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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Saying hello and asking a not too dumb question...
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Message started by Eli F. on 06/23/11 at 07:58:29

Title: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb question...
Post by Eli F. on 06/23/11 at 07:58:29

Hey Guys,

New to Savage forums as a member but I've trolled since we got the bike back in '09. This is the second Savage we've owned, had a yellow one, a '97 for a few years and wife decided to sell it after she got a little shaken up riding in Florida. Then we bought this one, an '06, after she completed the MSF rider course.

We've put ~1500 miles on it.

I've not done anything beyond some basic maintenance other than the Idle/air mixture mod...and she runs really well.

I put a new battery in 'er at the beginning of this season and have had no trouble....'til the last couple of weeks. I started to notice that the starter seemed to "groan" a little more than usual to turn the engine over. Then, a couple of mornings ago the starter wouldn't crank the bike. So I ran through the list of things impacting the starting system:

Battery: just replaced it!
Starter: could be weak...but the bike is an '06 with ~5k on the odometer.
Decomp Solenoid: not adjusted properly? possible...

So I slapped her on the trickle charger over night, next morning with a good charge the bike started with no issues. No weak starter noises and in my mind rules out the Decompression bit.

So after digging around on here and reading the clymer's manual I thought the simple thing to do is just check voltage across the battery posts at idle and at RPMs. Don't have a tach so I'm not sure what she was exactly turning at but I had her pretty well rocking! 14.50 volts at idle, 14.75 to 14.8 under throttle.

So I started with the easy things...check the connections! Positive terminal was a little loose, other than that no real issues found.

This morning Sarah (my wife) takes it to work...and sends me a message telling me "it sounded a little weak again." That's regarding the starter.

So I'm sort of scratching my head...I thought if the voltage showed that high at the battery there'd be plenty to keep it charged up, especially with it being a new battery???

...I guess a gentle nudge in the next direction is what I'd ask you fellas for?

Thanks
Eli

One last thing, the RYCA conversions running around this place are fricking sweet!

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/23/11 at 08:23:42

Check he grund strap on th engine, right side, not too far from the clutch arm. Mite be corroded behnd there..

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Boofer on 06/23/11 at 09:09:13

Short trips to work every day do not really charge enough in some cases. Do you have any "extras" pulling current? And pull the positive cable, then put a test light between battery and the loose cable. A stuck brake light or other parasite will show a light or a drain on a meter. But first check the simple things already talked about.

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Eli F. on 06/23/11 at 09:11:42

Thanks, I'll check it out this evening.

Don't know if this came through in the first posting but the gradualness of this is what stumps me.

working fine for a few months. Then a week or two of reduced power, then notta.

Can that grounding strap gradually degrade like that? In dry weather?

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Routy on 06/23/11 at 09:21:11

Has the battery ever been run stone dead ? Not good for it.
No matter what, a bad battery is still possible.
After checking all connections, check the voltage at the battery while cranking the engine......while the starter is sounding weak. If voltage drops below 10.5-11.0, I would suspect a weak battery,......or a defective starter that is drawing too much amperage (not likely)

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Oldfeller on 06/23/11 at 09:30:01

When battery gets oxidized it can build up sludge at the bottom of the cell. This just happens -- can't stop it.

When sludge gets high enough to short plates, a very low drain occurs.

If you don't show any current flowing when you pull positive and do your fine scale amp test -- then you gotta suspect the battery itself.

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Serowbot on 06/23/11 at 10:22:00

787B71726A1D0 wrote:

Can that grounding strap gradually degrade like that? In dry weather?

I'd definitely check it... gradual rundown from short rides could too...

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by Eli F. on 06/23/11 at 10:47:32

Alright, Thanks y'all. I've got my list of things to check.

Grounding strap condition.
Slow drain on battery (could this still be an issue if ignition is off?)
Bad Battery

Someone asked if the battery had ever fully discharged. Nah, I even trickle charged it to full before installing.

Can someone confirm, if I'm getting 14.7 to 14.8 volts at a good RPM between the battery terminals...that would indicate that the Charging system seems to be doing the job?

Title: Re: Saying hello and asking a not too dumb questio
Post by OE on 06/23/11 at 11:56:59

14.7 to 14.8 charging volts should be just fine. If you've checked and cleaned all the connections and they're all good and tight I would suspect a defective battery.

You said it cranked fine after charging over night so I wouldn't think the starter is bad.

The ignition should shut everything off. You're not putting the switch in park by chance? I doubt that though.