Weird Electrical Problem

[mcneguy]

So, I have in the past forgotten to turn my motorcycle off only to come back to find a completely dead battery.

I have not ridden my bike ('08 Ultra) in a couple of weeks due to business trips and general rain here where I live, tomorrow was going to be dry so I decided to start the bike last night so I knew it was going to be good to go in the morning. I turn on the bike (very important piece as I now know that I didn't forget to turn it off), hit the starter and all I get is "CLACK" and everything goes dead.

After uttering several expletives, I remove my seat, take off the ECM cover to expose the battery and run in the house to grab my portable jump start thing. I get back out to the bike and I notice that my security light on the speedo is blinking again so I decide to try and start it. It slowly whirrrs but then starts, I put everything back together, ride it for about 50 miles and it starts once again like normal.

What could possibly be wrong?

[Smegger 21]

Electrical gremlins suck to say the least. Remove the battery, fully charge it, clean the terminals and connecters. Take your battery to a reliable shop and have it tested (battery shop or bike shop) could be the battery is going south. Reinstall the battery, use a little vasoline on the terminals to keep down the corrosion. Next thing, buy a battery tender and hook it up AFTER you turn off your bike. (we all have done the same thing, some of us admit to it, most don't.)

[mcneguy]

The battery is less than a year old, doesn't mean it isn't the problem though. I normally have it on a battery tender but I sold my home too quickly, the new one isn't done yet so I am living in a crackerbox apartment and my bike is parked outside every day now so I have no place to plug it in. With the humidity here, it is covered in water every morning but that shouldn't cause this, I wouldn't think at least.

[Smegger 21]

After you get it figured out I'd invest in a good cover till your new house is ready. (if you don't have one already) Good Luck

[baggerman11]

wife's battery went bad in 4 days. installed a new battery, charged it, put it on the tender and 4 days later backed it out of the garage, hit the starter, and click. took the battery in and had it tested, it had a bad cell. dealership said that they'd gotten several shipments of bad batteries. went to autozone and bought one, it lasted 2 days. they said the same thing. ordered one online and it's been fine for over a year now. just something to think about. both of the bad ones had bad cells.

[berserker]

I don't know much about secruity systems. What about a loose battery cable, just a hair will do it. Maybe when you pulled the seat off you bumped it.

To be honest, from what you wrote, I am not overly confident about you.


If it continues , learn how to use a volt meter. 12.7 when it is off. .5 or .7 actually tells you the state of your battery. 14.4 when revved up.

[FXRS84]

start by checking the battery, make sure its ok and charged.
do a search on testing charging system. check with multi meter, testing each component. I had a problem, rode around all day, but at night with lights on, if I
stopped for a minute it would not restart. If you cannot find the test procedure,
PM me I have it some where.

[petrock]

Originally Posted by berserker

What about a loose battery cable, just a hair will do it. Maybe when you pulled the seat off you bumped it.

I suspect this is the issue. Intermittent electrical problems like this are, more often then not, loose/corroded connections or damaged/corroded wires.

Originally Posted by berserker

12.7 when it is off.

With the bike off, anywhere between 12.4 & 12.8 volts is a fully charged battery. Doesn’t mean it’s good though. :-) After making sure the battery is charged, when you try to start the bike the voltage drops below 10 volts, then the battery is bad.

Good luck...

[Richard001]

Sounds like a bad connection or corrosion to me. Clean a tighten the starter wire grounds etc.