Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech HELP!!! Battery DEAD Again!

3rd battery in 2 years! This one was brand new January 16th this year. Got on the bike today and of course, tick tick tick tick tick tick!!! The bike is kept in the garage and the temps have been high 30's at night (at worst) and 60-80's during the day! Havent cranked the bike up in 10 days. What could be draining this? Ready to give up!

Not sure about anything being wrong (unless you are leaving the power on). Have you performed any mods to the bike that involved the electrical system? You might want to invest in a good motorcycle battery charger (like a battery tender). I bought one shortly after I got my America. I try to charge each time I know that I won't be using the bike for a while, and almost every time prior to using the bike. Currently I am still running with the OEM Battery, which is just over 6 years old.

I would take the battery into a local Auto Parts store and have it tested before replacing again. A good charge might be all it needs.

Tom

Jeff,
Have you checked the regulator output at the + battery terminal to insure you're getting a charge? And, how many volts do you read there?

I havent done any electrical mods except removing the lightbar, and turn signals. I have checked the + terminal before with the bike running, it reads 12.75, but I dont know if that is the readout from the battery or the readout of the reg output. I have thought of installing a battery tender, but I shouldnt have to unless the bike is known to have parasitic pull like Big Dawg bikes and some honda's. I have been through the troubleshooting guide a million times and dont know where to go from here except taking it to a bike shop (which would kill me since I am a mechanic) and have them figure it out.
Thanks for anymore input!

tic tic tic would check relay conection under the tank had same problem last week relay rubber holder broke and it was flipping down and conection was bad ...maybe something else in yours oem battery in 6 years old bike and no problems

You should see around 14 - 14.7 volts across the battery with the engine turning about 2000 RPM (double idle speed if you don't have a tach). More will fry the battery, less will not charge it enough.

i had the same problem a while back , i cleaned and tightened all the electrical connections and my problem disapeared (took a while tho) .there is a lenthy thread in here (somewheres )about it ,seems there was a lot of folks suffering with the same problem . changing relays ,solinoids and the like ,try the basic stuff first cleaning and tightening , a relay was about $10 ish ,a solinoid is around a $100 if i remember correctly. if you can find that thread ,theres lots of info . besta luck mate.

Just had mine at the dealer for the same type of condition.Could not find any problems.Intermitent electrical problems are the worse

why not take the battery off (or just complete disconnect) for ten days (then reconnect) if you have the same problem its likely the battery at fault to check this just charge up battery and try again.
If it is not the battery then you must have a power leakage (or whatever the correct term is) in the wiring so out comes the old oil covered multi meter and see if you have connect two wires you should not have when taking all the stuff of the bike.
hope you find out electrics drive me crazy or crazier

Blesings

stupid question time...
do you have a alarm on your bike?
mine pulls my battery down so i had to buy a battery tender to keep it charged.
doesnt kill over nite but it is a slow drain and will drain your battery down.
drove me nutz trying to find to figure why my battery kept dieing.
stv

Thanks to all for your input...No alarm on the bike BTW. Tonite I jumped the bike and ran it at 2000 rpms and read 13.02 on the greasy a$$ volt meter. I then pulled the battery and hooked up the charger to trickle it tonite for 10 hrs and HOPEFULLY I can ride it to work tomorrow. Is 13.02 alright? I know some of you said it should be a bit more than that. Anyway, I'll keep ya posted on the progression or regression(hope not). Thanks again...gotta love this site!

Being 13.02V tends to tell me you have a bad connection since you seem to be getting some juice but not enough. No 13V is not enough, if your battery is bad/very low you may get a low reading because your charging system can't keep up. If you get 13V and no less then you will probably be OK to ride for the day but I wouldn't go far just in case. Might want to take your volt meter with you and check it here and there rather than get stuck somewhere.

Jeff,
Man, you just have to take a hard look at the frame ground where it comes from the battery and make sure you've got good, clean contact before you toast your regulator or even worse, the ignitor. Then double check the multi-plug from the regulator (it's down near the swingarm mount) that runs up to the fuse block and make sure that's good to go as well. I'd bet one of those two is the culprit.

