Electrical issue

[GaryBro]

Went to start bike today and it turned over very very slowly, made a few clicking noises and shut down. Turned key off and back on, nothing happens - no displays at all, completely dead. Thought my battery was bad, but charger said it was 90%. All fuses near battery are good, 30 amp main fuse on side of the battery is good. + and - terminals are clean and tight. Measured battery while turning on key and it fluctuates and settles at less than 1 volt. It appears as if something is sucking all the juice and I didn't leave the key on long assuming something might overheat. Could starter/relay be jammed and causing this problem? I was able to put bike in 5th gear and rock it until it turned over a little - didn't help. Anybody have other ideas?

 

[Phil Tarman]

I'm guessing you've got a dead short in the battery when it's under load.

 

[ARKNT]

Like Phil mentioned I would look at the battery first. Maybe take it out of the bike and test it separately. If you have a spare headlight bulb or something similar you can use it to put a small load on the battery for a test.
Batteries can give some odd symptoms sometimes.

Brad

 

[GaryBro]

I'm guessing you've got a dead short in the battery when it's under load.

That is very good news as I ordered a new battery yesterday because it was showing symptoms of old age. Should have it in a few days (hopefully). Thanks for the tip!

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Classic symptoms of the end of life for a lead battery, charges fine then falls flat under load. In other words it had no capacity left.

 

[Brillot2000]

My experience with motorcycle batteries over years has a common theme.

• They give subtle warnings in the beginning that are easily dismissed.
• Be fine and start the bike one moment. Run an errand come out and will not start the bike. More evident on a DCT bike.
• Completely flat dead the next morning after a ride from the previous day.
• Age and lack of use are the leading factors to battery degradation.
  

 

[NewTo700V]

Get a warranty if offered. I replaced an aging battery on the NT over the winter with new of same rated Amp Hours and CCA. It lasted two weeks. After a real cold spell I went to start it one morning and "click". Not enough juice to even prime the gas pump. A new battery being flat after less than a week parked made me think I was looking at a parasitic draw issue. I took it inside and placed it on a charger which claimed after two minutes it was 100% charged. That was an indicator it was toast.

In a pinch, I sourced a powersports battery from the local auto parts chain that matched physical dimensions of the dead one. It has about half the rated CCA of the spec'd NT700V battery. It still started the bike just fine, and a parasitic draw test showed nothing out of the ordinary. That small battery is still doing fine weeks later. I can only conclude the initial new battery shorted internally.

 

[karl]

Is your headlight going out when you crank the bike? Switch contacts can cause a problem...Most likely bad battery.

 

[GaryBro]

I had a small lawn tractor battery on the shelf and it managed to turn on all the electronics and turn the engine over for about a second. This battery is quite old also and hasn't been used in a long time, so I didn't expect great things. I feel confident that my new and correct battery will fix my problem. Just got notice that the new battery was shipped by USPS today, so I should be up and running by the weekend.
Bruce B - thanks for the tips, I should have ordered a new battery long ago when things were just a little bad.
Karl - When I turned on the key, there was absolutely nothing, no guages, no lights. When using the second battery, I did not look at the headlight.
NewTo700V - Did not even think about a warranty. I'll have to check their website to see if I might get lucky (ha ha).

 

[GaryBro]

Yippee!!!! New battery FINALLY arrived and I put it in. My Honda is again alive! Thanks for all the tips, I will be more aware of signs in the future.

 

[ARKNT]

Now you are ready for some nice Spring rides.