Alright, i have a problem

[Anonymous]

Alright. So ive done some make-shift work on the bike myself. Oil change, charge the battery, ride it around a bit. I think im up to snuff and ready to get it insured and whutnot. I go out to start the bike today, its was above zero so it wasnt cold at all. I go to start it, it turns over twice, and the battery dies. What is wrong. Is the alternator ( do bikes have alternators), or does the charging system need help? I started the bike two days ago and purred like a kitten. Yesterday and today i have had some trouble, and now it wont even start. What do you think the problem is?


PS sorry for putting this in the General Discussion forum.

[earlfor]

Re: Difficulty Starting after Running like a Beauty

Well well, fancy seeing you over her. Didnt I just see you on the other side?
:-)

anyway, the first thing to check is the battery voltage. A fully charged battery should show about 12.7-12.8 volts. 12.5 would be about half charged and 12.0 is pretty much discharged. Did you check the voltage in the battery just after it was charged so that you know what you had to start with?

Yes, there is an alternator/stator, but the system does not function in the same way a car does. We can get to that later...if need be

Earl

Alright. So ive done some make-shift work on the bike myself. Oil change, charge the battery, ride it around a bit. I think im up to snuff and ready to get it insured and whutnot. I go out to start the bike today, its was above zero so it wasnt cold at all. I go to start it, it turns over twice, and the battery dies. What is wrong. Is the alternator ( do bikes have alternators), or does the charging system need help? I started the bike two days ago and purred like a kitten. Yesterday and today i have had some trouble, and now it wont even start. What do you think the problem is?


PS sorry for putting this in the General Discussion forum.

[AOD]

i'm gonna guess battery. is it a few years old or unknown age?

[Anonymous]

alright, well i'll charge it, and see what it reads and get back to you.

[Anonymous]

So i decide to something my self. THe battery is dead, it wont turn over, so i decide to push start it down my hill. It took a good 4 or 5 seconds to keep it going. And then when it did start it dogged it. I would pull back on the throttle and engine wouldnt even try, it would make this really low sound. Maybe it was flooded? can bikes get flooded, how do they? My initial problem was starting the bike. I push started it, brought it up to my garage, and let it run for 2 hours, to see if the bike would charge itself. I let it idle for two hours. TUrned the bike off, tried to start it immediately, but no, nothing. it makes a ticking sound when i press the button.

So my problems are:
1 - i know my battery is dead. But i got it running, and let it run for 2 hours, shouldnt this charge the battery somewhat? If i were to get a new battery, should it be a 6V or 12V? Do i need a new battery? I already had it charged once, this was a week ago. I rode the bike maybe 10 times, in a span of 10 km's. what is going on!

2 - why was the bike dogging it, i would pull back all the way on the throttle and it woudlnt go over 1500 RPM. after about 20 or 30 seconds, it went back to normal.

3 - is my alternator/stator broken? How do they work?

I know i have been asking lots of questions lately , but everybody has been a huge help. any help would make life alot easier. :P

[Anonymous]

I could be wrong but when I got my bike It was like a new toy and I babyed it around everywere never exceeding 200rpm. I had charging problems as well. My father told me that with all his bikes the charging system realy didnt work good unless you get the rpm's up there. Sence then I shift at about 5000 and cruse around 4000 and I have no more chargin problems

[argonsagas]

First .....do a thorough check on the battery.


It is best to disconnect the battery and remove it from the bike

1- If your battery has the fairly common translucent body you should be able to see a shadow of varying heights inside the battery....that is the fluid level in each cell

2- Remove each of the six knobs on top of the battery and refill it with distilled water. Fill it only to the line on the side of the battery, marked fill line.

3-Hook up a charger and get it FULLY charged. This is best done slowly, meaning at least overnight, but the rate of charge will depend on the charger.

If you have an automatic car-type charger you can do the job overnight.

If you have only a trickle charger it will take a full day, at least.

Once the battery is fully charged, check the reading. Until that is done, there is no point in discussing other ideas, as any more work, or replacement, will be contingent upon your battery condition.

One thing that is not contingent on the battery is the electrical connections on the bike.

It is best to take as many of them apart as possible, then thoroughly clean and reassemble them.

