Donate!
Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register :: View Members
Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
battery keeps dying (Read 94 times)
savage_skulls_
YaBB Newbies
*
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 43
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Gender: male
battery keeps dying
05/03/15 at 14:31:04
 
So... I'm having an issue with my battery dying and I'm having to use a little jump starter nearly every day. It's a 2003 with 5500 miles on it. Just put a brand new battery, spark plug, oil filter, oil change, and air filter in around 3-400 miles ago. It's a direct replacement battery from the stealership. It works fine if I put it on a charger at work. I only ride 3-5 miles to work so I thought maybe I just wasn't going far enough to keep it charged. 1st time it happened I had about 3 stops I made in just a few miles but it does it nearly every day now no matter if I take 10 mile ride on the highway just to try charging her. If I go out and get back on it within a couple hours she'll usually fire right up but if I wait til morning she won't turn over without using the jump starter. The only aftermarket parts on her are a set of skeleton hand mirrors, saddlebags, windshield,  driver backrest, and a pigtail adapter for my trickle charger. My rear right turn signal is dangling but still works. I had to run a little metal piece under it with duct tape to hold it up. Not sure if a short in the wiring could be causing the issue or what. I don't think it's an issue with the battery or alternator but I'm not too mechanically inclined either. ..
Back to top
 
 

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind-Ghandi
  IP Logged
Art Webb
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 3007
columbus, Texas
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #1 - 05/03/15 at 17:02:13
 
If it starts right after a ride your charging system is working, so either you have a draw you shouldn't have, or your battery isn't holding charge, OR........are you sure you're not leaving the key in the 'park' position? it'll come right out that way, but the tail light stays on
if you didn't look, you might not notice, and you wouldn't be the first to do it
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
savage_skulls_
YaBB Newbies
*
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 43
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #2 - 05/03/15 at 21:39:41
 
I've definitely checked to make sure the key is off. I made that mistake the second day I owned the bike. The battery is brand new and will charge with no problem when I connect the trickle charger. Took it off 2 hours before getting off work today and she fired right up. Where could I be drawing power from?
Back to top
 
 

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind-Ghandi
  IP Logged
justin_o_guy2
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

What happened?

Posts: 55279
East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #3 - 05/03/15 at 22:09:51
 
Just because it's new does not mean that it's good. Have it tested.
Of course, first, pull the battery lead and connect a light in series..
Back to top
 
 

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke.
  IP Logged
Dave
YaBB Moderator
ModSquad
*****
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 17806
Camp Springs, Kentucky
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #4 - 05/04/15 at 03:02:56
 
Disconnect the battery cable and see if it will start the next day.  That will help you decide if the battery is at fault....or the bike has a fault. Wink

What JOG is suggesting is to disconnect the battery cable and install a small 12v light bulb between the battery terminal and the lead you just removed from the battery.  If the bike has something wrong in the electrical system that draws power....then the small light bulb will glow even with the key off.
Back to top
 
 

Someday I will be old......But not today!

  IP Logged
savage_skulls_
YaBB Newbies
*
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 43
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #5 - 05/04/15 at 09:33:19
 
Didn't think of that. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Would the battery still charge well on the trickle charger and hold the charge for 2 or 3 hours if it is bad?
Back to top
 
 

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind-Ghandi
  IP Logged
justin_o_guy2
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

What happened?

Posts: 55279
East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #6 - 05/04/15 at 09:35:32
 
With bad batteries there are no rules.
Back to top
 
 

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke.
  IP Logged
Art Webb
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 3007
columbus, Texas
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #7 - 05/04/15 at 10:12:00
 
savage_skulls_ wrote on 05/04/15 at 09:33:19:
Didn't think of that. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Would the battery still charge well on the trickle charger and hold the charge for 2 or 3 hours if it is bad?

They can, if a cell is going bad
either leave it disconnected overnight and see what happens, or have it load tested
or just disconnect it and use a test light to see if the bike is drawing power with the key off, as JOG said
I understand the disbelief of a new battery being bad, but it does happen now and then
I do lean more toward a draw, though
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
Dave
YaBB Moderator
ModSquad
*****
Offline

SuzukiSavage.com
Rocks!

Posts: 17806
Camp Springs, Kentucky
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #8 - 05/04/15 at 10:18:30
 
I have had 2 recent battery experiences.

I bought a new battery for my Savage, it lasted 2 weeks and died.  The warranty replacement did just fine.

I bought a used 2000 year Honda with the original Yuasa AGM battery still bolted into the bike.  The bike ran and started fine even with a 14 year old battery (last summer).  No signs of any problems....the bike started right up every time.  I got up one morning and started the bike like normal, and rode up to the hardware store and I went inside and got what I needed.  I came out and started the bike up and rode down to the gas station a mile away and got gas.....turned on the key and got nothing.....not even enough battery to make the neutral light glow.  I got a jump start from a car.....rode around for an hour hoping to charge the battery.....and when the bike was shut off.....Nothin'.  The battery was stone dead - pretty amazing a battery can go from being fine to terminally dead in just 1 mile!
Back to top
 
 

Someday I will be old......But not today!

  IP Logged
Gary_in_NJ
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

LS650 Cafe Racer

Posts: 2625
Amongst the Twisty Roads
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #9 - 05/04/15 at 10:40:36
 
I've experienced a battery failure on a motorcycle battery just as Dave described. When an internal plate cracks, the battery can be fine on moment, and bad the next.
Back to top
 
 

A life-time student of motorcycling.
LS650 Cafe, DRZ400SM, FZ6N, SV650S, CB900C, Ducati ST2, CB550F-SS
My LS650=> http://suzukisavage.com/yabb2.2/Attachments/Left.JPG
  IP Logged
old_rider
Serious Thumper
*****
Offline

Backyard Bill
Productions

Posts: 3147
flordia panhandle
Gender: male
Re: battery keeps dying
Reply #10 - 05/04/15 at 18:04:29
 
SS, I think you might have answered you own question. Did you receive the bike with a broken tail light?
Was it dangling long?
Did you check the wiring before "taping" it back up into position.
Most new batteries do not just deplete on their own. Although a bad one might.
Putting a trickle charger on it constantly is just keeping the problem at bay and could actually harm the battery.
The light trick works to see if there is a drain, but will not tell you how fast it is draining.
Turn your key off,  use a volt/ohm meter and see if the battery volts drop as you watch... the faster it drops the greater the draw... remember you will have to be patient, it might take awhile.
If there are no aftermarket parts, and the only other thing besides the light, is the trickle charger line... make sure that the connections are not touching the battery housing.
You might have to pull that light apart and look close for bare wires.....
And that's my three cents.... hope it helps....
Back to top
 
 

We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.
  IP Logged
Pages: 1
Send Topic Print


« Home

 
« Home
SuzukiSavage.com
04/27/24 at 09:45:08



General CategoryRubber Side Down! › battery keeps dying


SuzukiSavage.com » Powered by YaBB 2.2!
YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved.