battery problems maybe?

[ragecage23]

So here's the deal. This has only happened twice now, but it's a pain in the butt. The first time I rode it 80 miles and parked it on Saturday, didn't ride it Sunday and it poured with rain. Then Monday morning the battery was dead. So, I bump started it and everything was fine. I figured my car charger (which is hooked directly to the battery) for my GPS had come in contact with water and completed a circuit. Then just this morning it wasn't a dead battery, but it was turning over slower and didn't start up for a good 45 seconds of it turning over. I've been riding it regularly just lately. Spark plugs maybe? What do you guys think?

[bigfatcat]

Did you look at the plugs ?

[mister]

In winter, I noticed my bike starts different if it's been sitting in cold wind all night vs sitting in a closed-off garage all night. Harder to start after sitting on the cold wind.

Maybe something like that? Cold spell?

Michael

[ragecage23]

The first time it happened it was outside, but the second time it was garaged. Which is why I'm confused, and no I have to go to a meeting in about 3 minutes so I can't look at the spark plugs yet.

[CndnMax]

Mines always a pain to start if it's been sitting outside in damp <50F weather.

[Kerry]

If the bike runs OK once you bump start it, the plugs are probably fine.  I would suspect either the battery itself, or the bike's charging system.

If you have a "standard" (non-sealed) battery, the easiest thing to check is the level of the electrolyte (acid + water) in each of the cells.  If the level is below the lower line, the battery may not be able "to take a charge" as well as it should.  Add some (preferably distilled) water until the level is near the upper line.  If that's not the problem, you may want to have the battery tested.  (?)

Personally ... I tend to avoid taking things in to a dealer (or even parts places like Checker, etc) for testing until it's the last option.  So, on to the bike's charging system....

You can have the best battery in the world, but if the charging system isn't recharging the battery sufficiently as you ride around, the battery will steadily lose charge as you ride.  The first indication of a low charge is what you're experiencing ... the battery can't turn the engine over at startup time.  After all, that's the hardest job the battery has.  (This can also happen with a good battery and charging system if you make a lot of short trips.  That's because the charging system doesn't have enough time to "reverse" the initial battery drain from turning the engine over.)

If you're handy with a multimeter, or have access to one and can follow semi-dense instructions a step at a time, check out this great document from John Bates:
     [SUZUKI GS500E CHARGING CIRCUIT TEST]

As the document indicates, one of the most common problems in this kind of electrical system is in the connections, rather than the actual parts (alternator, regulator-rectifier, etc).  I was bitten ... BAD ... by a slightly oxidized connection once upon a time.  See this old thread:
     [Ole Yeller dies a spectacular (but temporary?) death...]

If you don't feel like following the whole story after reading the first few posts, you can skip to the
    [Post near the bottom of Page 2 where I describe the final solution]

Let me know if you have any questions about the troubleshooting process or individual steps.

Good Luck!

[Kerry]

Gee - I totally forgot about the FAQ (with pictures!) that I posted 3 years ago... 

     [HOW TO: Test the charging system]

It kinda ends abruptly, but the pictures should at least help interested parties know which parts they're dealing with....

[ragecage23]

Thank you Kerry! it was the level lines. I added some distilled water and she runs perfectly.

Learn as you go, right?