Starting Problem/Clock Reset

[Jim Bronson]

The battery is located below the shock under the seat. Accessing the + terminal with the power pack clip is not possible. It would have to fit between the shock coils and be very well insulated to keep it away from the surrounding metal. My original idea to install a short stub of battery wire and dead-end it with some sort of wire nut would work, and I wouldn't even have to remove the seat.

[fbn ent]

You will tire of having to jump it quickly...If I was you I'd get the indy or NAPA to test the battery. I'd say it's either that or a major drain, probably from the charging system...

[Jim Bronson]

O'Reillys will test it for free. That's what I'll do if keeps getting worse. Meanwhile, I'll keep it on the tender. The dealer told me that new bikes need to be on a tender all the time, and I think that's BS.

[Coyote]

Have you measured the quiescent draw on the battery?

[Jim Bronson]

Have you measured the quiescent draw on the battery?

Not directly. I can pop the maxi-fuse and measure it. As I understand, it should only be 2-3 ma. for the security system.

[Coyote]

I think you will be higher than that for drain. I'd say it should be under 10mA though. If you measure it, you'll need to be on a mA scale. Make sure you put a shorting lead across your meter leads, then hook it in series with the battery. Wait about 15 seconds  and then remove the shorting lead to get your measurement. If you don't do this, you may blow the fuse in your meter as the bike draws more until the ECM goes asleep.

[Jim Bronson]

Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize the ECM was initially powered with the switch off.

[Coyote]

When you first connect the battery, it fully powers up for a short time, then goes to sleep. There are also caps that charge when first connected.

[Jim Bronson]

Current reads 1-3 ma and jumps around a bit. I'm calling it good. The battery reads 12.7 open circuit, 12.4 on the PV (switch on of course) after being on the tender overnight. I'll just keep an eye on it.

Thanks all.

[Coyote]

I'd prefer the test done on the negative lead to the battery. But if it is that low, it really points to a bad battery.

[Jim Bronson]

I forgot to mention that the dealer tested it out of the bike on their expensive Midtronics tester, and it tested good. I'm not completely convinced, but I'll accept the results for now. One theory is that most of my rides lately have been short for break-in and autotune, so it didn't have an opportunity to fully charge. All of these rides were done without a battery tender. Maybe that was a mistake.

[rigidthumper]

I've seen the Midtronics tester pass a battery that failed on a conventional load pile tester, but the factory would only accept the printout from the midtronics unit. 
Our dealership replaced those batteries out of "customer goodwill", just to try to help.

[Jim Bronson]

Well crapola. My dealer would never replace a battery that tests good on their tester, however they were happy to charge me $175 to test it  . I think I have an old style load tester around here somewhere. If the problem persists, I'll run a test and replace the battery on my own dime if it fails. Needless to say, they won't be working on my bike again.

[Tacocaster]

$175!?!? Holy......! Did they remove the engine to pull the battery out of the bike? Ridiculous! They'd NEVER see my face again even if the next dealer was 100 miles away.

[rigidthumper]

Might make a call to corporate, and let them know an "authorized dealer" charged you for warranty.

[Jim Bronson]

I'm guessing that if the battery had tested bad, they would have replaced it under warranty and wouldn't have charged for the testing. Knowing this dealer, I could be wrong about that.

In a side note, I received a letter from the dealer today with a coupon offering an oil/filter change for $150. Sounds good until I read the fine print. The price is for conventional HD oil, not even their crappy Syn3. It would be extra for Syn3. It also doesn't include additional unlisted "fees". They list it as a "$600 value". Huh? Since when does anyone charge that much for a simple oil/filter change using conventional oil? I can't imagine how much a three-hole fluid change would be. I will just change it myself from now on using quality oil. This is sad because this dealer used to be honest.

[Hossamania]

Any good independent shops around to do routine service and repairs for you?
I'd put a proper Tender on the battery, top it off, see what happens. If at any time it gives any hint of a stall while starting, I'd get a new battery, top it off with the Tender, and install it.

[Jim Bronson]

I'll do as you suggest Hoss. The battery tender responds normally when connected. I just don't believe it needs to be connected continuously, as the dealer said. There's a good indy that I've used before not far from my home. I'll use them from now on. They are well respected and have been in business for 25 years.

[Hossamania]

I leave mine connected almost continuously, even on the old bike that has no security draw. I will disconnect them occasionally just to let things rest for a couple days. If I know I'm going riding the next day, I try to remember to plug it back in. Peace of mind.
Take that thing for a good long ride, it's just mad at you for not letting it stretch its legs!

[kd]

I leave mine connected almost continuously, even on the old bike that has no security draw. I will disconnect them occasionally just to let things rest for a couple days. If I know I'm going riding the next day, I try to remember to plug it back in. Peace of mind.
Take that thing for a good long ride, it's just mad at you for not letting it stretch its legs!

   Hoss it's already mad at him.  You do remember Jim saying it was quitting around town in short trips?    He may not be ready for that long ride yet.

[pauly]

Is it possible the retune between rides was sucking a lot of battery?
Not sure which tuner you're using Jim, but if you're using TTS, From memory, you gotta have the bike turned on, do this, do that, write the new tune etc, which can suck a bit of battery.
I'm with you though. I reckon if you're stuck a new Deka battery in there, the problem would be solved.
$175 to check a battery??? Omg what a scam.

Pauly

[Jim Bronson]

The Powervision tuner does need to be turned on to prepare it for the autotune sessions and again to write the tune afterwards, but it is only for a few minutes. I don't think it would be enough time to seriously draw down the battery. My guess is that between autotuning and short break-in rides the battery didn't have an opportunity to fully charge between rides. I'll be keeping it on the tender between rides from now on and see what happens.

Thanks for responding.

[fbn ent]

FWIW, I run a TMax on my '02 and when I want to mess with it on the computer I pull the lighting fuse to keep the draw at a minimum.

[Jim Bronson]

I just disconnect the PV and use USB to connect to the PC.

Four starts yesterday after living on the battery tender for a week. Two hot starts and two cold starts, so I'm calling the battery good. I'll be back later to eat those words.