Ok. So when I bought my bike I drove it home from the dealership and parked it over night. I got up in the morning to start it and it would not start. I took the battery to the dealership and they charged it for me and said it has a full charge. I drove it for a week and one morning it wouldn't start again so I jump started it and drove around for an hour and for the next couple of days it started up no problem, but today I got up all excitted to ride to work and the battery I's dead again. My question is... Is it just the battery that will not hold a charge or is this a bigger problem?
I have the same problem with my bike but i figured out the problem was with a short in wiring and taillight used to be on even after switching of the ignition.I suspect your battery problem may be due to short in wiring and its draining the battery.so until i traced the short i just used to disconnect the battery.
unless the battery's fluid levels are low it should hold a charge just fine. I would also look into something that's slowly draining it, unless you've just got an old battery with no electrolyte left.
did you install anything before you noticed the problem? Heated grips? new signals?
I just put new rear turn signals in but this problem was happening even before that. How can I find out if it is a short in the wiring?
I also just noticed that the highbeams were switch was left on after the bike was turned off. Not sure if that would make a difference?
Most newer bikes come with maintenance free batteries, I wonder why the new GSs still have the old type.
You're not putting it in "P" on the ignition when you park are you? Is the taillight off when you get off the bike?
Nope. I'm putting it to lock. No tail light or parking light are on at all!
Do any dash lights come on when it's seems to be dead?
Do you have a way to check voltage, a volt meter?
How are the connections to the battery, starter, regulator/rectifier?
I think you should get the battery load tested to confirm whether it's good or bad? You need to at least confirm the battery's condition.
Ya. The lights on the dash come on but there just isn't enough power to turn the bike engine over
So the engine cranks over slowly when trying to start? You hearing a click from the starter solenoid when you press the starter button?
I think there might be a clicking not really sure but it does try to start but cranks slowly. Yes! Do you know what my problem is?
Can't honestly say I do, but if the starter is cranking over the engine, the solenoid is working. It sounds more like a bad battery or charging system problem to me. But you still need to get the battery fully charged and have it load tested. Do you have a voltmeter to test the charging system?
The dealership I bought it from is going to replace the battery for me? How can I check the charging system and what is it?
The charging system generate electricity that runs all your lights, starter, ignition system, charges your battery, etc...
Let us know how it goes after you get the battery. You may not need to check the charging system.
Will do. Thanks for the help
Use this flowchart.
http://hondanighthawks.net/electrical_fault_finding.pdf
Easy.