Battery losing charge | GTAMotorcycle.com

Battery losing charge

jukon

jukon

Well-known member
Hi all,

So my bike started last night cold and it didn't start right away like normal. I took the bike to get gas this morning and it started ok, but when I restarted the bike at the gas station it gave me the buzz but started on the second try. I took the bike back home and drove to work instead. I'll charge it overnight but I just charged it like 3-4 weeks ago after it was sitting for a while.

My question is, how often would you have to recharge your battery before you consider there to be a problem? Could the hot weather and extra strain on the cooling system cause my battery to go low?

thx
 
I charge my battery over the winter and then not again until the next winter. If you're riding the bike regularly, then it should maintain a charge.

If it isn't, then you've got a problem with your charging circuit. This could be a regulator/rectifier (R/R) or the generator (stator) itself. I think it's more likely to be the R/R.
 
FYI> Anytime my bike is sitting its plugged into the battery tender continously throughtout the year.

I learned my lesson the hard way years ago, when my bike left me stranded up north for hours.

Since than, i have yet to have a battery issue at all.
 
Temperature shouldn't really affect it greatly.

1. Do you have a lot of electrical accessories, especially an alarm?
2. How often do you ride?
3. By buzzing sound, do you mean the engine is still cranking or not? It would be weird if it didn't crank the first time at all (just clicked) but cranked the next. That could mean a loose connection somewhere (tighten the battery connections first)
4. Is your bike carbureted?
5. Do your headlights look dimmer?

1 & 2, its just normal battery drain. Not riding for a few weeks with an alarm on can drain the battery. You can also check your manual and do a battery leak test. I have a spare battery for a gsxr600 if that fits your bike in the worst case.
 
lose cable, tighten your battery screws
 
1. Do you have a lot of electrical accessories, especially an alarm?
No bike is stock
2. How often do you ride?
Almost every day
3. By buzzing sound, do you mean the engine is still cranking or not? It would be weird if it didn't crank the first time at all (just clicked) but cranked the next. That could mean a loose connection somewhere (tighten the battery connections first)
It buzzes when it can't crank.
4. Is your bike carbureted?
Yes 2010 Ninja 250
5. Do your headlights look dimmer?
No idea

Sorry all, I thought I was posting in the technical forum. Mods feel free to move this.

I will check the tightness on the cables when I put the tender on tonight.
 
Just to rule out any regulator/rectifier issue I would put on a volt meter and make sure (rev'ing the engine) the voltage isn't jumping passed 14v or so..
 
Haven't charged mine in 3 years of storing it outside all winter. So I'd say if I need to do it more than once in a short time span, it's due for replacement.
 
Do you have a battery charger/tender? Plug it in and let it run a full cycle until it shows the battery is fully charged. Test start the bike and make sure it runs.
Then park it and don't touch it for 2-3 days (leave the tender off). Attempt to fire it up on the 3rd day. If it doesn't start - replace the battery. If it does - double the park & wait time, and try firing it up again after. If it still starts after sitting with no charge for 6 days - the battery is fine and you are having an electrical draw. Check the harness.

A blown rectifier or stator won't affect the battery getting charged via tender. They are responsible for charging up and maintaining the battery when the bike is running.
 
HuKo said:
Just to rule out any regulator/rectifier issue I would put on a volt meter and make sure (rev'ing the engine) the voltage isn't jumping passed 14v or so..
Click to expand...

Will do this as soon as I can. Don't have my own volt meter.

After charging the bike the it turns over well (not surprising). Lately though it doesn't fire up right away even if it's turning over well. I'm looking at getting some Seafoam to see if that helps things, its my first experience with that stuff.

The odd thing is that I didn't have any fuel stabilizer in the bike over the winter (had a tender on) but it started up remarkably when I put the battery back in. Why the change now? Possibly a bad batch of gas? Something wrong with the spark plug? If the plug were bad it wouldn't start at all wouldn't it? Once I get the bike started it runs great.
 
So with a fully charged battery the bike doesn't turn over very well. I'm able to get the bike started and it runs beautifully after it ignites, but it takes 5-10s of turning before it starts. I usually press the starter for 5s pause, then 5s again and it starts on the second try. Since it runs really well after starting I'm thinking its not the gas. Could it be oil related? If the bike is hesitant to turn over with good gas and a fully charged battery I'm thinking the oil is poor. I haven't changed the oil since I got the bike (approx 2000 km) and I think it may have been sitting prior to purchase.

I've been trying to ride the bike to a near empty tank before I put Seafoam in it, now I'm thinking the gas isn't the problem. Ideas?
 
It shouldn't be oil related if the oil levels are proper(assuming a regular oil change prior). Have you confirmed proper charging from the stator to the battery as mentioned previously(it seems too new for this to be an issue though)? If that's good then I still suspect the battery. You should not need to recharge the battery if you ride every day especially in summer temps. If it's not holding charge then it may be on the line trying to supply enough crank power and power for dependable sparking to the plugs.
 
Hmm it could be the stater motor it self, it may need re-building or replacement. Have you tried series connection directly to your battery?
 
Ok so I finally got a hold of a multimeter. I hooked it up to the battery under 20v DC and the battery literally showed nothing. The battery has been on a smart charger for like a week. The bike wouldn't start but the instrument panel did light up. I thought something was wrong with the meter so I tested it on my car and it showed a good charge (12v). Then I boosted my bike with the car battery (engine not running) and it started great. So it's clearly an electrical issue the question is if the stator has anything to do with it or its just a dead battery. While I had the jumper cables still on I tested the charge and it showed 14v and when I took the cables off the voltage went down to 12v and steadily dropped to 10v. What does this mean?
 
jukon said:
the voltage went down to 12v and steadily dropped to 10v. What does this mean?
Click to expand...
Bad battery. Pooched. Get a new battery, install it, check voltage. Start bike and rev it and check voltage again, should be like 12.8 with the bike off and 13.5 or higher with it revved up.
 
Any insight as to why my battery may have died so quick? The bike is a 2010 the battery would only be three years old. I had been riding fine for the most part.
 
jukon said:
Any insight as to why my battery may have died so quick? The bike is a 2010 the battery would only be three years old. I had been riding fine for the most part.
Click to expand...
Every time you drain it low/dead, it shortens its life. It only takes once, and it's downhill from there. Keep it on a tender when not in use, bring it in and keep it warm in the winter, and you'll get 5 years or more out of it.
 
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