Current leakage - How to fix?

[jasonisme]

I've been having problems with the battery going flat for no apparent reason far too quickly for a month or so now, and having checked the current leakage I found it to be about 12-14mA which I imagine is my problem, but I'm not really sure how to go about fixing it.  I'm guessing I've got a short circuit or false earth somewhere, but has anyone got any suggestions on the best way to go about checking, and where to look?  A whole bike full of wires is a quite an intimidating thing to start searching through.

[sledge]

First thing to check for is water ingress, water in switches, bulb holders and connectors can cause the problem you describe. After that, check the components that are in circuit with the ignition turned off, i.e. starter solenoid and regulator/rectifier. If that turns up nothing you will have to isolate the different sections of the wiring harness by disconnecting the various plugs and then checking on current draw as each section is disconnected, when you identify which section of wiring is causing the drain you will then have to isolate each component in that section until you identify what is actually causing the drain.

I am going to assume your battery is servicable and that you are not accidently turning on the parking light when you remove the key.

[jasonisme]

Having had a bit of a poke about, I've spotted a couple of things that might be problems and might not, I can't really tell. 

For a start, at some point the drain tube from the battery must have not been attached because the starter relay is pretty corroded, but still seems to be working ok.  also, the fuse seems to have managed to melt a hole in the plastic cover it's got, which I can't imagine is a good thing but I'd have thought if the fuse was screwed the electrics just wouldn't work?

The current leakage completely stopped as soon as I unplugged the regulator/rectifier, but I don't know if that means anything because the wiring diagram makes it look like unpluggin it just breaks the circuit.  I checked the current drawn with the parking light on and the reg/rec plugged in and unplugged, and it drew about 15ma less with it unplugged, which suggests to me that there's a problem there but I might just be completely misunderstanding it.  Can anyone give me some more pointers?  Is it going to be the rec/rec or is it just trying to confused me?

[mattress]

sorry, I don't have any advice for your situation, but however I did have a question for you.  How did you test your power leakage?  I'm have a grimlen in my truck that's been killing the battery over night ... and I never knew how to test the current draw.

anyway, more and more signs are pointing to a dead cell in the battery, and that it's just not holding a charge...

[jasonisme]

You can test the current leakage by unplugging the negative battery lead with the bike off, then sticking a multimeter set to about 20mA with the negative end on the battery terminal and the positive end on the disconnected lead.  You should get 5mA or less.  If the bikes on anything other than off or steering locked then you'll need the setting on the meter at 10A or so or it'll blow the poor little thing.  I wish I'd only done that once.

On the subject of the melted fuse boxes, I pushed the bike a bit hard on my way home tonight, and when I got off there was a strong smell of melted plastic and the fusebox was rediculously hot.  I'm not sure if this means anything though.

[sledge]

Assuming you disconnected the alternator from the reg/rect and are happy with it. The fault can only be down to the reg/rect, it requres replacement, they cant be repaired. In normal operation it provides a return path to ground for excessive voltage/current when the engine is running but it shouldnt when the bike is unused. A faulty battery will not cause current leakage to earth.

Mattress?
The most likely cause of your problem is a suspect alternator.

[jasonisme]

Thanks, that's what I guessed but didn't want to wast £50 on a guess

[sledge]

I think the Haynes manual details a simple go/no-go for the reg/rect using a multimeter, alternatively a franchised suzuki dealer may have suitable test gear and might be able to do a test on it while you wait if you take it round to them.