Triumphrat

adventurer_fan · 01-23-2008

Ok, here is the bonehead thing that I did.
Dead battery (very surprised, never before) so I hooked up charger, waited about 45 min and tried to start, engine would turn but battery still weak, charged a little longer and the same, waited a little longer and still not enough juice. ALL THIS TIME I WAS CRANCKING THE STARTER WITH THE CHARGER STILL HOOKED UP. Well the last time something did not feel right and after when I turn the ignition to on with the charger still on my tachometer showed about 5000 rpm, with a bigger charger on it shows 7000 rpm, more amps more rpm's???Anyway I disconnected everything and tried to charge battery out of the bike and I guess battery is fried because it did not charge.
I used a new battery and now still will not turn and when turning ignition on the "tach" needle jumps a little and the starter tries but it will not turn the engine.
Any suggestions?? fried the starter? starter solenoid? igniter?
where to start troubleshooting?
I have the service manual for the bike and the wiring diagram shows the tach with three leads, ground, to igniter and third lead to headlight switch-passing button-fuse box.
So what doesn't make sense to me is the reading in the tach with the charger hooked to the battery and ignition switch on.
FYI, I'm an airplane mechanic and work as a line maintenance tech with a major airline so troubleshooting ALL kinds of mechanical/electrical problems is my everyday thing, but this one is mind boggling! Maybe I should contact Boeing or Airbus!
The bike is still new, only 4500 miles!
Thanks in advance!

jimmyj900 · 01-24-2008

First, these bikes use a 14 Amp-Hour battery that should never be charged at much more than 10% of the capacity. You can safely charge them occasionally at 2 Amps, but never more than that and not as a daily exercise.

Also, at 2 Amps it takes about 8 hours to fully charge a dead battery.

Trying to crank the engine with a charger hooked up can be extremely bad -- depending on the design of the charger. Some of them will increase the voltage output to try and compensate for the load and can apply 2 to 3 times the normal battery voltage. That's not good for anything electrical in the bike and can be a disaster for the electronics.

A new battery only has a 'surface' charge when the acid is added. The voltage is there but there's no reserve power stored in the plates so it has to be charged fully (about 8 hours at 2 amps) before it will reliably start your bike. A battery with only a surface charge will crank briefly at full power but then the cranking power will drop off with extreme rapidity.

You won't be able to tell if you've damaged the bike until you try to start it with a properly charged battery.

If, at that point, the bike seems to be struggling to crank then you may have damaged the starter solenoid, the starter, the ignition switch, the start switch or the control and interconnecting wiring and you've got some serious troubleshooting ahead of you.

The first test (with a fully charged battery!) is to short across the big terminals of the starter solenoid with a screwdriver. If the bike cranks normally then the problem is in the solenoid itself or the control wiring that actuates the solenoid.

If you do this then be sure the bike is in neutral with the clutch pulled in or has the back wheel off the ground. If it's in gear or has the clutch lever out it may jump off the kickstand!

Get the battery sorted out first and get back to us....

Jim

Eyun_G · 01-24-2008

Battery Tenders are a safe way to keep it fully charged, or recharge. They will vary the voltage, charge rate, and float to maintain a charge over an extended period. Hook mine up about once a week, as it's split between two bike, get switched back and forth.

ecrabbit96 · 01-25-2008

I'm just guessing, but my gut is telling me that you have caused a failure in the rectifier. Sounds like a voltage feedback issue now, where your tach is showing rpms while not running. Over current throught the system has likely caused a short in the diodes allowing voltage to course through the bike on the ground circuit. We call it back feed. Just guessing though. Jim has made very valid statements in regards to charging a battery. I also make it a practice to never jump start a bike with any type of electronic booster. Best way to prevent damage is to use another battery as your jump source and it should not be used while the vehicle it's in is running. Just put jumper cables direct to your cars battery with the car off. The bike requires so little juice in comparison the battery wont even notice. Don't abuse the abundance of juice and crank the $h!t out of it though, less we want to buy a new starter. 3 to 5 second bursts only or you will over heat the starter and also take the brushes out of it.

adventurer_fan · 02-02-2008

Strange thing, after what I described as my problem I tried one more thing and jumped the bike using the battery from a car (ignition off ) although it felt like the bike had a hard time turning after 3 tries it started! It sounded great and normal. So off I went and got a brand new battery. After the new battery charging period, I installed it and after a couple of times it started fine. I shut it off, got my gear, it started right up and off I went! It run great, it got a full tank of fresh premium shell gas w/ fuel stabilizer. It ran great. I don't know how the electrical mistery got resolved, but it seems to be fine. Now my baby can rest until warmer days, and yes...the battery tender is hooked on.
Thank you all for the advise.
sr

jimmyj900 · 02-02-2008

Amazing what a new battery can do!

Good to hear you're up and running.

Jim

musicisinmysoul · 02-02-2008

Sounds like you didnt give the new battery enough charge time, must be a big relief though.