Where's the juice?

[singletrack]

Just finished rejetting my carbs and adjusting the valves on my GS1100E. When I first turned the ignition the lights & dash flickered then faded. Now I get nothing when I turn the ignition key, no juice at all. Checked the battery with a voltmeter and it reads 12.6 w/ the key off. When I turn the key to on it reads 1.5V. I went over the harness and everything looks pretty good, I pulled apart the plastic connectors and practically zero corrosion. I have not pulled apart all the bullet connectors yet.

Any ideas of obvious places to check? I was so psyched to hear it roar again, but no dice! I haven't tried to start it since last fall, so hard saying if there is a corrosion issue or if I knocked something loose with my engine/carb work.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Sounds like the battery is toast. Have a shop test it for you.

 

[fishfarm]

Bad battery is my guess also. If you have a load (short) than can pull a good battery down to 1.5v, you're going to smell something burning or blow a fuse.

 

[tom203]

Sounds like the battery is toast. Have a shop test it for you.

Yeah - try jumping it with a non running car to see if it responds.

 

[singletrack]

OK, I'll give that a go Thanks!

 

[cowboyup3371]

Yeah - try jumping it with a non running car to see if it responds.

Just remember that will only tell you if you can start the bike. It might be possible that battery is so toast it won't hold a charge. Check the fluid and have it tested by a good battery tester.

 

[koolaid_kid]

A battery has 2 outputs - Voltage and Current. They are directly related. Power = Voltage x Current.
It can show Voltage with key off, but with key on if Voltage drops that much it usually indicates very little Current available. Have it tested.

 

[850 Combat]

Yeah - try jumping it with a non running car to see if it responds.

On two occasions I have had a starter solenoid fail after jmping a bike with a car. Once on a '79 CBX in around 1988, once on my GS1000G a few years back. After the second time, its hard for be to think it is a coincidence, although I don't know of an engineering reason why it would happen.

 

[singletrack]

So I jumped it with the car. The sound of Japanese thunder filled the driveway. Hell yeah!

Guess I need a new battery. Any suggestions?

Should have posted here sooner, would have saved me about 2 hours of frigging in the rigging.

 

[fishfarm]

I just bought one (regular lead acid) from Wallyworld for $40 bucks. This will probably be my next one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140499587739&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Here are some links:

http://www.batterystuff.com/ - Batteries, etc.
http://www.bigcrank.com/ - Big Crank Batteries
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/ - Batteries, etc.

Quite a few here like the Big Crank batteries. I bought a Yuasa AGM type battery and it's been going strong for almost four years now.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[koolaid_kid]

I just bought one (regular lead acid) from Wallyworld for $40 bucks. This will probably be my next one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140499587739&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

This is where I got mine. Fine quality battery with a 2 year warranty.

 

[singletrack]

Thanks for all the info folks, very helpful.

I couldn't find anything from the ebay vendor, apparently he is out of that particular model. I did call over to Carquest, though, just for giggles. They carry an AGM battery that will fit my bike and it turns out the manufacturer is the same as the company that makes Big Crank batteries, East Penn. It's a few bucks more than the Big Crank version (ETX15L) after shipping ($82 vs $76), but a small price to pay for instant gratification.

 

[koolaid_kid]

Motobatteries is a bit confused on this battery. You have to call them and speak to a human to get one. On their website, when you can finally find this particular battery, the list price is $0.00. :lol:

 

[tom203]

So I jumped it with the car. The sound of Japanese thunder filled the driveway. Hell yeah!

Guess I need a new battery. Any suggestions?

Should have posted here sooner, would have saved me about 2 hours of frigging in the rigging.

I'd go for AGM battery- holds charge longer- maybe $50 to $60 bucks- lots of ebay sellers.

 

[tom203]

On two occasions I have had a starter solenoid fail after jmping a bike with a car. Once on a '79 CBX in around 1988, once on my GS1000G a few years back. After the second time, its hard for be to think it is a coincidence, although I don't know of an engineering reason why it would happen.

I can't grasp why this would happen- unless the large jumper clip hit the solenoid case.