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12-12-2003, 07:44am

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12-12-2003, 07:48am

WTF

what ya talkin bout man

12-12-2003, 10:05am

...I'll try again later - I'm getting busted at work.

Briefly it's about how the indicators can stop your bike from working.

12-12-2003, 10:06am

HTML Comments are not allowed

28-01-2004, 07:30pm

And??

31-01-2004, 08:20am

Fairly long post, but bare with it as this is bizarre and just might help you out in the future. I need some answers.

Few months back my bike went dead after a 120km run, just as I flicked on the indicator. Wouldn't start again.
Dodgy mechanic charged me $270 and completely 'rewired' the LED tail-lights on my bike. I had done a dodgy job trying something out, and he just bitched about the wiring confusing the rectifier or something. His wiring was even more laughable than my own, but I thought what the hey? He did get it going. After EVERY ride something would pop out of his crap wiring that I would have to fix.

Daily riding covering 240km. OK for about a month. Then on the way home after about 75km I spot a Police car making everyone behave themselves, so I ride real slow behind it for 10km. Stop for petrol. Get back on - Dead!
NRMA bloke jump starts it and says the bike will get me home the battery was just flat. After 210km that day?
I get on, and sure enough it goes the remaining 28km without a hitch. Next day, and for the the next month absolutely no problems with daily 240km trips. So it has to be charging, right? Dodgy mechanic just charged the battery the first time for $270 thank you very much.

About another month goes by (yesterday), arrive at work switch it off, open garage door, go to switch it on - dead! After 120km ride. Go to shop, buy battery charger with wire that stays on the bike and tends to the battery without damaging it, and just leave it. Fully charged in about six-seven hours. Now running fine again.

Battery shows healthly numbers and seems to be holding a charge when I check it for about ten days straight after every ride. Shows 12.85ish.

Manual says the volt-metre should show 13.5+ at 5,000 revs, but it doesn't shows about 13. Can't figure out the rectifier's numbers, but I'll lean towards them being iffy. Provided I'm testing right, they are nothing like what the manual says.

The stuff around the generator I think it's wise I leave alone. Only so much you can glean from books.

I plan to plug the bike in at home and at work after every ride, even though it runs okay for a month after one decent ride. Just have to wait until it packs in properly and problem is clear. It does give a warning about five to six starts out before it packs in, but I don't think will now with the battery tender.

The manual list 'abnormal riding conditions' as a possible fault. What the hell is that? Charging seems okay up to 5,000 revs so it can't be excessive slow riding, like when I was following the cop.

What the heck is going on?

31-01-2004, 11:00am

Hard to believe the International Bike of the Year 1999 has any problems at all.:">
Had a similar problem. Though I left the heated hand grips on! Turned out to ne a resistor between an aftermarket light was running hot and drawing power. Battery went dead after a couple of days. Yeah I know I should have been riding it more!
Doesn't explain your problem though. WTF
Had a dodgy regulator in the alternator of my (BORING) car. Sounds similar to the problem your having now.
Hope you get on top of it. Might help someone else out down the track.
That's alot of klms. I don't think the Busa was made for it. No one else in the club has ever travelled that sort of Klms.
Cheers, Phil. Riding and berleying............

31-01-2004, 11:02pm

Keep with the battery charger when at home anyway. It'll help to prolong the life of the battery.

My alarm flattens mine if left for too long (about a week). The bonus is that you've subtracted one possible cause of a fault. If the bike plays up in a few months, and the battery tests okay (a CCA test is different to just placing a voltmeter across the battery - can be done at Battery World for you), it must be something else.

A flat (or nearly flat battery) can cause a whole manner of weird things to happen, and very intermittently. Ensure your battery is fully charged before you go for a ride and you'll have just that little bit extra piece of mind.
Peter Altas
BUSA-1

01-02-2004, 08:30am

Another possible cause here, somthing i had happen once before to a different cycle but was done through dodgy wiring.
Possible you have an electrical leak when the thing is turned off. Something is still drawing power when the bike is turned off. Stick an ammeter in the battery line and see if any current is drawn when turned off.

Tom

02-02-2004, 08:12am

Shouldn't a healthy 12v battery, read 12v?

What's the upper and lower good battery range?

Bike running great still.

04-02-2004, 08:06pm

With any battery, around 80% rated voltage is considered too low (around the 10 Volt mark). When charging, the battery should read greater than this (around 13-14 Volts).

The ammeter is a clever idea to check for "phantom loads".
My alarm is a good example of one, along with GDYUP's heated hand grips. Anything non-standard could be a culprit. If your bike is absolutely stock, there shouldn't be a problem.
Peter Altas
BUSA-1

05-02-2004, 03:08pm

Is it the original Battery?

That'd be my guess. It can read fine until under the load of the starter, and then fail intermittently.
I'd also expect 12volts out of a fully charged battery with no load - ie. turned off.

Only trouble with intermittents. you've got to suck it and see. . . and even then you might not ever really know!

hope you get to the bottom of it.

cheers,

WARD

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