I've killed 2 batteries...What do I do?

[Anonymous]

83 GS750E. 7600 miles. Above says the rest. I have killed 2 bateries. Newest one is 2 days old. I turned off the bike, came back 10 minutes later and nothing. Battery was dead. I had to push start her. This is the second one. I have read other posts about this general subject and I would really like some input on what specifically to check and do. I need to get her up and running properly, she's my only transport currently. Thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

did you trickle charge the battery? at what amp setting? or you have a drain, disconnect the negitve batt cable and run a test light in series , if its bright you have a good draw on the batt.

[Anonymous]

did you trickle charge the battery? at what amp setting? or you have a drain, disconnect the negitve batt cable and run a test light in series , if its bright you have a good draw on the batt.

On the test issue, if you have a multimeter, set it on amps and if you have any drain at all you must isolate parts to find it. Use the meter exactly as rick said to use the test light--You really should buy a meter from somewhere((it doesnt have to be fancy one)) gs motorcycles and multimeters go well together

[Anonymous]

Update!!!

Tonight she started ok. I rode her to a buddies house to place the battery on a trickle charger for testing. During the ride, my lights dimmed to the point of almost complete failure just as I reached his house. I'm new at working on bikes and am not sure what the bike has in the way of an alternator. On a car, that would be my best bet. The battery is on a trickle charger as I write this. So, what am I looking for when I get everything hooked back up?

[Anonymous]

if you have a draw you will see on the multimeter something like .003 miliamps , it should be .000 no draw, if you do have a draw you would have to start disconnecting wires untill it drops to zero then you have found the amperage theif.

[Anonymous]

Your symptoms sound very like a regulator/rectifier failure I suffered once - now you have power, now you don't. I spent days hunting through the wiring for a short before checking the alternator output and the r/r unit with a multimeter and finding the r/r to be the culprit.

First make sure the battery is okay and fully charged. A new one should be put on overnight trickle charge before use. You'll need a multimeter to check the charging system and there's a very good step by step test sequence in the GSR.

This is a long shot but make sure your headlamp switch isn't lighting both hi and low beams simultaneously. Some of the crappier GS switches are capable of it and your battery won't like it.