[Billy Ricks]

They don't do much charging at idle. You would need to get it out on the road and get some revs on it to charge it off the alternator.

As for the way it's running, it sounds like it's time for a carb cleaning.

Exactly what model bike are you talking about?

You can check you regulator/rectifier by following the Suzuki procedure below. These readings are for a GS700 but you should get similar readings.

With the r/r removed from the bike, fins pointing up and terminals facing you, the terminals from left to right will be A, B, C, D, and E.
Negative probe on A and positive on B you should get 6-7.5 ohms.
Negative probe on A and positive on C you should get 6-7.5 ohms.
Negative probe on A and positive on D you should get 6-7.5 ohms.
Negative probe on A and positive on E you should get 50-70 ohms.

Then switch the negative probe to terminal B and place the positive probe on A, C, then D, you should get no reading. Positive on E should read 6-7.5 ohms.

Switch negative probe to C and positive to A, B, then D, you should get no reading. Positive on E should read 6-7.5 ohms.

Switch negative probe to D and positive to A, B, then C, you should get no reading. Positive on E should read 6-7.5 ohms.

Switch negative probe to E, positive to A, B, C, and D should give no reading.

There are several tests for the stator. You need to have a fully charged battery for the first.

Charging output test:
Start the engine and keep it running at 5000 rpm with the headlight on high beam. Measure the voltage at the battery. You should get between 13.5 and 15.5 volts. If not go to the next test.

AC generator no load test:
Disconnect the 3 leads from the alternator (stator) usually located under the gas tank. Start the engine and keep the revs at 5000 rpm. Using a multitester measure the AC voltage between the leads. When you do this check one against the other two. Do this for all 3 wires. You should get about 80VAC.

You should also do a continuity check. Check each of the wires for continuity against the other two. This will tell you if any of the windings on the stator are broken. You can also check to see if the stator is shorting by checking each lead for continuity against a ground. If you get a signal when checking against a grounding point the stator is shorting.

[Anonymous]

Hi Tanner,
Motorcycles with carbs can be pretty gutless before they warm up. When I took my riding course it took over a minute before the bikes would stop stalling when the throttle was cracked open. Since you've found that your bike is like this be careful when pulling into traffic in the mornings...you may get flattened if the bike doesn't respond fast enough.

The battery will need to be charged with a 12 Volt unit. Canadian tire sells a cheap 1Amp charger but a battery tender would do the trick although quite slowly. They will also do a load test on your battery for free. To do the load test they have to charge it so you'll get a free charge too. Suckers.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't leave the bike idling like that. You need a fan or two blowing air over the motor if the bike isn't moving.

Cheers, Steve

[Anonymous]

alright, so i tested the battery, it tested a 11.6. It is on a 2 AMP charge now. How long should i charge it for? Overnight?

[argonsagas]

Yes.

Overnight is the best thing you can do with a 2-amp charger.

What the available voltage is now is not important, except as a reference.

(If the charger is working, and the reading still shows the same by tomorrow morning, you need a new battery)

Your battery likely has a 14 ampere per hour rating, so a 2 amp charge rate for 12 hours will seem to numerically overcharge it, but, in reality, it won't.

A slow charge is the best thing you can do for your battery. It tends to dissolve built-up sulphates on the battery plates, thus exposing more plate surface, and improving the discharge rate.

The sulphates, unfortunately, fall and eventually clog up the base of the plates, and lead to shorts. Catch-22. Unless you do it this way, you get your power draw only from part of the plates, and that means very little amperage draw is available, so the battery will run flat in seconds.

The best thing, overall, is to keep the battery charged properly all the time....and NEVER let it freeze.

[earlfor]

The battery at 11.6 volts is completely discharged. Most of the midsize bikes have batteries with aprox a 10 amp capacity. Depending on the conditions of the internal plates (battery age and usage) and the fact that some of the charging current is turned into heat, and guessing an inefficiency rate, I would estimate that a 2 amp charger would require aproximately 7-8 hours to fully charge a 10 amp battery that was completely discharged.

Earl

alright, so i tested the battery, it tested a 11.6. It is on a 2 AMP charge now. How long should i charge it for? Overnight?