Electrical problem?

JASJR

Joined
Feb 28, 2025
Messages
31
Location
Missouri
Bike
2010 Honda NT700V
My normal procedure to start the bike is to turn the key to "on" and let the gauges do their thing and when everything has stopped moving, and the bike is not making any noises, I hit the starter.

Last time out I did all this and when I hit the starter switch after half a second the electric seemed to cut out, the gauges all did their thing again as if I just turned on the key, and the clock reset to 1am, as if I had disconnected the battery. After this it started just fine, and I had no problems on the ride. I did notice a month or two ago when heading out that the clock was not right, and based on the recent problem I'm wondering if something similar happened before.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Do I now have a "parts" bike??
 
How old is the battery?

Also, the switches sometimes need a spray of electrical cleaner but that wouldn't mess with the clock.
 
Parts bike? Lol, it did start right? Probably a connection a bit dirty. Get to the connectors for the instrument cluster, pull them apart and spritz the pins with your favorite electrical contact cleaner. Maybe fuse holder that supplies 12v for clock time keeping give a spritz too. Grab a wiring diagram to look for plugs.

I have an antique plate eligible Honda in the fleet that would occasionally do a clock reset when keying ignition on a few years ago. Connection at one of the cluster plugs was iffy. Voltage drop at key on was enough to knock the clock out for two seconds, usually on cooler days. Clock and trip meter would then come back reset as if I unplugged the battery and put it back. I hosed instrument plugs down with Deoxit and it's been fine since. Rode it today in fact.
 
Unknown on the battery age, it was in there at my purchase in July, 2024, an Interstate battery.

I was (mostly) joking about having a parts bike. And it did start right up, the second press of the switch. Whenever I ride this bike I feel as though it would take me anywhere, I'd hate for that not to be true. I will start looking at connectors.
 
Make sure battery is good (Load test it) check battery connections, check start solenoid connections, check connection on Starter motor. All of these can cause the clock to reset each start
 
As everyone so far has said, I would suspect the battery or battery terminal corrosion first. Check the terminals and clean 'em shiny bright. Then load test the battery. If you have a voltmeter, you can do an ersatz load test. Connect the voltmeter to the battery. The open circuit voltage (no load) should read12.6V - 12.85VDC. Now, while looking at the voltmeter display, hit the starter button and note the voltage reading. If it is <=11VDC the battery is bad. While the voltmeter is hooked up, note the battery voltage with the engine running. It should read 13.0 - 14.4VDC It will read higher when revved and lower at idle. If you don't have a voltmeter, most auto parts stores will load test your battery for you at no charge. I hope this helps. BTW, a clock reset is a dead giveaway that at some point the battery voltage dropped below 9VDC, the point at which the ECU internal voltage regulator cannot retain memory

Mike
 
The symptoms you describe are classic symptoms of the pending failure of an AGM battery (which is installed in the bike).

Change your battery as a matter of some urgency as it will fail on you in the near future.

Seagrass
 
Take the battery into any auto parts store and have them load test it if that is a concern.
 
If its (often) parked outside (or being a fan of high-pressure washing), annual TLC of the switch-pods is strongly advised...
Like my GF's '07 NT700VA, which began to require pressing the starter button 3~4 times till the relay finally energized (not even a click before that)...
With her commuting in bad weather as well, I go over all electrical connectors once a year, applying a whiff of ACF-50...
Care like this eliminated i.e. the weird symptom of the LHS turn-signal not coming on for >4 seconds, whilst the RHS illuminated instantly...

I also found out that GEL type batteries are not ideal (increased internal resistance under load) for that type of engine/compression...
The starter-motor really struggled, spun slow, requiring 4~5 revolutions till it finally fired... so I threw that out again...

Now on NOCO NLP14 LiFePO4... best decision ever... starter spins prompt, fast, engine fires after 2 revolutions... always... under any condition...
 
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I did look at a diagram for the wiring harness, lost count after 103 different connectors (slight hyperbole), I've read about cleaning the switches here, and will do that for sure. I tried Mike's voltage test, 2nd hit of the starter switch dropped it to 10.9v, I was trying not to actually start the bike as the cat lives in the garage and to the best of my feline knowledge would not be immune to CO buildup (too cold to keep the garage door open).

The prior owner(s?) kept the bike outside, I garage it, so undoubtedly there are weatherization concerns.
 
JASJR said:
I did look at a diagram for the wiring harness, lost count after 103 different connectors (slight hyperbole), I've read about cleaning the switches here, and will do that for sure. I tried Mike's voltage test, 2nd hit of the starter switch dropped it to 10.9v, I was trying not to actually start the bike as the cat lives in the garage and to the best of my feline knowledge would not be immune to CO buildup (too cold to keep the garage door open).

The prior owner(s?) kept the bike outside, I garage it, so undoubtedly there are weatherization concerns.
Click to expand...
The load test pretty much condemns the battery. As far as the kitty šŸ˜¼, the teeny amount of CO generated by 15 seconds of idling is miniscule and in all likelihood, as soon as the bike fires up, the cat is headed for the tall grass anyways. The OE battery is a sealed AGM battery which is Honda's preferred replacement. One caveat is to pay close attention to the battery's orientation with respect to the terminals before you remove it. It also fits nicely in the wrong orientation in which the cables will not fit which has prompted many members to suspect that they have gotten the wrong replacement battery. Upon inspection, the batteries are identical but how come the damned thing won't fit?? This is the voice of experience talking to you.

Hope this helps!

Mike
 
I pulled the battery, 12.5v on the bench. Also, not visible while connected, there is some corrosion under the negative terminal. Being a (formerly) sealed battery, I suspect I broke the seal misapplying my life principle that "if some is good more is better" to the torque applied to the battery bolt while connecting a new optimate lead.

I will pick up a new battery in a couple of days. And yes, I am conscious of the battery orientation, after staring at it and turning it around in my hands for 15 minutes.
 
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