Triumphrat

Panthers_Den · 07-26-2006, 10:12 AM

Ok, approximately how long can the bike sit unused before the battery is drained (not plugging it into a battery tender). I've let it sit for as long as 1 week just to come back to a dead battery. Is this normal for this bike or am I looking at a possible short somewhere killing the battery? My friend thinks it's either a short somewhere or a piss poor design of the electrical system on Triumphs part. Oh how I wanted to hit him so badly when he said it was poor design. lol that bastid. hehe

So, any ideas what it could be? I have added the following items to the bike (electrical wise):

1. Trick Flasher relay
2. Integrated radar detector
3. Scorpio alarm

Now before I installed these, I did let the bike sit for about 2 weeks once without use and came back to a dead battery. Let it sit for 1 week after the install and the battery was dead enough where it wouldn't start anymore. Any ideas?

jefftarlton · 07-26-2006, 10:18 AM

It might just be a battery starting to show its age. This heat isn't good for them.

Unhook all of your extra electrical goodies and see what happens. That will tell you if it's the battery or not.

Don't crank a bike with a nearly dead battery. It is hard on the starter and drive.

Panthers_Den · 07-26-2006, 10:23 AM

About how long should these bikes be able to sit before the battery drains too low to start it up?

I'm gonna be dropping my bike off for the 12k service today, I'll have the dealer check the battery out while they have the bike to verify if that's the issue or not.

DFWBiker · 07-26-2006, 10:25 AM

I've let my bikes sit for up to 4 months and still start. If your battery is dead in a week or two, then you have a drain issue somewhere or possibly a bad battery (dead cell).

If you have a digital multimeter, you can use the DC amperage settings to see how much power your bike is draining while the ignition is off. At that point, you can pull one fuse at a time to see if the rate of discharge drops. If you see a drop when you pull a fuse, then you can start to narrow down the problem. (You can get a decent multimeter at Radio Shack for about $20...everybody should have one. They are very useful tools around the house and garage.)

I've had the same problem with various vehicles in the past and it can be frustrating to track down the short. I have had electrical shorts due to frayed insulation in a wiring harness, a faulty brake light socket, and improperly wired stereo equipment.

Like I mentioned above, it could also be a dead cell in your battery. If the battery is properly maintained (fluid levels are good, no drain, etc) and still won't hold a charge, then you probably have a dead cell. At that point, you simply need to buy a new one.

Panthers_Den · 07-26-2006, 10:34 AM

guess I'll be buying a multimeter :cry: Still gonna have the battery checked though and pray that is the issue cause I so hate trying to track down a short. hehe

rodneybrown · 07-26-2006, 12:37 PM

I used to have a HARD remote radar detector which had a little transmitter on it signal the LED unit in the helmet. It would kill the battery in two or three days.

Granvil · 07-26-2006, 01:03 PM

I work overseas and have left the Sprint in an unheated garage for up to 3 months after which it started without any problem. Funnily enough, my wife's bike, with optimate battery tender attached all winter, was the one that needed a new battery this spring.

I don't have an alarm on my bike, which I have heard is the usual suspect for draining batteries over time.

Panthers_Den · 07-26-2006, 08:37 PM

I'd agree about the alarm except it was dying on me before I installed the alarm or the radar detector. It's just worse now :-)

But I took the bike into the shop today to do the 12k service work and they did a load test on the battery and you could watch and the needle drop quickly to show a big discharge in the battery. So they believe it's a bad battery. The dealer is gonna throw a new battery in the bike, fully charged, and then hook up their meter to it then and see if there is any visual loss in charge to see if there's a bad short in the bike as well that could be draining the battery down that fast. I'm praying it's just a bad battery, cheaper that way :-D

jefftarlton · 07-27-2006, 02:38 AM

I'm betting on the battery. It's hard to predict how long they'll live. Sometimes they die quickly, other times they just fade slowly to nothing.
The original Yuasa in my hawk gt lasted 11 years! I was very happy with that lifespan. I replaced it with an identical battery that lasted less than two years. Now it's got a no name cheapo that's almost two years old and still doing great.

Panthers_Den · 07-27-2006, 08:35 AM

yea, the dealer said the heat here in Austin is pure death to the batteries since the heat index is almost always over 100F, couple that with the enormous heat the st's give off and that spells quick battery death. So I have my fingers crossed that that is all that is wrong with it.