It just died. Now it's ok again

[RogerRZ]

Hey all,

Yesterday, i just got back from a 6 day, 3300 mile trip. Beautiful ride, I'll start a thread with pics, honest. When I got home, I parked it and went inside to greet the love Mrs. RogerRZ, who seemed happy to see me. About an hour later, as I was putting it in the garage 10 feet from where i had parked the bike, it went from running, to completely dead, no indicator lights, completely dead. I pushed it the rest of the way in, and plugged it into the tender. I have a USB port on the dash, and it wasn't displaying properly (blinking). And absolutely nothing. I pulled the side panels off, and the battery terminals were good and tight, with no apparent corrosion. The 50A main fuse was also ok. I then put my multimeter on the battery, and it read 3.6ish volts. Hmmm. I had unplugged the tender to do this. I plugged it In again, the usb display was now reading correctly, the battery was reading 12.6v, and when I turned the key, buzzing and whirring, lights and it fired right up.

I didn't do anything to it, and I'm sure the magic men were off duty, as it was after 5 pm. What on earth could have done this. I'm a bit concerne...

 

[bimota]

is it showing 14v while running

 

[RogerRZ]

From 14.5-14.8

 

[Squibb]

With 14.8 v peak showing, this appears marginally high - however these plug-in devices aren't known for absolute accuracy, so check with a good quality multimeter. I'm thinking modest overcharging has gently cooked the battery during your long trip. Once cooled down, volts restored, for a while, but I suspect failure inevitable. Has the battery ever been fully discharged previously?

Essentially, the battery needs testing for CCA & condition at a battery shop & the reg/rec output checking. You don't mention Mileage/Kms or battery age - presumably original?

 

[Boris]

Check the leads to the starter solenoid. And the other end of the earth leath.

 

[Jlq1969]

Aside from the battery terminals, did you check this + terminal?

 

[lund]

You most likely have a bad battery, I have seen the internal of batteries break between cells and it will act like your experiencing with yours.
It is not really uncommon, you can load test the battery to confirm but batteries are cheap enough, imo if its a couple year old battery just replace it.

 

[Fennellg]

Batteries are a consumable. A new one will bring piece of mind. Maybe fix your problem. Certainly eliminate a variable.

 

[RogerRZ]

You most likely have a bad battery, I have seen the internal of batteries break between cells and it will act like your experiencing with yours.
It is not really uncommon, you can load test the battery to confirm but batteries are cheap enough, imo if its a couple year old battery just replace it.

It's got just under 30000 miles, and the battery dates from 2019. I'm happy this didn't happen out on the road.

 

[Fennellg]

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[RCinNC]

My original OEM Yuasa battery died at four years and 40,000 miles. I replaced it with a Super Start battery from O'Reilly Auto, and it's still going strong four years and 50,000 miles later. They have a BTZ14S battery (which I believe is the replacement for the Yuasa) for $109.99.

 

[MIKE R]

I had a similar problem on (dare I say it) a 1250 GSA.

Road to the petrol station, filled up and the bike wouldn't start. Even TFT screen going off. About to call recovery when it fired up. Road home and took the S10 out instead!

Checked the battery that night and all seemed good and put it on trickle charge for good measure. Rode it on and of for about 4 weeks without issue. It was then due a service so I mentioned the problem to the dealer. Dealer diagnosed a failing battery and replaced it under warranty. Sold it about 18 months later without any more problems

Mike

 

[RogerRZ]

Battery tests at 12.7v, 13.6v@ 5000rpm, 13.5@Idle with a known good multimeter. Checked every connection, all looks ok. I'll replace the battery anyway, it's been a few years. I'm a bit spooked that it did this the very first time I started it after it not missing a beat all over the country. Only things that we don't bad was a auxiliary light relay, and one of my pannier locks.

RyanF9 is right. It's boring. And that's a good thing.

 

[RCinNC]

That's how my Yuasa acted when it went bad. One day it was working fine, the next day when I hit the starter it barely turned over. I took it to an auto parts store to be load tested, and though I don't recall the exact reading, it definitely showed that the battery was shot. There was no gradual decline over time.

 

[Fennellg]

With batteries get out your ouija board. When in doubt replace. I have not seen a battery tester worth the time it takes to run the test. I simply measure the volts with it running and off. Running tells you if the stator is charging. Off is obvious. Much below 12v and a our bike won’t start. They are sensitive creatures that hat low voltage.

I preform these rudimental tasks with my free Harbor Freight Tester

 

[OldRider]

I would replace the battery. To go from 3.6v to 12.6v like that screams bad battery to me.

 

[Highwayman]

Bad cell, new battery.

 

[VRODE]

Bad cell, new battery.

^This