| Author | Message | ||
     California |
The 09 Uly stranded me the other day, just clicks,so I pushed it to a bike shop nearby and they tested the battery, the tester said it was 100% so I went and got my truck and took it home, took the battery out, took off the ground wire and sanded all the connections and put star washers between the posts and the screws. It worked great for two days, and stranded me again! Same routine, everythings fine and then, this morning, it won't start. It just clicks once and then nothing. Lot's of lights, the headlights are bright....but...WTF What's my next step? | ||
| Darth_villar |
Can you tell where the sound is coming from? Did they test the battery to see if it could hold a charge, or what charge level it was at? It could be the battery is being drained by something on the bike, even though the battery isn't bad. If you have a voltmeter, try and check the power cable that is going into the starter and see if you are getting all the voltage you need. If the clicking is the starter, then it probably isn't getting enough juice. Be careful though, if there is a short could be making clicking noise. | ||
| Rwven |
Did you also clean up the connection between the ground wire and the frame? That's where it generally goes bad, not at the battery itself. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Rwven, what's the trick to getting at the connection? It's buried behind the main terminal box and I can't figure out how to get that SOB out to get access to the screw. | ||
| California |
The main ground was removed and sanded and reapplied. The click is coming from the starter. I'm going to take the battery out and take it to a shop that has a load tester. It is possible that it shows, 12-13 volts, but can't handle the amp load required. It's very frustrating... | ||
| Rwven |
This was my main ground solution: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/467918.html Skifastbadly, What works best is a set of Knipex Brand locking pliers (German made Channel-Locks on steroids) those suckers will latch on to anything. (Edit) For removing and tightening the ground bolt, not for yanking out the fuse box.... It's been awhile but as I recall you just have to unsnap the fuse box from it's cradle? I don't recall it being any problem... (Message edited by rwven on May 03, 2010) | ||
| Rwven |
There are four light gauge ground wires attached to two ring terminals mounted on the steering head just behind the headlights. The ring terminals pretty much suck. I took all four wires and crimped and soldered them into one large heavy ring terminal. So far so good. I also carry a #2 range lug in my tool bag in case those grounds let go on the road. | ||
| Etennuly |
Load testing is where it is at with batteries. I have had many truck batteries lately that would charge up to twelve + volts but would not start anything and barely light the lights. A load test showed the voltage dropped to five or less the second a load was administered. You can do a semi-serious load test at home with a 12V meter. Hook it up to the battery and watch the voltage as you hit the starter, if it momentarily drops below 9V it is a good chance the battery is needing replaced. | ||
| California |
Thanks guys, I'll check the ground wires behind the headlights first, then I'll have the battery load tested, and then, regardless of the outcome, I'll change the basic ground wire to a much larger and better connected one. | ||
| Palladin |
Sounds like a battery to me. I just had starter issues..thought it could be a ground. Had the battery tested, it tested good. Had the charge built up, all was good, but would not start the bike on a regular basis. Hit the starter, crank about a half turn, pause, kick in again and all the stuff would zero out..clock, back to one, odometers zero. Dealer put in a new battery on warranty. Presto!! No problems. Been a week now, all good. Good luck |
