Triumphrat

Repeater · 09-29-2005

Alright, I'll start with a bit of back-story here. About 4 months ago, I took my T509 to a local shop to have a bit of work done and a new fuel map uploaded. They did it, but said that my battery was at somewhere around 11v... so it would need to be replaced sooner or later.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. About 3 or 4 separate times, I've been rolling along to a stop, and pull the clutch in. The RPMs these few times had dropped so low that the motor just stalled. I'd let go of the clutch, and it would roll-start itself quickly, and be fine for another few weeks.

Fast forward to today. It was cold out this morning (38F) and the Triple was a hard start for going in to work. Once she warmed up, she seemed fine, and I rode it to work, then to one of our other buildings, then back home for lunch. When I was going to leave home to come back to work, the bike refused to stay started at idle. It would crank, start, and idle at about 700-500rpm, then die on its own. It ran just fine if I held the throttle open a bit (to idle it at about 1200rpm), but as soon as it went back to idle, it would go really low. If I revved it up past 3000 then cut the throttle, it would die outright.

Does this sound like a battery that's on its last leg to you guys? The only other thing I've changed on the bike recently is the oil - I refilled it with Delo 400 15W/40, which I've heard is really great oil for motorcycles (despite it being formulated for diesels...) I haven't noticed any nasty engine noises, so I don't think the oil has anything to do with it.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

-Shaun

Pig9r · 09-29-2005

Yes it sounds like a battery on its last leg. The shop told you it was going and now you are witnessing it first hand. Don't know how many more indicators you need, replace it before something gets damaged.

Diego · 09-29-2005

My answer would ALMOST have to be "yes."

Yes, you do have a weak battery that WILL fail on you this fall, so go ahead and replace it now. (The low voltage at the shop was with the bike not running, I presume. It should've still been higher than 11 volts, so at least one cell is weak.)

But the symptoms you described are not, of themselves, enough to entirely convince me the battery is solely responsible for all the problems.

You said it was a "hard start" today. Do you mean you had to crank it a long time--or do you mean it almost wouldn't turn over fast enough to start? If the latter, then yes, definitely replace that puppy this evening if you plan to ride to work in the morning...and have your alternator checked in the near future to be sure it's charging fully, too. Working an alternator into a weak battery can put a strain on it

I might also look at the possibility of water in the fuel or other fuel system difficulties--which would actually be one of my first thoughts if it did turn over fairly fast after a change to chilly weather, but still refused to start. I kind of suspect, though, that you'll tell us it was slow cranking too; so go ahead and assume it's the battery first, and check the other things if that doesn't cure it.

durty · 09-29-2005

Sounds like the battery is to blame . change it and ride

crashmasterd · 09-29-2005

A word of warning from an old hand with electrical systems.

Never let a failing battery stay in your vehicle one second longer than practical. A failing battery can cause several problems for your electrical system.

The first thing is that it puts a heavier than normal load on your alternator. This can cause alternator failure, or more likely, regulator failure. The Stator/Rotor alternator on later Triumphs is pretty robust so probably the regulator will fry first.

The other thing that is problematic is the starter. Because you are starting the bike with less voltage than the starter requires, the starter tends to get hot. A hot starter deteriorates rapidly. (So will a hot Alternator!)

These three conditions tend to reinforce one another and cause all sorts of havoc. For instance a bad starter will cause increased draw on the battery, which can kill the battery way faster than normal use. OR, an alternator just barely putting out enough current to charge the battery will get hot because it has to run at full hump all the time.

I don't know how many time's I've replaced a bad starter/alternator on a Truck, only to check the maintenance records and find out that it ran for a month with bad batteries. The Truck Drivers we had were morons who would rather jump start their truck and get on the road than have us come out and fix the thing.

That's one of the reasons I quit that line of work.

AlucardIdraculA · 09-30-2005

Easiest thing to do is go down to your local automotive store(or wal-mart) and have them test your battery.

Diego · 09-30-2005

No need to test the battery, Herr Count. If its resting voltage was one cell low 4 months ago, there's no doubt whatsoever that it needs to be replaced now.