ptxyz Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 when i went to start my 2000 this morning, i heard the fuel pump briefly then nothing. no lights at all with the key in the on position. bike was fine last night. one odd symptom; when i turn the key on, the clock goes off. key off, the clock comes back to 1:00. have a nagging thought i should have disconnected the battery before leaving for work... fire hazard? nothing unusual as i pushed her to the back of the garage. i'll be taking a road trip to utah in a few days so, won't start messing with it until i get back on the 17th but, would be very appreciative of any tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 How old is that battery? Sounds like it just shorted out. Make sure the battery connections are tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptxyz Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 shoulda put some details on that, thanks for chiming in jon. battery's several months old, sealed type that sees a battery tender from time to time (not out of necessity). will take the seat off and at least take a look this evening. lots on planning / prep for that road trip but, my mind tends to dwell on these things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Been there. Probably flat battery. Probable stator or R/R if the battery is that new. The instruments pull very little power and will work with a very low battery. Use the charging circuit flowchart in the useful threads section. I will try my Idevice mojo to link it.http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33318 And Hobie's link. http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=53455 Of course, it could be a loose connection on the battery. I had a no start this weekend on my sons POS neon. Two positive leads from the battery. One molded in to the terminal, one attached to the terminal clamping bolt. The cable attached to the bolt was sandwiched between two corroded washers. Cleaned off the corrosion, and starter worked fine. Good luck. And. Yes, stuff like that sticks with me too. Edited October 8, 2015 by redxxrdr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Loose connection or dead batt are my guesses. Won't matter because either condition will cause it to burn to the ground before you get back. Kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptxyz Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 thankfully, the garage was still un-singed when i returned... i was mistaken on the battery's age - 2 years & 2 months. i do see the voltage is about 12.8, when i turned the key on it dropped to less than a volt. as my work hours coincide with the hours of my local bike shop (lately, i prefer to spend at least some of my coin there), a load test will probably wait until after my road trip next week. thanks for the tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 You already load tested it and it failed, assuming that voltage was tested with a meter probing the battery posts. If the meter relies on any wiring then it's still iffy between bad battery and bad connections. If you decide to spend your money elsewhere, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F9LPJ8S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 Only had it about a year and a half and don't ride a lot, but it still cranks faster than my previous battery ever did and it weighs nearly nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) In your link of the Battery Tender battery, near the top of the reviews is a photo of one that melted on a guy. Edited October 10, 2015 by blackhawkxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Goat Herder Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Did he use a charger/tender not made for LiOn batterys? Not sure if it's hype to get people to buy new chargers but have been told not to use lead acid type chargers on LiOn batterys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrick Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Swap batteries between the two bikes. Check the cables as you are removing the battery from the non-starter. Substitution is the lazy man's troubleshooting. I used to poo-poo "parts swappers", but if you already have substitute parts laying around, it's sometimes a faster path to diagnosis. Unless the "other bike" is a bicycle, of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 (edited) In your link of the Battery Tender battery, near the top of the reviews is a photo of one that melted on a guy. He was using as a power source for random things and when it melted it was in his lawnmower. This raises much doubt as to whether it was an issue of the battery itself or what he was doing to it. I think there was another review stating that one blew up in a Harley. While it initially raised a little concern, I let it go. Lead acid batteries are considered safe even tho it's a box of hydrogen gas, but if everyone knew that some would suddenly be concerned about them. Thousands of lead acid batteries have blown up, but there are millions of them rolling around. If someone had a comparison accurately showing the percentage of catastrophic failures between the two it would be interesting to know which is safer, but it'll never happen. If a normal battery does something most will think there's something wrong with their vehicle or what they did to the battery, a new fangled one pops and it's the battery's fault. My gut says lead acid is safer, especially when subjected to abnormal use, but not enough to bother me. For about the price of a high end lead acid battery I have stronger cranking, 1/4 the weight, smaller case, no chance of acid damage, and almost no self-dicharge. Edited October 11, 2015 by superhawk996 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 That is because you live where you do. From what I have read, they don't like the cold which isn't as big as factor on a bike, it is on everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 What I've read is that if it's so cold that the battery is weak you put a load on it to warm it up and it puts out more power. Tho this seems backwards, discharging a battery to get more out of it, I've often found it to be the case even with lead acids at warm temps. I've put loads to several batteries while watching their voltage and often it comes up for quite some time before starting to drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptxyz Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 finally made time to install a new battery and the bike's back in service. old one was a super start powersport agm type. lasted 2 months beyond the 2 year warranty. as i think i took pretty good care of it (overnight on the battery tender about twice a month), i'm underwhelmed by it's longevity. i've had good luck with westco batteries in the past (3-4 years), my local brick & mortar (shout out to road rider in san jose!) had mine for about $70. i don't mind spending a bit extra to support this establishment. 1st time i've had a battery fail so suddenly. usually i get a warning in the form of an audibly slower starter whir. thanks for all the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrick Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Glad it was that simple. I hate chasing electrical gremlins and intermittents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.