Starting Problems...

Message

jbprince · #1 Unread post by **jbprince** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:15 am

I rode my bike last Saturday without any problems getting it started... yesterday, when i Got my bike out and pressed the ignition, all it did was make a clicking noise with machine gun repetition... same thing this morning... any ideas what could be the problem... I know the battery is ok, has plenty of gas.... Im new to so not sure where to look... I just has the bike serviced and inspected a few weeks ago so I cant imagine its anything major but just doesnt seem to be firing up.... thanks in advance

#2 Unread post by **Sev** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:20 am

Charge the battery.

jbprince · #3 Unread post by **jbprince** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:22 am

Its not the battery... already checked it...

mydlyfkryzis · Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:29 am

Check battery connection, connection on starter solenoid, connection to starter motor.

Also, check the battery again. Check it by:

1. Standing voltage. A fully charged battery has 12.9 volts. A dead battery has under 12v. A weak battery has about 12.3-5 after being charged.

2. Voltage drop on starting: Connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals. Egage the starter and see where the voltage goes. If it drops below 10 Volts, the battery is bad. If it doesn't, then a connection or the starter solenoid is a possible culprit. If the solenoid is good, then the starter has issues..

#5 Unread post by **Sev** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:01 pm

How did you check your battery?

That rapid clicking noise is the battery not having enough charge to both turn the starter and engage the solenoid. So all that it does is rapidly hammer the solenoid open and closed.

You've either got a low charge on your battery, or your battery is cooked.

A loose connection in the starter circuit will make a single loud thunk, then all your electrics will go dead.

Charge or replace the battery.

jbprince · #6 Unread post by **jbprince** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:28 pm

Im going to take your advice and charge the battery again overnight... the voltage seemed fine when I lasted tested it, and I had it charging overnight last night as well.... the battery is less than 2 months old... its an AGM maintenance free battery that I got from BikeBatts.com so I hope its not the battery...

http://www.bikebatts.com/product_info.p ... ucts_id/31

#7 Unread post by **Sev** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:31 pm

The thing that has always bothered me is that people will say, "I checked it and it's fine." But they cannot tell me what it checked too. We need to know the resting and cranking volts across the battery if you're going to say it's fine.

Shorts · #8 Unread post by **Shorts** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:37 pm

Sev wrote:The thing that has always bothered me is that people will say, "I checked it and it's fine." But they cannot tell me what it checked too. We need to know the resting and cranking volts across the battery if you're going to say it's fine.

Umhm, that and "it's new, I just bought it". Well, it takes more than 'being new' to maintain a good charge. And even new batteries on the shelf have been known to be dead.

jbprince, buy a Battery Tender while you're at it and start hooking it up. Your battery will last a lot longer.

jbprince · #9 Unread post by **jbprince** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:34 am

Well, it looks like the issue could be my charger... when i bought the battery, I also picked up one of these...

http://www.bikebatts.com/product_info.p ... bd915aa894

I checked my battery voltage this afternoon after having it connected overnight the it was reading 5V, but the charger was showing a green light... so I disconnected the charger and read the voltage of the charger output and it was 5V... so whatever charge I did have on the battery was I assume bled by the charger overnight... they are shipping me out a new one today...

Dragon on Wheels · Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:49 am

I don't know whether I should start a new thread, but my question(s) are somewhat similar in topic.

How many volts should a battery drop each day (if any)? My battery is decreasing by about .04 volts each day. For example, yesterday it read 12.20, and today it reads 12.16. The only times when it didn't drop about .04 volts were after the first day when it dropped from 13.08 or so(that was the only one I didn't record unfortunately; and that was right after riding it for about an hour) to 12.49 and then to the second day from the 12.49 to 12.29.

Is that normal? It doesn't seem like it is normal to me, but...

I'm also going to try the procedure by mydfyfkryzis soon(in the next copule of days) to see if it drops below 10 volts when attempting to start.

I just thought my situation was similar to the opening post's and perhaps my information could provide some clarification too.

Oh, I was also wondering, if I were to ask the dealer for a new battery(since the bike is still under warranty), does the dealer need to prepare the battery or anything like that? or can I just go and plug the new battery right in and ride home?