So I've been stranded a lot lately at gas stations. I'll fuel up, get back on the bike, press the starter button, expecting to hear the thrum of the engine, but getting nothing but clicking.

Before I dump a dissertation on the elusive electric gremlin (Frustrator electricus), relevant info on my bike: 2002 Suzuki LS650, all electric parts stock, 28k miles (I've had it since 19k). Relevant info on rider: novice at electrical work, first clear memory in life was sticking keys in an outlet. So I'm pretty much a doofus when it comes to wiring, but a doofus eager to learn.

So:

First time this happened, I replaced the battery (the unit was at least a year and a half old, in Florida). Result: Got stranded again. Wasn't the battery, apparently.

Second time around, I was able to jump-start the bike and get her running, but the second I released the clutch and pulled away, the bike would die. When I got home, I checked the clutch cable (result: free play was within spec) and waited till the next day to check the charging system.

Charging system check: got 100+V from all three yellow wires per the Clymer Manual no-load alternator test. Very low continuity across all three yellow wires, between 2 and 3 ohms. Good, right?

I discovered the plastic from the connector box that hooks the regulator/rectifier up to the alternator was fried at the black wire, so I clipped the wires, put new connectors on each, cleaned contacts thoroughly, put fresh fuses in, gooped the hell out of everything with dielectric grease, and wound it the whole thing up with a generous amount of electrical tape (until I can run to the store and grab a connector box).

Problem solved? When I tested the charging system output, I was getting good voltage across the battery terminals at RPM: 13.5V - 14V

Hooray!

Nope! Last Monday, I climb on the bike, hit the starter button, and nothing but click-click-click. Third freaking time!  

I charged the battery up to full overnight, and start collecting more data:

Battery (fully charged, sat half a day unplugged from charger): 13.1V
---no drop in voltage when I hooked the battery up to the bike---
Battery (in bike, key on, lights at low beam): 12.55V
Battery voltage (during ignition sequence): drops to 10.28V then comes back up to 12.86V
Voltage at idle: 12.8V  - 12.9V
Voltage at ~1/2 throttle: 13V

Bike fired up, I measure the voltage across the terminals from idle to about 1/2 throttle. I live in a quiet neighborhood, and wasn't about to rev the engine up to 5000RPM. Voltage rose with the throttle input, but never exceeded 13V. And anyways, the amount by which it rose was pretty insignificant.

So I took the bike out for a ride around town, about half an hour at varying RPM. When I came home the battery's resting voltage measured 12.89V (measured after the bike was off for about 3 hours). Yes, I made sure the key was in the 'off' position and not in the 'park' position.  

This is where I am now. Bike has a new RR, which I will test for continuity once I find the thread on this board that shows you how to do it (the Clymer manual says "you can't do it" --- challenge accepted!). Alternator puts out volts, but not enough to keep the batt charged.

I'm hoping it's just a short or a bad battery, and I don't have to replace the stator or regulator/rectifier (after I already sunk seventy bucks into this new one). What does this look like to you?

Two more questions:

• When replacing the connectors between the yellow wires and the red/black wires from the alternator to the rectifier, I snipped and capped an orange wire that led nowhere. It had a place in the connector box, but there was no corresponding wire leading from there to the rectifier. My question is: is this orange wire supposed to connect to something? It appears to be of no consequence yet, since the bike starts, runs, and has all its lights.
• I measured resistance between the yellow wires and the frame, and I got back a value less than infinity. I'm no Thomas Edison, so forgive my ignorance, but doesn't that imply the stator's grounded and needs replaced? Will the stator still charge even a little bit if it's grounded?

Digger wrote on 04/26/13 at 19:57:52:


You're right Digger! With the ability to process the information and translate it into a call for help such as this Sven is a prime candidate for   DIY training. I just wish I had a tip for him

Jut for giggles, pull the black box attached to the frame over the carburetor. Hold it up to your ear and shake it... any rattling means IT is fragged and is your drain. Been there, deleted that...

Last time mine was licensed (2011) it ate 4 batteries in a year. Took awhile to find that the decompression solenoid relay was bad.

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 04/26/13 at 20:21:14:


I have my doubts about the battery, so I'll have to get it load-tested some time soon.

The r/r was sold as new, but I got it from eBay, so who knows?

My battery terminals are squeaky clean as of this morning before I did the last round of tests. Main negative ground was cleaned recently, but it gets dirty pretty quickly down there, so I'll give it another go. All connector boxes in the wire harness under the seats were cleaned and gooped with dielectric grease before that, about two weeks ago.

If I get some time tomorrow, I'll give it another go, and make sure to clean the parts of the harness under the tank (since I haven't taken the tank off lately, and need to adjust the valve freeplay and decomp cable anyways). If I don't have a chance to, I'll make sure to report back when I do, and do so as soon as possible.

WD wrote on 04/26/13 at 20:57:49:


Never heard of that. I'll have to check it out when I tear the bike apart. During one of my sessions stranded at a gas station, someone told me about a mysterious black box you can just bypass. Is that it?

WD wrote on 04/26/13 at 21:53:20:


Oh, so this box controls the decomp sequence during starting. I'll pass for now --- this is my first time screwing around with electro-gremlins, and I don't want to get them too excited.  

Doesn't sound like anything is wrong with the battery or the charging system to me. What you need to pay attention to next time your bike won't start is the lights. If the lights don't dim at all when you press the start button, that means it has nothing to do with the battery or the charging system - you've got a bad solenoid or starter.

To find out if it's the solenoid or the starter, bridge the two large terminals on the solenoid with a screw-driver or wrench. If the bike cranks, you've got a bad solenoid. If nothing happens, you've got a bad starter.

Just be warned that it's going to make a heck of a spark when you bridge those terminals if the starter is good. 12V is nowhere near enough to harm you but big sparks tend to put people on edge.

Cavi Mike wrote on 04/27/13 at 05:14:04:


The lights do not dim on start-up, or if they do, it's imperceptible to me when the headlight's aimed at something (in this case, a wooden fence) when I'm starting at night.

So you're saying that if I have a bad starter or solenoid (per the test you suggest), it could somehow prevent my battery from charging while the bike is running, and my alternator/rectifier/battery could be just fine?

Data point: this morning I measured the battery charge across the terminals. Bike hasn't run for about 18 hours. Reading: 12.87V, unchanged since yesterday.