before you go testing things with a multimeter, make sure you are working with a known good battery... I've been burned by that.

d

Quote from: cd on June 04, 2008, 11:29:37 AM
and you dont need a meter or a jump start to test the battery either, you could just hook up a small light bulb to each terminal, low voltage, if it lights, you have power.

12v across the terminals of a static battery means nothing..............the only way to tell with certainty if a battery is servicable is to perform a load test on it, this replicates the conditions its put under when in use and the maximum demands of the bikes electrical system are being placed on it. It might show 12v when its sitting there doing nothing but how can you tell if it will still deliver 12v at the 60-80 amps needed when the starter motor is energised just by putting a bulb across it?

Answer:............ You cant......... You need to use something similar to this........http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/100amp-Battery-Load-Tester-53090-Draper-BLT100

Quote from: beRto on June 04, 2008, 08:17:51 AM

Quote from: ben2go on June 03, 2008, 10:30:13 PM
I use a friends Fluke multimeter.It's great but very expensive.I tried a cheap $15 one and it was crap.

What was it that made the cheaper multimeter less useful?

It was very inaccurate.You take one reading go back a minute later and take another reading and it would be different.It may have been that specific meter.

cd, I'm 90% sure it's not the battery, or at least, if the battery is dead, then there would be TWO things wrong with the system.  I'm familiar with what a bad battery looks and sounds like... when my battery has died in the past, it at least put out some juice, enough for the starter to click or the headlight to come on dimly.  This time I had full power to all systems one second, the bike running fine, and instantly nothing the next, the bike a big awkward doorstop.

It's a new battery anyways.  A month old, and I've not left the parking light on or anything.  True, I've not tried jump starting this time... can't hurt to give it a shot.

I'll of course test the battery terminals once I get the multimeter, and i'll report what turns up.

got the bike to run... not entirely sure what the problem was.  I did check the battery, cleaned it with baking soda, vaselined the connections, and retightened nuts.  Then I checked the connections under the headlight.  Each time, with the multimeter, I was getting good juice.

So, I guess the problem was a loose connection, likely at the battery.

Thanks for all your help, guys!

Take care, and good riding everybody.