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Battery dying intermittently

3K views 25 replies 11 participants last post by  buckoz 
#1 ·
I saw a couple threads on here already about this but I can't trace the problem and my mechanic can't even reproduce it.

The charging system is still working and new with the battery as of about 6 months ago (ricks stator and r/r). The battery died on me last week than I warrantied it when it died the 1st time and the new one did the same thing.

The dash isn't going out, nor the headlights. No signs of power failure while riding. It's the starting that's having problems and it's only happened twice but in the same week. The 1st time on the old battery the 2nd time on the new one. I go to start the bike, it turns on like normal but when I hit the starter it won't crank. The first time I bump started it and the second time I had AAA jump start it (no hill, lol) so it is definitely a dead battery but I can't figure out what could be killing it. Also it doesn't have to do with ride time or how long its been sitting. Bike is used daily. The 1st time was after sitting for 8 hours while I was at work and cold. The second time I had already left work and was stopped for gas when it wouldn't start again.

Took it to the shop after that since I needed it back asap and I'm not a quick mechanic. Well the bike has been starting reliably for the mechanic for the past 3 days. His best suggestion is cleaning or replacing the starter motor. He said that it could be drawing too much power but that would only be an attempt at preventative work since he can't get it to die again.

Any thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
First things I would look at are the clutch and sidestand switches.

Cheers,
-Kit
 
#5 ·
Could it be a dodgy solenoid? You could try carrying a piece of #10 wire and bypassing the solenoid next time it won't crank. I would also check the terminations, battery to solenoid, solenoid to starter, battery to engine ground and starter to engine ground. Eliminate the simple things first.
 
#11 ·
It acts like it wants to crank. I am positive that it's not a safety switch since the battery did not actually have enough juice to turn the bike over
I'm still wondering how you know that the reason it wouldn't crank was not enough juice rather than a cutout switch.

Cheers,
-Kit
 
#13 ·
You can carry a small voltmeter with you and check voltage at the starter next time it doesn't want to crank. Above 12v at the starter post should crank. One bike I had was fine until it was a few years old then the starter was no longer grounded well enough due to paint between the ground and starter. Another bike had battery cables and solenoid to starter cables with too much resistance, deterioration over time. Replaced with aftermarket upgraded cables. Something that will help any bike electrical system is to add wires to make it a " single point Ground " if you have multiple ground points on the bike, clean them all to bare metal and lube to prevent corrosion. Then, run a wire from every ground point to the " Main " ground, the one where the battery grounds to the frame, so everything is grounded to the battery ground. Run a wire from the starter motor body to this ground. 1) Your battery must be grounded to the frame 2) Your engine/ starter must be grounded to this same point 3) Any other Ground points the manufacturer put on your bike (there may be several) must be Grounded to this same point. Now, You can all start tearing this hypothesis apart if you wish, but it is based on various starting problems on all types of " older" vehicles over the years and has cured all kinds of mystery starting ailments.
 
#14 ·
Depending on where the bike has lived, it's possible the cable from the battery to the starter is bad. When I lived in Florida I saw a few where the cable looked fine, but it was corroded inside the insulation where you can't really see it. Same symptoms, but no start as the cable didn't have enough connection inside to transfer the required amps.
 
#16 ·
If you have a MkII Sprint (2005-) it'll be on the top of of the transmission, centered left/right. You'll need to pull the tank to really get to it. There'll be a bolt with the grounds (3 or 4 of them), pointed straight down.
 
#18 ·
If you have not already tried bypassing the solenoid you can do so by removing the plastic cover for the main fuse and using pliers or a heavy piece of wire, short across the black and red wires to see if the starter motor engages fully. - Please only attempt this if you are fully confident that you understand the wiring.- While the cover is off, check that the fuse is solidly connected and that the blades are not corroded. If the starter motor engages when the solenoid is jumped it may prove a faulty solenoid but as Kit suggested, this could also point to a faulty safety as I have seen them act intermittent on occasions. Also, as posted earlier, check the battery terminations as I have seen a poor connection show up as an intermittent trouble.
 
#20 · (Edited)
The starter was completely taken apart and cleaned the 1st time the bike was at the mechanics during this trouble. The battery is brand new (again) and of a reputable company this time (as compared to an unknown brand that a dealer recommended).

I just got the bike back again and am not fully confident that it is fixed. A few rides or so should tell but in the meantime I'm not using the bike daily and want to go through a few things myself in hopes that I won't find myself stranded anymore.

I took a look at the grounds tho I didn't have time to remove the tank and the don't look corroded.

Will still remove the tank and take a closer look. Probably clean them anyways. Would it be a good idea to apply dielectric grease to protect the components?

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
#23 ·
No shame, Scott, just trying to spread the knowledge! :)

Cheers,
-Kit
 
#24 ·
Yes.
Get some emery cloth and buff everything clean first.
Some of the guys here talked about wiring corroding under the sheathing and I had that happen on a 76 Guzzi LeMans.
The starter cable just popped right in two one fine day.
It's cheap insurance to just replace the cables and then coat the exposed bits with dielectric grease.
 
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