Dead battery:(

[Guest]

So, I went to start my bike today and battery was almost dead, measured 9.? volts with ignition off. Rode it just last night. Enough power for dim lights, only a faint click when I hit the starter button.
Its an old battery, at least 3 years, old school type unsealed. Filled it with distilled water a week ago or so.
What is the more likely cause of a current leak? Could it be my R&R? It charges fine, maybe a bit much voltage, measured almost 16v at 2-3k rpm. Has a non-stock R&R on it.
I would/could just put in a new battery, but I think there is a current leak somewhere maybe

[Octain]

Charge it to specs then disconnect the charger all the time while watching the meter and see if it drops real low.
If it's a battery Im thinkin you prolly did good getting as much out of it as you did.

Those 30 dollar auto zone batteries are only good for about a year, lol.

[posplayr]

It charges fine, maybe a bit much voltage, measured almost 16v at 2-3k rpm. Has a non-stock R&R on it.

Charges fine????? What do you think is fine?

Either your using a Honda R/R and did not hook up the sense wire correctly of the regulator in the R/R is hosed.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=152769

[gearhead13]

Charges fine????? What do you think is fine?

Either your using a Honda R/R and did not hook up the sense wire correctly of the regulator in the R/R is hosed.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=152769

Well, it charges Im not sure what kind of R&R it is probably Honda. Its kinda triangle shaped and has 2 red, 2 green and one black and three stator wires coming from it. It was installed by the PO, so I dont know too much about it.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

You've been here long enough to know the drill. If you've been overcharging your wet cell lead/acid battery I'm sure it's toast after three years. If you hook your sense wire directly to the battery it will cause a current leak. A failing r/r unit can cause a current leak. See if your battery will hold a charge, do a load test, etc. Then take the Stator Papers out to the woodshed and get busy. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[posplayr]

Well, it charges Im not sure what kind of R&R it is probably Honda. Its kinda triangle shaped and has 2 red, 2 green and one black and three stator wires coming from it. It was installed by the PO, so I dont know too much about it.

U should at least know it is over charging .

Post a pick so maybe someone can identify it and then you can figure out what the wires are supposed to be hooked to. I would not trust the PO

[gearhead13]

I have been doing lots of searching
One question: Would a bad ground to the R&R mounting points (bolts) cause a high charging voltage? I am not sure if it was ever properly grounded.
The sense wire (black?) is connected to a switched power source.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Yes, a bad r/r ground will cause overcharging. The r/r can not shunt excess energy to ground as easily and will cause it to overheat, sometimes excessively.

If your r/r has two grounds, put one on the negative battery terminal and the other on a good solid frame ground. Make sure the ground cable from the battery to the bottom of the engine is clean and making good contact at both ends.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[gearhead13]

I dont know if this thing is wired properly, the red wires go directly from the R&R to the battery and to the fuse box(in some unseen way). The step says to measure the v drop between the battery and the R&R, but its just a straight wire.
It does 13.3 at idle and at 2-3k rpm it goes to 15.7v
I guess I have some troubleshooting to do

[chef1366]

I have a good 83 GS1100ED R/R just for you.

[gearhead13]

Well, got the new battery today.
Did some checking of voltages. The sense wire was 'seeing' 1-1.5v less than what was actually there, so I connected it to the coil relay mod wire.
Doesnt go over 14.8v now.
BUT, when I came home today my old battery was dead again So I will have to monitor the new one. Could be that the battery is real old and just wasnt charged enough
How would I go about checking for a voltage leak/drain? I dont have an ampmeter(sp?)

[Redman]

...
...
... The step says to measure the v drop between the battery and the R&R, but its just a straight wire.
It does 13.3 at idle and at 2-3k rpm it goes to 15.7v
I guess I have some troubleshooting to do

That step would be to check to see if there was a bad connections somehwere between R/R and the battery. In stock wireing there will be a few connections along the way.

And as others have said, yes, the R/R ground wire not being well grounded will cause the R/R not to be able to regulate, so voltage will be high (again, on a stock GS R/R, anyway).
And your voltage is high, not terrrible high, but enough to "boil off" a standard wet vented battery.
THis is why you will see recommendations to add your own additional ground wire to the battery neg from where the R/R ground wire is connected to the battery box.

And, yes, good that you have checked that the sense wirte is on a swicthed circuit, because that can/will cause a drain (I have measured it) if it is connected to battery positive.

I suspect your high voltage has "boiled off" your battery (you did say you had to refil it recetntly) and maybe battery isnt so good anymore, especially if it sat that way for months.

Tell us more what happens.

<<later note: Looks like we posted about the same time.

.

[Redman]

Sounds like you understand what has happened. The sensce wire reading 1.5 low was making the charging voltage 1.5 too high.

One way to check for a drian on battery without an amp meter, would be if you find it drains battery in 2 days. THen charge back up, and then disconnect battery and let sit for the two days again, reconnect and see if battery still okay.

I thihnk you will find that now woth the new battery and the wiring fixed (so charge voltage more correct) that you will do well.

.