Anyone in San Jose area with some free time this morning?

[Mickey_D100]

Well, after several starts over the past few days to listen to it and chill on it, I was going to take the new ride out for an inaugural practice ride around the neighborhood.  It started up after 1 click yesterday, and I went to fire it up just now and it sounds like a clicking electric noise, almost like a short, coming around the area of the battery but that's about it.  Neutral and red light next to it are lit, lights work, but dash lights in particular seem to be a bit dimmer than yesterday; could be my imagination but I'm not sure.  I've got the clymer's and was reading through it, but I would appreciate some help and guidance if anyone is anywhere near Sunnyvale/San Jose area.  I think it'd save me a lot of goosechasing if someone else could take a look at it with me.  Give me a call at 858 344 8431.  Thanks.

Ryan

[DerekNC]

Sounds like your battery cables could use cleaning and tightening. Shouldn't be too much trouble to fix.

[Mickey_D100]

Clymers says a wire brush with baking soda and water solution.  Do you just mean disconnect and scrub the contacts at the battery?  Anything I have to be careful of as far as touching those guys?  Please excuse my utter lack of familiarity; I'm going to try to learn as much as I can by asking questions, even if they're stupid , but it's a slow process.  Is there any reason why it would go from starting immediately yesterday, even while cold and with minimum choke, to not even turning over today?  Could that really be a dirty battery cable issue?

[Hugh Jardon]

For now, let's say that this IS a battery problem, OK? If so, then AVOID the baking soda; if you get just ONE DROP into one of the cells, you'll have to drain, flush, refill and recharge the battery, which is even more aggravating than it sounds.

Did you leave the parking light on overnight? That will drain the battery enough to cause this problem.

Here's a quick test; turn the key to the ON position, and blow the horn. It might not be LOUD (damn suckass horns), but you should at least be able to THINK it was (sorta) loud. If it doesn't work, it could mean a dead battery, a dead horn, or both. Ask the previous owner if the horn works; he should know. If the horn DOES work, really loudly, then let us know, and we'll help you diagnose any other problems.

FYI, whenever you're working with or around a battery, remove the NEGATIVE cable first, and reinstall it LAST. Remember that; negative OFF FIRST, ON LAST. Here's why: If you're using a tool near the battery (or ON the battery), and you DIDN'T remember to disconnect the negative side FIRST, you can EASILY touch both the positive battery terminal, and the frame (which is hooked up to the negative side of the battery) with a screwdriver, wrench, or whatever. That is what is known as an instant short circuit; you might enjoy the jolt you'll probably get, but the odds are good that the other electrical components on the bike WON'T enjoy it.

Do yourself a favor; take a deep breath, then another one, and calm down. Odds are good that if you simply wait a few hours (not much chance of that, is there?), the battery will surface-charge itself (that isn't EXACTLY what happens, but I don't have time to explain things right now) just enough to start the engine. If you DO get it started, you'll have to keep the revs up above 7K for the battery charging system to kick in. It would be much better if you owned a REAL motorcycle battery charger (like a Battery Tender), or at least a motorcycle-safe trickle charger.

Whatever you do, DON'T keep trying to start the engine with a weak battery; you'll just kill the battery completely, and then you'll have no choice but to get the thing charged.

Keep us posted, OK?

[Mickey_D100]

Will do Hugh, and you've already been extremely helpful in the few posts I've interacted with you on, so thank you VERY much.  As an inexperienced person, I really appreciate it.  Based on a past thread on R1 Forum, where a guy had exactly the same thing happening, with exactly the same symptoms, it sounds like the battery needs to be charged.  This is in line with the past few days, where I've started it a few times without really letting it run; this would likely deplete the battery of enough charge without allowing it to recharge that the bike may not start, or at least that's what makes sense to me.  The horn did work yesterday as I've hit it several times by accident while messing around with things , and as of just now, I went outside and yeah, lights are dim and horn has pooped the bed.  I'm going to go pick up a battery tender from the store and hopefully get this worked out.  Any recommendations on what to get for that?

[Hugh Jardon]

Any recommendations on what to get for that?

Well, if you're asking me what type of battery charger to buy (not sure I understand your question), then I DO recommend that you call around to see if anyone stocks the Battery Tender, which is a motorcycle-specific battery charger, which will NOT overcharge your battery, the way an AUTOMOTIVE charger will.

http://www.batterytender.com  ; the homepage

http://batterytender.com/dealers.php  ;  list of dealers

If that ISN'T the question you've asked, then please clarify...

Good luck, and thanks for the kind words...

[Mickey_D100]

That was what I was asking, and since I had to go out anyway I picked one up at pep boys thinking I could return it if it wouldn't work.  I had seen the battery tender on another forum and recognized it in the store, so luckily no trips back for me.    I'm off to charge!

