BeastlyDavis13

Good news! I threw the new battery in, and all is right with the world. I did notice the positive battery cable wanted to touch the battery box, so after some careful insulation with some electrical tape, that issue was resolved. I highly doubt that is what happened, I think my battery just had a comeapart on the internals, and everything tested out well with the wiring on my meter. I let the bike idle for 20 minutes (didn't feel like doing for a slide in the fresh snow falling), and it started right up and seemed very happy. I appreciate everyone's help diagnosing what my potential issues could be, and identifying my R/R as the upgraded OEM variant! Yet again, the community saves my bacon. Thanks!

It was a "Mighty Max" brand battery that did the big sad - again, a $27 on Amazon battery. It's out of the bike and sitting about 10 feet away from anything flammable or of value. I bought an AGM battery from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC (can't remember the brand off hand, was similarly priced to the Yuasa) since they are local to me and if I can support a local company, I always try. It should be here tomorrow, hopefully I can go for a ride!

Thanks for all the further information! I 100% believe that it is an internal battery failure. This battery is $28 on Amazon, so it's by no means a high end battery. I couldn't get my battery maintainer to even start charging it, so I attached it to my Jeep battery with the engine off and tried to charge it. After 45 minutes of both my trickle charger and my auto battery, still getting 0 VDC from the battery. Now, whether or not there are other issues going on, I will perform your leakage current test Grum and make sure I don't have a parasitic drain or a short. JZH thanks for the info about my RR! I thought I had read that that was the updated variant, nice to verify that. I ordered a new battery, it'll be here Monday, I believe, so I will test my leakage and try and test my RR before putting the new battery in. Hopefully it is as simple as an internal failure of the battery plates/internal connection.

Yes, I double checked my terminals (removed and reinstalled, they are clean and tight). I'll charge the battery overnight tonight and check it out tomorrow and take it to O'reilly's and load test it, then test without the R/R. Thanks so much for all the help. Hopefully I can update tomorrow with good news that it's just the battery!

Well, that's encouraging at least! It is strange about the battery, I agree. I was getting low mV readings when I would first contact the battery terminals with my multimeter (set to DC, had to go test on my car battery to make sure I wasn't missing something), but it would immediately drop to 0. I admittedly wasn't the one to install the battery, but I bought the bike from a friend, and he installed it about a year ago. I will also check my battery tender output and verify that it's not pumping out too much juice. When I finish pushing it home (and verify the output on my trickle charger), maybe I'll put it on the charger and see what comes of it.

So, if my testing method is correct, my R/R is toast! I set my multimeter to measure continuity, and measured across the pins for the green and white/red wires, and tested both polarities. I got nothing either way, which if this R/R is a diode like I understand, means this one is toast. It is a SH701-12 with a metal back and heat sink fins. My connectors to the RR look good, not burned. I haven't checked the starter connections yet. Anything else I can test? And what's the best replacement options for 2021, since it seems like every 3 years opinions change on what is the best method/parts to replace it.

Bad news bears! I am getting 0V on the battery terminals! The 30A fuse was in perfect shape, but I went ahead and replaced it anyways, no change. Something worse than just a blown fuse here. I don't see any wires under the seat that are obviously worn through, or even chafed. I'm about to look up how to test the RR, but yeah, not riding it home this time!

Lots of great advice here! My old KLR liked to pop the glass main fuse every now and then, but it had a spot for a spare, so it was a quick fix (as long as I remembered to refill it!) What form factor fuse does it use? I'm done with classes and headed to the auto parts store for some fuses! And Grom, should I just be checking if it's strictly grounded out? Or should I check for a certain resistance?

Thanks for this! I wasn't looking inside of there, I was expecting it to be more obvious to the eye, but again, I only looked for about 2 minutes before pushing it to a park and finding a ride to class! Sweeper, I will definitely check. There is a SAE lead for the battery tender that runs under the seat and comes out near the taillights, I could easily see that getting rubbed by the seat. Danno, as it currently stands I can't crank the bike to measure voltage, but I will measure it once I get it running again to verify the battery is good and that I don't have an issue with my R&R. Thanks for the advice! I will report back shortly, after I go back to where the bike is parked (30A fuse in hand!)

This morning I was headed to class, started my 97 up, let it idle for about 10 minutes, then slowly worked my way through the neighborhood headed to main roads. As I was going through a dip in the road, the bike died. I lost all electrical on the dash, including gauges, lights, clock, everything, headlights and taillights gone, and the engine shut off. First thing I did was check my killswitch, it was still in the run position. Cycling the key had no effect. No horn, no starter, no nothing. Where is the main fuse located on a 4th gen? I looked briefly, but I didn't see it right next to the battery where I would have expected to find it. Additionally, would the main fuse kill the clock? Is it potentially the R&R? One of the previous owners replaced the R&R at some point, as it is the variant with cooling fins. My battery was on a battery tender overnight and was replaced a year ago, so I'm doubtful the battery died (although admittedly I haven't pushed the bike home to test it with my multimeter yet). I'm hopeful that I can replace the main fuse and ride it home rather than push it the 3/4 mile home. Thanks

Alright, so I had a combination of issues going on! First, the biggest, was the mini-switch under the front brake lever - HS, you suggested checking it. The switch itself was fine, just unplugged. The PO had a RAM mount on the brake lever bar mount, and in pulling it off, he must have had those come loose. After plugging that back in, I had brake lights, but only from the front! (Included a picture. With the Helibars, they are pretty crammed up against the riser) The rear brake switch just needed adjusting as you had to be all the way stomped before it lit, but I think having the open circuit before may have been causing the rear brake to not flip the lights on. I ended up installing just one of the flashing LED's and left one incandescent in there. I guess I'm worried the cheap flashing unit could go out and leave me stranded! Thanks for all the help, y'all! I love when vehicles I own have active and helpful forums! Coming from a KLR and having a Jeep as well, I'm pretty set with solid forums!

Couldn't find my multimeter until after dark this evening, so I couldn't chase down the issue, but I can confirm I do have just taillights, NOT brakes, it is the single, dimmer filament lighting, and I can jump the bulb and get the brighter brake lights, just not when I use a brake lever. Tomorrow I should be able to actually meter it out!

That's the same diagram I'm using, and the colors at the bulb sockets match, so I'm gonna go with it being the correct diagram. One can only hope it's the right one when you're working on a vehicle that's over 20 years old That's the plan, start at the socket and work my way back.

Correct, I didn't install them backwards, I was just testing the filaments. With ignition on, I am getting both bulbs to illuminate the tail lights. No blown fuses involving brake lights! According to the wiring diagram, for the 94-97's, fuse E runs the turn signals, front and rear brakes, and horns. My turn signals and horns are functional, so the fuse works. Fuse B runs the tail light - also functional. So I guess at this point I guess I need to tape the brake lever down and start probing with a multimeter to find some 12V power! Unless there are further suggestions... I just really don't want to have to strip back fairings and rip open wire looms to chase wires if I can avoid it.

Correct, there are two bulbs, both are 1157 dual filament, and I have the wiring diagram for the bike. I can audibly hear the switch click when I depress the brakes, but I haven't probed it out yet to verify that the power is being sent. What is confusing to me, is that 1157's can only go in one way (in that they will only twist and lock with the bulb in the "correct" orientation, otherwise you can't twist it), and when I put them in the wrong way, the brake light illuminates.