blackbd1 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 bike is 2000 XX yesterday my wife and i went on a short ride. here in the midwest it was 102 the bike ran just fine on the highway @ 65-70mph when we got into town and the cooling fan started to run, after 10 minutes or so the speedometer and tach needles jumped up and down a few times and then stopped at zero when the bike was still running. turn signals and headlights were very dim when we got to where we were going, i shut the bike off and tried to restart only to learn that the battery was all but dead. (the battery is oem and 1.5 months old) after 4 to 5 hours, the bike had cooled off, hit the starter and it had enough juice to start the bike and it ran fine...gauges worked properly shut it off, it started right back up as i reved the engine, the headlights would get brighter my conclusion is that: the battery is fine (it came back up in charge) and that the charging system is charging so perhaps it is just a loose connection...i checked the ones i could reach without taking the bike apart i wonder what was going on does anyone have any insight as to what is going on with my bike please advise and thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 does anyone have any insight as to what is going on with my bike please advise and thank you Here's your insight. The XX can discharge a battery fairly quickly running in slow traffic with the radiator fan on. The jumping gauge needles are your indication of very low voltage. Heat was obviously an issue, because once the engine and battery cooled down, you were able to restart not only once, but twice on the same battery that previously was "all but dead." Now here's your advice. Don't just blow this incident off. Start your investigation with a fully charged battery. Inspect the battery looking for anything obvious wrong with it...loose terminals, electrolyte leak, etc. Then slow charge it until its fully charged. While you're waiting for that to happen, you can pull the rear cowl off and inspect the wirings that connect the regulator, looking for brown or black discoloration indicative of high heat, or an aroma of burned material. Once the battery is charged, reconnect it to the system, start up, and measure the voltage. If that's within reasonable spec, you just had a discharged battery. If not, you need to pursue the issue and narrow it down to a bad regulator or stator. General comment Often folks will get a new battery that has only a dry charge or a quick blast from a high amp charger to get it going quickly. The XX, along with most other motorcycles, does not have an alternator that can run a tv and a refrigerator like the one in your truck. It can usually maintain a charge, but should always start with a fully bench charged battery. The size of the battery means there is little reserve, and therefore isn't quite as capable of weathering all matter of driving habits and extremes of temperature as the automotive batteries we compare them to. Charging systems on motorcycles don't just have less output than automotive systems...they are much more susceptible to variables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmike Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 General comment Often folks will get a new battery that has only a dry charge or a quick blast from a high amp charger to get it going quickly. The XX, along with most other motorcycles, does not have an alternator that can run a tv and a refrigerator like the one in your truck. It can usually maintain a charge, but should always start with a fully bench charged battery. The size of the battery means there is little reserve, and therefore isn't quite as capable of weathering all matter of driving habits and extremes of temperature as the automotive batteries we compare them to. Charging systems on motorcycles don't just have less output than automotive systems...they are much more susceptible to variables. Excellent advice! I'll just add that it is imperative that a fresh battery receive a full bench charge, at the appropriate charging rate, before it's installed in the bike... otherwise the battery's life is seriously shortened, and it'll never hold a complete charge. There are really no short-cuts in getting the most out of a battery; keep it clean, snug connections, check the electrolyte level (if possible, not applicable for sealed types), and consider the application of a battery tender whenever the vehicle is parked for any length of time. Some folks can boast of five years on a 'Bird's battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryXX Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I had a battery problem a couple of months ago on my 2000 bird where as it would loose it charge on hot days. In my case I had to charge the battery to bring it back and after going over the electrical troubleshooting it was the R/R. Since replacement there is no more trouble and on a side note I was told the R/R was updated since the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredx Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 And this: Linky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John01XX Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I had a battery problem a couple of months ago on my 2000 bird where as it would loose it charge on hot days. In my case I had to charge the battery to bring it back and after going over the electrical troubleshooting it was the R/R. Since replacement there is no more trouble and on a side note I was told the R/R was updated since the original. The new Honda OEM R/R is updated. Old part number is 31600-MAT-D50 and the new updated is 31600-MAT-D51 $100.00 from Honda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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