v00d00child Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 I moved to CO from TX in Sept, and thinking they'd force me to empty the tank before they'd load my bike, I decided to take my 97 out one last time. Problem was, she was already low, and I wound up running out of gas. Like an idiot, I wound up running the battery down trying to restart her. I walked back to my house, jumped in my car, drove to the bike, and tried to jumpstart her, to no avail. Of course, now the battery appears to be shot, and when hooked up to a charger, she turns over fine, but never catches. Have I blown the black box or something? TIA chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 And you put more gas in it I take...? FI or carb? Was the car running when you tried to jump it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v00d00child Posted November 2, 2003 Author Share Posted November 2, 2003 Gas: yes. Car running: yes. Carb ('97). FWIW, she didn't start then (had to push her back). Got her started once or twice before they loaded her for the move, but cranked very slowly, but seemed to run OK on a very short jaunt. I figure I've definitely boiled the sulfate off the plates, but wondering if I damaged the ignition system. thx chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 The carb models have a vacuum petcock, don't they? If you ran it completely dry it might take a bit of cranking to build vacuum and get it flowing. (Crank with the throttle closed.) How long did you try cranking with the jumpered car after refueling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Ran it out of gas, yes it might take a while to get going again. Electrical trouble, you said that you have had the bike running for a short period of time and it seemed fine. It prolly is. Battery, is it the original? If so go buy a new one. If it is fairly new, I would put the battery on a charger at 2amps or less for a good 8 to 10 hours. Once this is done let the battery sit for a few hours more and then check the voltage. If the battery reads below about 11.5 dcv or so, I would get a new one. Or if your cheap like me, you could put it in the bike and take your chances. Battery set-up and maintence. The XX has a maintence free battery. DO NOT ADD WATER or ACID. If you remove the caps, the acid level may look low, this is normal. Maintence free batteries come from the manufacturer with an acid pack, this packet of acid is added by the dealer or purchaser, next the battery should then sits for at least 1/2 hour this will allow the acid to soak into the lead plates, then the battery is put on a charger for a specified amount of time, it is now ready to be put into service. If done correctly and the battery is taken care of, it will last a good long time. If done incorrectly a very short period of time. Maintence, keep the battery clean and if you let the vehicle sit for a month or so, put a charger on it for a few hours once or twice a month. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v00d00child Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 Thx for the info/help everyone. Put the batt on a 2 amp charge, this morning (after being off the charger), she's at 12.3V. Seems to crank OK now, but still no fire. Sure wish that darned air cleaner were in a better location, like the old CBR1000's. I hate pulling the tank just to shoot starting fluid. More as it (hopefully) develops... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrated Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Just for future reference. Jump starting a bike from a car battery is perfectly acceptable. Both vehicles are 12 Volt DC. A car battery is capable of suppling many more amps or current than a MC battery, but the bottom line is that both systems are 12 Volt DC. The motorcycle will only pull as much current as it needs to try and do what you are doing. In other words, if the bike pulls, say 30 amps to run the starter, the car battery will supply 30 amps. Don't ever try the reverse though, jumping a car with a MC battery. This will definitely overload the motorcycle battery and charging circuit. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Don't ever try the reverse though, jumping a car with a MC battery. I've done it twice now with the XX. Of course, I just let it run for 10 minutes or so at 2500 RPM to charge the car battery, then turned it off and started the car. Probably true that it's stressful on the R/R though. I wonder why mine is still good, I've abused it quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeG Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Be carefull when using a car battery to jump a motorcycle. The starter is not the problem--it will only draw what it needs off the car battery. However, if the MC battery is run down, say 11 volts, and the car battery is charged up, or the car is running, the car battery can be at 13-14 volts. Given the low impedance of the 2 batteries, and the voltage difference, the car battery can pump LOTs of amps into the MC battery, potentially damaging it or blowing it up! Whenever I jump a MC(and I have done it numerous times), never have the car running, and just touch the jumper cables, start the MC, and take the cables off. MikeG(yes I'm an EE) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 When boosting, I always hook the vehicles together with both not running, then start the vehicle that will be used for boosting. Let it run for at least a minute or two to build a reserve into the boosted vehicle, then try starting. It's less voltage differential, and less chance of a spike when boosted like that, IMHO. Letting the reserve build up also takes load off of the boosted vehicle's alternator when it finally starts. Alternators are for running accessories, and replenishing the battery of power used to start the engine, not for charging batteries. Works for me, your mileage may vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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