Charging System

[bigguy]

Ok for some reason my battery is not charging. that or my brand new battery is bad. i hink its the charging system. Any one have any thoughts? the thing the confuses me is is i can push start it and its fine, the lights and all are bright, or i think they are. i dont know whats going on, can anyone help??

[Deadman Drag]

Do you HID's? if so that could be the problem.

[bigguy]

no, the only extra thing when it comes to power on my bike is i added a cigiret lighter plug that has a switch and is off

[StuntworksMatt]

Man it really sounds like a battery... but second option will be voltage reg... if it was your stator the bike just wouldnt work right.

[Deadman Drag]

How old is the bike, the stater could have decided to crap out.

[DeltaNu1142]

Ok for some reason my battery is not charging. that or my brand new battery is bad. i hink its the charging system. Any one have any thoughts? the thing the confuses me is is i can push start it and its fine, the lights and all are bright, or i think they are. i dont know whats going on, can anyone help??
M.E.C.P. Certified Car Audio/Security Installer here for all of your 12volt needs
We need an "irony" smily. :D

Are you talking about a new battery that never held a charge? Did your bike sit w/o running for a while? My wife's bike sat after we got it, and the battery wouldn't hold a charge for a few WEEKS. A couple good long rides & sitting overnight on the charger refreshed it.

Another thing to consider (not that this is your problem), but a lot of bikes won't generate enough juice to charge a battery at idle.

[bigguy]

YA i know but car audio is a key word. sunday i got up and went to start my bike, nothing so i bought a new battery. put it in last night and it was fine all night. and today i rode for a good 40 minutes on my lunch and came back. 3 hours later no start. i pused it and rode it around the parking lot for a bit and then stoped and it was dead. i might try getting another new battery but dont thnik it will do the trick.

[miked636]

Tony if you want to bring the battery and bike if you want to the house I cna take the volt metter to it and try to hunt down the problem. I can also throw the battery on the batterytender to give it a good charge. Call me if you want to. I am off tomorrow if you want to bring it by then.

[vrod]

Let's start with the easy things you can test at home.

Was the new battery ever charged up correctly before you took it home? If they didn't charge it at the shop, then they usually have instructions that tell you to charge it for a couple of hours before using.

Use only a 2 amp battery charger on your motorcycle battery. Anything more powerfull will fry even a new battery.

Your new battery if it's the acid based will be divided into a number of individual cells. When placed on a charger, each cell should have some bubbling WITH THE CAPS OFF. Keep away from your eyes!!!

NEVER use tap water to refill a battery, motorcycle, car, truck, tractor or otherwise. Mineral deposits in tap water build up at the bottom of the battery cells and sort out the plates. When one individual cells dies, the battery goes too. If you have to refill it and can't get acid, use distilled water. No minerals.

[bigguy]

i work all day friday. i have a metter. im gonna go play with it and test a few things. see what i can find

[miked636]

Check your connections to make sure thay are tight and also your grounds. Do just like you would do if you where installing and amp. Check cables and grounds for connectivity. Then test the charging system. If you want i will help.

[bigguy]

Let's start with the easy things you can test at home.

Was the new battery ever charged up correctly before you took it home?

Use only a 2 amp battery charger on your motorcycle battery. Anything more powerfull will fry even a new battery.

Your new battery if it's the acid based will be divided into a number of individual cells. When placed on a charger, each cell should have some bubbling WITH THE CAPS OFF. Keep away from your eyes!!!

NEVER use tap water to refill a battery, motorcycle, car, truck, tractor or otherwise. Mineral deposits in tap water build up at the bottom of the battery cells and sort out the plates. When one individual cells dies, the battery goes too. If you have to refill it and can't get acid, use distilled water. No minerals.



its a mantience free battery it came filly charged and filled with acid

[miked636]

If you want bring it by tonight.

[vrod]

There are two types. A liquid acid and a gel acid. Gel acids you don't take the tops off. Even though liquid acids say they are maintenance free, don't bet your life on it. You can still take the caps off some batteries and refill them, but be careful.

I'd start by putting the battery on a low amp motorcycle battery charger and go from there.

Don't laugh, but I've found a good motorcycle and truck combo battery charger at Wal Mart while out of town at one of my races. If the battery is not up to par then it will not be able to hold a charge or start your bike after you have ridden if for a short while. If you battery isn't up to par, then the motorcycle charging system won't be able to keep it fully charged and rideable.

I'm up in Odessa if you need some help with the battery.

[bigguy]

If you want bring it by tonight.
cant make it tonight, maybe i can stop by tomorrow though.

[bigguy]

O and one thing i just thought about, last night wile i was riding there were a few times when i was getting on it good the my left turn signial bulb would light up dimliy. only after about 7000 rpm though

[CBRFRENZY]

Sounds like maybe a short somewhere.

[bigguy]

i have no clue what it is at the moment. i am just gonna go home and work on it tomorrow, ill call ya mike. but i did find the service manual so that will help.

[bigguy]

I think its my genarator, now the bike just dies wile idleing and there was only 9 volts when running at 5000 rpm. i am gonna play with it more tomorrow.

[Jgennaro]

You're talking about your SV right? The problem may not be the battery or charging system. The problem may be the kickstand switch or the safe start switch on your clutch cable. I would check the connections on both of those items before I researched the battery thing any further. Good luck.


Woops..........I thought you had a starting problem.

[DeltaNu1142]

A ground could drag your voltage down. Do you have a clamp-on ammeter? Check current with ignition off, ignition on, & while idling, if you can keep it running. Ignition off should give you 0 amps at the battery terminals. Any more than that & you've got a current loop somewhere draining your battery.

[bigguy]

ya but the the battery is not getting charged, wile running at 5000rpms i only have 9.5 volts. did what the service manual said to test and i think my stator is bad :-( if so i am out of the game for a bit.

[DeltaNu1142]

Hmmmm. Yeah, you should be making more than battery voltage. Sounds like you've been running almost entirely off the battery.

Just thinking about your turn signal symptom... do those operate as running lights? Signals stay on, then flash with the switch? Maybe it was dim because you just didn't have the ooomph to run spark & lighting. If it's the stator that sucks man.

[kawa-rider]

it sound like the voltage reg.my dads bike did the samething ,he got a new one and his bike runs fine

[bigguy]

Hmmmm. Yeah, you should be making more than battery voltage. Sounds like you've been running almost entirely off the battery.

Just thinking about your turn signal symptom... do those operate as running lights? Signals stay on, then flash with the switch? Maybe it was dim because you just didn't have the ooomph to run spark & lighting. If it's the stator that sucks man.

i use my running lights as turn signales, but i use a relay set up for it. the are always on and cut out when my blinkers are on. i started it up again and it didn ot die at all. imm gonna get it over to my friends shop and play with it a bit tomorrow to see if i can find the problem. i hope its just the reg. thats the cheapist option. i need to look around some more