16, 2016 Here's another comprehensive testing chart: http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Well, the Rectifier failed. Time to pick up a new one. Hopefully that's the only thing that's bad. Thanks everyone for the help and advice. Thanks VRFCapn, I'll go through some of that when I have time. Just ordered the Ricks Hot Shot. I hear good things about their stuff, hopefully it will last longer than the 26k the bike has on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THRASHED Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 New Rectifier came from Ricky Stator. I opted for the one with better cooling. Looks a bit more stout than stock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 25, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted March 25, 2016 I did the Ammeter and got .47 Also, below is the description of the leak test. Both the Clymer and the Honda shop manual describe this test. Am I missing somethiing? Hi Thrashed. You're NOT missing anything. There are two ways to detect if you have a battery drain. The most common way is placing an ammeter in series with the Battery pos or neg main lead to detect any current flow. The other way as described in the manual is to look at any potential difference between the negative lead being frame and the battery negative. If there is a stray path from the positive side of the battery to any load that shouldn't be there it will represent very clearly (depending on the internal resistance of your meter) as a voltage reading between frame and the battery negative. So if there is NO leakage your voltmeter will read zero. Good work fault finding it to the R/R. Cheers. Grum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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