| Author | Message | ||
     Surewin |
So my bike doesn't wanna start when cold. Hit the button, turns halfway over and stops. Then my gauges die and re-set. Hit the starter again, and it lugs, then fires right up. Then I reset my clock and curse at my battery. O.K. so I charged my battery, had it load tested. Put it back in the bike. I'm reading 14.4 volts at 2500 rpm and not much below that at idle. Terminals are clean, and it looks like I have good connections at the starter, voltage regulator and everywhere that I can see. I'm running 20w-50, but that shouldn't matter at the ambient temp has been plenty warm. Yes, the bike is still under warranty but I'd rather just fix it if its simple rather than deal with waiting a week and a half to get it in, drop it off, wait to get it back. . . Any ideas? Oh, one more thing. The battery voltage seems to drop 12.9-12.8 after only sitting for a day or two. Any likely shorts or constant power draws that might be draining me? | ||
| Sparky |
The bike does have a clock so, yes, there is a minimal current draw when off. Even with cleaned battery terminals, cable lugs and regular "battery tender" maintenance, a battery that is 3 years old or older is a likely candidate for replacement. A battery gradually builds up a higher internal resistance over time due to the chemical reactions of charging, discharging and electrode contamination. This internal resistance contributes to self-discharge when the bike is off. Battery tending can minimize this self-discharge tendency thus extending battery life, but doesn't eliminate it. So, when all the other parts of the charging system check out OK and the bike starts exhibiting the clickety-click, slow starting and resetting of gauges, those are signs that you should replace the battery. I'm at that point with my XB9R and its 4 year battery. It still starts, but, one of these mornings... Sparky | ||
| Dave |
I put my $ on a battery. With that said...I'd press the dealership to resolve. If the battery is loosing voltage after a couple days... disconnect the battery ground, wait 3 days, reconnect and see if it's sluggish. DAve | ||
| Surewin |
Thanks guys. I'll try charging it and disconnecting it for a couple of days and see what happens. I guess I forget that it sat for over a year before I bought it in 05. | ||
| Jlnance |
I think it's the battery too. The 14.4 volts you read while the engine is running is put out by the charging system. It doesn't tell you much about the battery. But at least you know the charging system is working.  The load test you had performed is supposed to catch bad batteries, but it may not be 100% accurate. If you've a friend with another bike, do a battery swap and see if that fixes it. Thats your best test. Another test would be to put your volt meter on the battery terminals and hit the starter. If the voltage drops way down then its a battery problem. Conversly, if the voltage does not drop down, and the engine won't turn over, you have a problem somewhere else in the starter circuit. | ||
| Surewin |
Yeah, I checked the voltage while starting, and I thought that it was dipping more than it should. I'll have to try it again and see what the actual volts were. Do you happen to know what an acceptable drop in voltage is while starting? Or, if anyone has a voltmeter and a few minutes, wanna throw it on their bike and see what you get I'd love to hear back for comparison. I just think I'm gonna have a big headache taking this to the dealership thats close to my house, but I am running out to New Richmond next week to pick up fork parts, so I hope to talk to their service writer. | ||
| Fullpower |
what was the result of your Battery Load Test? was it given in COLD CRANKING AMPS ? you should see at least the rated 200 CCA for your application. if not,you dont need a dealership to fix your problem. buy a new battery and install it. | ||
| Iamike |
I installed a voltmeter on my dash after the stator died. Mine drops to 10.5-11v when starting. A 12v battery is considered fully charged when it is at 12.6v unterminated, so yours sounds ok there. If you just turn the key on and watch the voltage what does it do? If it drops below 12v it is most likely your battery. | ||
| Fullpower |
the AGM battery used in XB series bikes will show a resting terminal voltage of 12.8 when fully charged. the rated capacity is 200 CCA, but a good battery will put out closer to 300 Cold Cranking Amps. |
