Well, went out ot start the bike for work, runnin a tad late as usual. So anyways, throw the choke on and go to start her. I'm in the central valley of cali, and have never had problems starting the bike. So back to the point, i throw the choke on and crank her over, she cranks....and cranks.....and cranks...........and clicks.....now wtf. (there was more cranking in there that just got slower and slower until clicks) So, i pull out a spare car battery i have just for this type of occasion, I jump the bike no big deal she runs like a dream like always, and later today (about 30 min ago) I started her at work too, no hesitation. Was it just the cold weather? Mid 40's possibly high 30's or low 40's. Do i have an electrical problem, or is my battery just old. Should I buy a new battery and go from there? Buy a batter tender? Anyways, any suggestions to help alleviate the problem would be great. I dont want to go out and start the bike 30 min before work when i live 5 min away, lol. Thanks!
blame it on the cold weather...you can always take the battery inside for the night if you know the temperture will drop.
How long had it been since you rode the bike? The batteries don't seem to like to keep a charge when it is cold.
I would check the water level too (just incase).
I ride it every day to and from work, even in the rain.
Quote from: DanielyI ride it every day to and from work, even in the rain.
riding in the rain is not fun...once time i was forced to ride in a foggy, rainy condition and to make matters worse i was on the twistiest road imagineable... :(
Quote from: JetSwingQuote from: DanielyI ride it every day to and from work, even in the rain.
riding in the rain is not fun...once time i was forced to ride in a foggy, rainy condition and to make matters worse i was on the twistiest road imagineable... :(
That sounds like fun!
As far as the battery goes, I would agree with JetSwing, that it was just the cold.
Quote from: scratchThat sounds like fun!
well, you must have not imagined it the way i had described it... :mrgreen:
Maybe GIR took a liking to your bike. Is that why he's gone? :(
Could be the old nemesis of all things exposed to the elements, poor electrical contact somewhere. The fact that you were able to run the battery down to the "click" point tends to point to either a problem with the ignition making HV to the plugs or getting commanded to do the same. Of couse fuel is the other variable in this equation also.
The process of taking the battery in and out may have goosed the poor connector sufficiently to make it look like the change out fixed it. That's the problem with a "simple" electrical system, not many real-time diagnotic indicators. The same joustling could have rocked a fuel problem.
Check the connections from the sig gen to the ignitor and from the ignitor to the coils. (I tend to think the ignitor coil path is ok but hey, while you are at it.) The other possibility is a poor hidden connection in the ignitor. That thing is poured shut. I would like to have a dead one to x-ray and then autopsy with a hot knife, mototool and my favorite chemicals. The fuel system is just plumbing. Check by visual inspection.
That's my 2 cents worth (adjusted for inflation).
I'm not an expert, and without further investigation it's hard to say. I mean even if something else is keeping it from starting, the battery can only crank so many times before doing as you described it. If it got immediately slow then sure, you might suspect it. Maybe the battery is strong enough when the bike is more in the mood to start vi a viz fuel delievery, like later in the afternoon. Colder bikes of course don't want to start that easily, and a weaker battery will more show it's weakness.
There wasn't any chance you left the "parking" lights on, right? In fact that might drain the battery to the point it woudn't crank the first time.
If you have a battery tender, it will improve your chances next morning.
It might also be interesting to check the voltage on first attempt, second attempt, etc., and if it takes a quick dive, or wasn't about what, 13.6V or there abouts to begin with, another battery weakness could be the problem. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that voltage.)
You weren't riding with any extra electrical stuff on coming home before? There's not a lot of extra power there. Leave the voltage inverter and electric blanket at home!
The battery is the most obvious thing, but I recall many a time replacing the most obvious thing, only to still have the same problem, albeit easier to pin down once you eliminate the obvious.
FWIW (not much I agree),
Mike D.
PS: It's tempting to say put the petcock in "prime" when you first try, in case the fuel in the carb all leaked out somewhere. Or maybe on the second try if it won't fire up when you expect it to. But I don't know all the implications, like if this makes it more likely to flood. I do know if you do that, don't forget to put it back to "on." Just some suggestions from a relative newbie who sometimes thinks he knows things. I also like to push-start it down my driveway after a few attempts, before I pull out the car battery trick.
