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Buell Motorcycle Forum » Big, Bad & Dirty (Buell XB12X Ulysses Adventure Board) » BB&D Archives » Archive through August 18, 2008 » Dead battery or something worse? « Previous Next »

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Skiaddict
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 02:32 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I went to start my 07 Uly this morning. It's got about 12K miles on it. Turned the key and the dials moved. Turned the engine switch on and the lights come on. Hit the starter, a big clunk, and then nothing. No lights, no nothing. I put the battery charger on it and it started charging. About 30 minutes later, it says it's fully charged. Tried to start it again with the same results

I think it's a bad battery, but I'm wondering if these are symptoms of the dreaded vr/stator/77 connector problem
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Red_chili
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 02:57 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Not necessarily if it ran fine before and your charger actually charged up the battery. Test the battery leads, tighten them up, etc. First things first.
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Reepicheep
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 03:41 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Trickle charger? 30 minutes is probably not long enough. 10 amp car charger? It should have been.

If it still won't start after a good hard charge, that it could be battery or starter relay.
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Biffdotorg
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 05:38 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

The same exact thing just happend to my XB12s. In fact, after the "clunk" the relays would buzz! Take the seat off and listen to your fuse box.

After swapping the relays and spending a few days going through the wiring harness looking for scraped wires and grounds, I took it to the dealer.

They swapped the F@#$ battery and it runs like a champ! I'm more pissed at myself actually. I had the charger on the battery too, but it wasn't taking a charge.

So take the battery out and run it to Interstate or Batteries plus. They can test it, buy a new one and run with it.

Good luck!

Keep the rubber down and at an extreme angle!

Mark Lawson
Fargo, ND
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Dio
Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 10:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

You could verify if it's the battery by using jumper cables from your car. Don't have the car engine running when you do this, but if it starts right up you know it's a bad battery. The 77 connector issue only affects the charging system.
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Etennuly
Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 12:10 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

There has been a common problem with the battery connectors and bolts. The bolts have proven to be a tiny bit too long and bottom out just as they get tight. An accessory hook up or a washer will shim it enough to make it right.

I have also found the cables will loosen up after a while. My test is to grip the wire and move it in the direction to unscrew the bolt. If it will unscrew it is too loose and will not keep a constant connection.
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Skiaddict
Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 05:28 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

Here's the latest. I got home from work last night. I double checked the battery leads. They were nice and tight. I had left the charger on it all day and it was still reporting a fully charged battery. I put the key in, hit the starter, and the bike started right up

Any chance this could be moisture related? This has happened a couple of times before after a heavy rain. I don't have a garage so I keep the bike under a "weather proof" (vented) cover. When I took the cover off yesterday morning, the bike had condensation forming all over it.

I'll try the washer trick, but I already have the lead for the battery charger on there.
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Etennuly
Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 06:13 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Check the other end of your battery cables too. At the starter and anywhere the battery has grounds.
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Reepicheep
Posted on Friday, August 15, 2008 - 06:43 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

If it were me, I would be investigating the starter relay (solenoid) next.
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