Alright, here is what I have got...All connections appear (and I say this loosly) to be good. I trickle charged the battery last night and reinstalled it this morning. Initially I had a 14.06 at 2000 rmps, then rode it to work and home (I have an easy job, its only 130!)round trip is 44 miles. Now, I am reading 14.34ish with the choke pulled idling at 2000 rpms. So, I will ride this again until it goes dead, checking periodically. NOW PONDER THIS-I have noticed in the past when I shut the bike down with the kill switch vs the key, it is sluggish turning over the next time I fire her up. I did notice the other day when the battery was dead that the kill switch was in the off position. My ingenious thinking finally put 2 and 2 together and thought maybe that could be the culprit? Any ideas? As always, thanks a million!

I didn't know anybody used kill switches.

You may be onto something there. How bout killing it with the switch if you must but then turn it back to hot in the event the switch is bad or dirty causing a small draw in the dead position.

+1 Ron's got right formula to finding your solution. If you leave the kill switch engaged and there's a electrical "leak" in the ignition switch at the off position (through fuse #2) you could gradually drain the battery flat. Your meter readings indicate a good regulator so that's a bonus.

I would say that I will try the kill switch on/off idea, but then my bike is dead again...darn! Until it dies again, I will just her sown with the key. All the input has been awesome! You guys rock in my book! Thanks again!

If the ignition switch is off, it shouldn't matter where the kill switch is positioned.
The ignition switch shuts off the power.
If it's got current flow through it in the off position, there will be numerous drains.

I posted in another thread about how to check for a draw. Simple. Take the ground cable off, put a test light or volt meter in the circuit between the terminal and the cable. If there's voltage present, you have a draw; if not, look for another problem.

I would take all connections that I can loose and clean them shiny.

http://www.triumphrat.net/modifications-...attery+charging

if all else fails.

I agree, kill switch should have no bearing on a battery drain if the key is off. If you are shutting the bike off but leaving the key on then there is part of the problem since all the lights stay on, that doesn't explain the low charge voltage though. Are you running a lot of accys?

I think barring a miracle discovery you're going to have to sort this out one item at a time. I already know you're running a pretty stripped down scoot so extra power draw isn't going to be it. A good look through the headlight bucket to eliminate any bare/exposed wires would be a fine start. No joy?

Then here's my idea: with the bike off and the key removed pull the ground wire and put your meter in series with it and the battery so you see the voltage draw. Engage the kill switch and see if that really has an effect. Then systematically pull one fuse at a time (then replace it) until the meter reads zero to locate the faulty circuit. It is remotely possible that the terminal that feeds the kill switch in the ignition switch is faulty while the other terminals that feed the lights, etc. are good; having the meter drop to zero when fuse #2 is pulled might, just might prove that.

marking post.....learning something here!!!!!

Thanks Ed, I'll give her a try tonite and see what I come up with.

Ok, work had me out of town again so I didnt get to the bike until this evening. As for the ever illusive dead battery, guess what? Its DEAD again! I tried the voltage check by removing the NEG wire and running the volt meter and I came up with -0.03v, of course with the bike and key off. My meter was reading 0.01 all by itself when I turned it on, so is 200ths of a volt a lot of draw? Normal? Bad? And why is the NEG symbol in front of the reading? Appreciate your help.


Be safe.

I don't think you should see any change in the meter reading + or - so it appears you have a leak somewhere. You won't really be able to have a good go at it without a fully charged battery to give you the proper voltage readings, anything else would just be luck-of-the-draw troubleshooting.

Alright, recharged the battery tonite and did a series of Amp checks, volt checks, etc. Was not drawing any amps when the bike was off. However, before installing the battery, it read 13.04v, and then after firing her up, I was reading 12.25v at 2000 rpms. This leads me to believe that I am not recharging enough, adventually leading to a dead battery...any thoughts?

agree. I read about 13.5v at idle

At the risk of jinxing myself, I still have the oem batt.
5 yrs old, no probs. Have the Batt TenderII, hooked it up
to see if it worked, and never used it again. Now I'm due!

I would think that your battery has a shorted cell, and
needs to be replaced. I'll replace mine if I can ever get
my new tires put on

All right. Charge the battery out of the bike. Leave it on the bench for a couple days and check the voltage.

If it's still up, it's probably OK. If not, it's bad.

It does sound like a charging problem with your most recent readings.