I forgot where i read it (probably here somewhere...) but on cold days my GS would do that. Generally after 3 or 4 starter "coughs" turn off the ignition...wait 15-20 seconds and try it again. Usually worked for me. Just don't keep hitting the starter or you will kill the battery. One more point..this usually happened somewhere between 32 and 40 degrees. Once it was in the 20 deg. range outdoors...it's hit or miss... :dunno:
OK, here is a better description, shorter but better. OK, so i cranked it, it cranked and cranked, well you know the story, and it died to clicking. Once i gave up trying to pop start it (never done that before, apparently trying in first gear is bad, eh who knew) i got that battery i spoke of out. Well i connected the jumpers (after getting that damn positive bootie off, which is hard) and tried to start it, fired on the first like quarter of a crank. Makes me assume it was an electrical problem, just a low battery to the point of not igniting.
Now for the parking light idea, my bike lives in my garage, so i dont lock the bars, now i HAVE hit the parking light before and not known it (3 hour class at school) luckly the bike still started.
As for extra electronics, nothing, no electrical mods at all to the bike.
I think maybe my battery is just old, I'll get in there this weekend if i get a chance and check the water level and all that other fancy stuff.
But i think its just a low battery, now the million dollar question. IF, and this is a BIG if, IF i change the battery, and a week or two down the line, it starts again, what exactly charges the battery? Can that fail? Maybe it is just the weather, i know it gets pertty cold in my garage, think maybe I should just get a tender, put a towel or somethin on it, pull it in the house?
Thanks everyone, I appreciate your help.
Quote from: Daniely.......... Do i have an electrical problem, or is my battery just old. Should I buy a new battery and go from there? Buy a batter tender? Anyways, any suggestions to help alleviate the problem would be great. ........
If your battery is old........strike one, if it is low on water.......strike two,
if your rides are mostly 5 minutes the charging ckt may not be replenishing the lost charge due to starting.........strike three.......your out! :thumb:
I put fifty miles on the bike tonight, I'll report back in the morning and let yall know how it starts.
Danny-
That battery is less than a year old, and had good water level when I sold you the bike. I really hope that its not your charging system. But, it might pay to have the battery load tested at NAPA to eliminate it as a problem. Best of luck.
Aaron
PS-You better take good care of my bike.
My bike wouldn't start recently. It's a slightly beat up 2001 that I just bought, and it ran fine for the first week, then the same symptoms you had.
I looked at the battery. One of the cells was 90% empty. A few others were less than full too. I filled 'em up with distilled H20, bought a 1.5 Amp automatic charger and it still wouldn't work. The battery wouldn't hold a charge.
So, I bought a non-sealed replacement battery at walmart last week, and she's been running fine ever since. *crosses fingers*
:cheers:
Quote from: JetSwingQuote from: scratchThat sounds like fun!
well, you must have not imagined it the way i had described it... :mrgreen:
I've ridden/rode in those conditions, on wet pine needles, on a Doc Wong riding clinic with 16 other riders; teaches ya to be real smoooth. Wet conditions really highlight where your mistakes are when you ride.
Quote from: aplitzDanny-
That battery is less than a year old, and had good water level when I sold you the bike. I really hope that its not your charging system. But, it might pay to have the battery load tested at NAPA to eliminate it as a problem. Best of luck.
Aaron
PS-You better take good care of my bike.
lol, Bikes great Aaron, best purchase ever. Glad to see you still troll once and a while :).
Anyways, back to the problem at hand. I think since lately i have just been riding to and from work, nothing else, that I wasnt getting a full charge. After my ride yesterday, I went out this morning to start it, and first crank started up, and its about 40 degrees outside. So, i guess next time it does that I will just have to take a long ride to charge it, OH the agony of having to ride long distanced :) hehe.
I ride pretty much each day, but often short hops so the battery suffers. Very often at 06:00hrs on a cold damp morning I just so grateful that I can turn off the lights, it makes a heck of a difference.