600rr doesn't start. Battery good.

N

nightrider

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Some History:
The bike is a 2003 600rr trackbike which I had stored indoors with the gas tank removed. I put the gas tank on this evening, but mistakenly put both washers on one side of the fuel feed hose to the tank. Turned the ignition key, flicked the engine kill switch to the ON position, had the little whirrrr and then gas spewed everywhere. I then checked some fiche online and sure enough, had the washers in the wrong order. Took the fuel feed hose off, put the washers in the correct order, on either side, reattached and then tried the ignition key, then engine switch and it made the right noises and no gas leak so I then filled up the tank with some fresh gas.

The problem:
I then turned the ignition key to ON, engine switch to ON but can't remember if I even got to the ignition switch or if the lights went out and died on me. Figured my trickle charger failed me over the winter, so put the meter to it and the battery had a good charge of 12.7v. Re-installed the battery, tried turning on the bike, and the cluster lights turn on bright initially but either die in a couple of seconds, or die soon after I turn the engine switch on.

Could I have drenched the little switch that connects to the fuel tank with gas? Any other ideas? Figured I'd just let it sit overnight and dry out in case it was the gas that might be shorting something.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hold your volt meter on the battery and hit the starter button and/or turn on the bike and see what the voltage drops to.

What makes you think the battery is good? Cause it had 12.7v? LOL!!

-Jamie M.
 
gnatwest said:
As Jamie is mentioning. A full battery is around 14 V when ready to start up the bike.
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a full battery is not 14 volts. it is around 12.6 idle. i can drop to around 9v while cranking and it should be around 14v with the bike running.
 
Thanks for the replies. I guess I thought that 12.7v was enough to at least start the bike.
I tried your suggestion Jamie and it goes from ~12v to ~3v within seconds of me turning the key, so perhaps the battery IS pooched?

Will try picking up another battery and hopefully she starts right up.
 
Yes your battery charge is no good.
You may be able to bring it back by giving a slow charge, less than one amp, over night.
 
Your battery is dead and it cannot sustain a load. You can buy a load tester from Princess Auto or Canadian Tire but IMO not worth it to troubleshoot something you already know is bad. Best case, replace the battery and enjoy the season, worst case you charge it, *MAYBE* works for awhile then one day you're out somewhere and stranded. Battery > Towing.

All the best.
 
twostroke said:
a full battery is not 14 volts. it is around 12.6 idle. i can drop to around 9v while cranking and it should be around 14v with the bike running.
Click to expand...

A brand new lead acid battery will put out 2.2 volts per cell, so your 6 cell 12 volt battery will put out 13.2 volts when new.
With age that voltage will drop.
If you are load testing a battery (testing battery voltage as the starter is engaged) at room temperature, the voltage should stay above 10 volts for a minimum of 10 seconds.
 
bitzz said:
A brand new lead acid battery will put out 2.2 volts per cell, so your 6 cell 12 volt battery will put out 13.2 volts when new.
With age that voltage will drop.
If you are load testing a battery (testing battery voltage as the starter is engaged) at room temperature, the voltage should stay above 10 volts for a minimum of 10 seconds.
Click to expand...

cute, trying to lecture the licensed mechanic.
 
Your license is obviously worth nothing .... says the GTAM expert crowd ... LOL
 
Thanks for all the help guys. Put in a new battery and she fired right up.

When writing my original post and troubleshooting I tried not to make any assumptions, and sure enough my one assumption on the battery being good was the one that was incorrect.
 
nightrider said:
Thanks for all the help guys. Put in a new battery and she fired right up.

When writing my original post and troubleshooting I tried not to make any assumptions, and sure enough my one assumption on the battery being good was the one that was incorrect.
Click to expand...
Good stuff :) Now you know, voltage alone doesn't mean good battery ;)

Pick up a good charger (like Battery Tender Jr.) and in the winter, keep the battery indoors and connect it to the tender once a month, DON'T leave it connected all winter.

-Jamie M.
 
toysareforboys said:
Good stuff :) Now you know, voltage alone doesn't mean good battery ;)

Pick up a good charger (like Battery Tender Jr.) and in the winter, keep the battery indoors and connect it to the tender once a month, DON'T leave it connected all winter.

-Jamie M.
Click to expand...

What is wrong with leaving a tender on all winter? I left an Optimate 3 on my Dad's Burgman 650 all winter and it was fine.
 
silverbullet132 said:
What is wrong with leaving a tender on all winter? I left an Optimate 3 on my Dad's Burgman 650 all winter and it was fine.
Click to expand...
Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's not. Had a 1yr old battery cooked by a battery tender (not the Jr.). Best not to leave it connected the entire time. Top it up once a month.

-Jamie M.
 
+1, amen!
 
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