[Mickey_D100]

Shitballs.  This all took place in the early afternoon but I didn't have a chance to post it until now.  I let the Battery Tender run till solid green full charge, rolled it back to its parking space, figured I wouldn't try to start it until I actually had time to take it out for a spin so that the same problem wouldn't happen again.  Well that lasted about thirty minutes before curiosity got the better of me and I decided, well, if the problem WAS low charge, and I start it up just fine, if the problem pops up again I can just charge it again, and if it's NOT the problem, then I'll know to start looking for something else.  

Well . . . it's not the problem.  Bike was supposedly fully charged, lights were a bit less dim, and horn worked better but still not as strong as I'd heard it even the day before.  My bud is coming over tomorrow evening with a voltmeter and a battery we know works and we're gonna swap em up and see what happens; could just be that the battery is old.  I'll post an update when/if more develops. .  .on "As Ryan's GS Doesn't Turn (Over)."    Man I want to RIDE this thing!

[conflicttheorist]

You need to clean the positive battery terminal and connector with a wire brush.  I was using the battery to drive the scooter just before I put it in the bike and I should have done it then, my bad.  The battery holds juice just fine and there aren't any electrical problems, just corrosion I should have cleaned off before I gave it to you.  You should have just called me.

[Mickey_D100]

Thanks CT.  I'll give that a shot too.  I've no doubt that the bike is in good working order, everything seems to be in great condition, and yeah, the only thing was the terminal, especially the positive, looked pretty dirty.  I'll try that this afternoon.  I appreciate the help, and I just didn't want to always be ringing your phone off the hook every time a little problem popped up if I could get the answer on here without always having to bug you.  

[Hugh Jardon]

Gee, I didn't think he'd sell you the thing in less than perfect condition, since it looks so well-maintained. Just goes to show you that you can't overlook anything; the clicking noise you described indicated an electrical problem, but I figured the corrosion on the battery terminal couldn't be THAT bad, because how did the thing start when you first looked at it?

Don't forget to service the battery; use a flashlight to check the fluid levels in EACH cell. Make SURE the cells are topped up with DISTILLED water, then hit the battery with the Battery Tender one more time, just to have everything working as well as it can.

CT: No big deal, man; at least he's TRYING not to bother you; can't complain about that! You sold what seems to be an excellent motorcycle to someone who's obviously going to appreciate it, which is the best thing that could have happened to your old GS.

Beers all around!

[pandy]

Wow...harsh statement when Conflict jumped in immediately to help.

Can GS bikes ever be perfect?  :lol:

pandy

Gee, I didn't think he'd sell you the thing in less than perfect condition

[conflicttheorist]

Trust me, it is that terminal. You need to scrub it til you see the metal.  I was riding the bike right up until I gave it to you, it started first time every time, and the only thing I changed was that I took the battery out and put it back in the day before.  I noticed the corrosion on it, and it was not pretty, but I didn't clean it and I just screwed the connector on top of the corrosion instead of cleaning it.  I feel like a heel for not taking the 2 minutes to do that.
It probably didn't even need a charge, especially after me riding it 40 minutes to your place.

[pandy]

After seeing your posts and who you are, there's no doubt in my mind that you rawk. We can't think of absolutely EVERYTHING, and you jumped right in to help the moment you heard there was a problem. No one can ask for more than that.

Heck, you even said you'd paint the bike purple! Now THAT is kind!  

pandy

Trust me, it is that terminal. You need to scrub it til you see the metal.  I was riding the bike right up until I gave it to you

[Mickey_D100]

Thanks for the help again D . . . the only reason I was kinda freaked out was because it HAD started right up, literally not even a half a second of turn-over, every time I started it over the last two days before it (Friday and Saturday, maybe total of 5 times), and then went to a complete non-start with dim lights and everything not twelve hours later.  And the charger was only on it for a few minutes before full charge was reached, so I had a suspicion it wasn't that.  I'm stopping by the store tonight to pick up some distilled water to add some to the battery (slight bit low) and a wire brush, and I'm going to clean that sucker good.  Again, I'll let everyone know how it goes, and don't sweat not cleaning it; can't always think of/have time for everything, and it's an easy way for me to feel like I've actually done something to the bike without really havin a great opportunity to fook it up.  

Question: in the standard "baking-soda and water" battery cleaning solution, should that water be distilled or regular tap?

[Mickey_D100]

Well, the cleaning did the trick!  She fired right up tonight when I hooked the battery back up.  Lights were good, so I was hopeful, and first time, bloop, there she was.    I'm pumped as hell, even though it's completely non-mechanical, it was nice to pop the seat off, start unscrewing things, and all that shaZam!.  I'm looking forward to more wrenching, though hopefully on a voluntary, non-broken-bike basis.  :lol:  Thanks again for everyone's responses and help, and I may have to go take it out for a quick spin!