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No spark

1K views 19 replies 6 participants last post by  tjkoko 
#1 ·
Hi Folks, I removed the battery on my TR7RV to clean it up, top up fluids etc.

When I tried reconnecting it both the pos and neg terminals sparked and got real hot. Short! After a bit of fiddling around I found the short. Pos and Neg wires coming from the battery right where they go into some heat shrink had worn and were touching. Taped them up job done, I thought. Not I have no spark. Any suggestions where to go from here?

Michael.
 
#7 ·
You now need to check battery voltage as the short circuit may have ruined the battery,or at least,discharged it.If that short circuit has not blown a fuse,the battery might have been really discharged anyway.You will not get a spark if a Boyer is fitted with a flat bike battery.
I expect this will be an easy problem to solve.
 
#9 ·
So you have power to the bike's electrical system now. Do you have access to a volt meter? If so what is battery volts at terminals key off? What is it key on?

Key off fully charged battery will be very close to 12.6v. Key on with headlamps off will be close to 12.2-12.4v.

If your down in the 10.5-11v range that is no good & some electronic ignitions won't spark then. Since you had a short your battery may just need a recharge. If bike was running good prior it may just need recharge & still be ok.

Remove or disconnect battery during recharge to prevent over heating zener diode.

Also do an inch by inch visual inspection of all the wiring as you may have other problems there. Tug on the wires to all the connectors to make sure they are in tight. If battery is good/replaced & all else seems good, you need a voltmeter to test the ignition system.
Don
 
#13 ·
It will not accept the crude charging method of this old alternator and the ups and downs of current.I know of a couple of riders who liked the idea of the Lithium ion, and the battery had been killed in a couple of weeks.
It would be interesting to know of any more experience of the Lithium ion on a Triumph twin.
 
#15 · (Edited)
What I like about the AGM batteries is that no liquid that can leak out of the cells unless the battery has cracked. Not so with the lead-acid types. And with my automotive experience the acid has been known to leak for the screw-in caps that I thought were secure. And therefore I'm willing to pay a bit more for the former than the latter.
 
#16 ·
Hi Terry,

What I like about the AGM batteries is that no liquid that can leak out of the cells unless the battery has cracked. Not so with the lead-acid types.
Errrm ... :) ... AGM is "lead-acid", just the acid is held in a woven glass-fibre mat rather than sloshing around between the plates.

Just to be clear:

. AGM is not one of the "unobtanium/costalotium" battery technologies - Li-ion, LiPo, LiFe, etc.;

. I wasn't recommending lead-sloshing-acid as such, I was simply pointing out the simplicity and low cost of the technology compared to "u/c". :)

Hth.

Regards,
 
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