Cold Natured Beast

Micksan

Supercharged
Joined
Nov 16, 2010
Messages
473
Location
Del City Ok
Ride
2023 Triumph R3 GT, 2022 Moto Guzzi V85TT,
I thought my old Airhead BMWs were cold nature , but I think my R3 has them beat.
Today in my shop it was 64 degrees. The i year old Odyssey battery was fully charged.
Went to start it up and it turned over , but ran down like it does if it is really cold outside. Cghecked tje battery , and it was at 12.5 volts , jumped in a car battery , still thesame thing. Recharged both batteries for about 30minutes. Then it started up. Turned it off . Restarted it with just the bike battery. Worked like it was designed to.
Last Monday night I had it out in the 30s and it started like it was suppose to.
Has to be something in the system. The battery has 225 CCA , and not old. On the Moto Guzzi 1100s there were bargin basement relays , that would go out.BMW had a coating on their early Oilheads that prevented a good contact in cold weather.
Before I go digging into it , has anyone found a fix for this cold start problem. It is in the lift right now. I want to look at the wiring diagrams before I get to carried away.
Thanks
 
Wwe are on the same page. I plan to run the jumper today. That will eliminate the relay.
Then on to the starter motor connections. I'll keep the forum informed of what I find.
 
The starter relay does not affect the voltage to the starter the solenoid on the starter does. The relay triggers the solenoid, if you run the jumper from the positive to the large cable on the starter it should boost the current. Be careful not to short it to earth or back feed your ECU. You should be able to use the starter button to activate it, if it is still not cranking run the negative via a jumper to an earth on the starter. That way you should eliminate wiring problems. Be careful and make sure the bike is in neutral and the clutch is in.
 
Good point . I want to check it any how because of the Guzzi problems. The fact that the motor is engaging should point to contact. It is just that it is not constant , that makes me want to touch all bases.
 
I'm fairly certain you've already done this but check all your grounds just to be sure. there cant be much except the

Starter

relay

switch

wires

one of those four is your culprit.
 
That is on my list of things to do . I'll be checking all wires. Plus will look at the size of the ground wires. I may also add one for good measure. Solved a lot of problems on some BMWs. Seems like they come from the factory with minimal Ground wiring
 

..I do believe that is the problem..the undersized wiring..some rockets have this starting problem..some don't..mine does..I've put in the Odyssey 625, with no positive results..some have went with a 300 CCA battery by scorpion, made in china..yuasa also makes the same battery, made in the US..that will be my next move..let us know what you determine about the grounds..
 
The Odyssey PC625 and Odyssey charger fixed my troubles. It's odd how it works for some on not others. I think that the starting difficulties in the cold are from the size of the pistons and the varying temperature clearances. The big pistons, crank and counter shaft all get tight in the cold, it's tough for any battery that small to spin them in the cold.
 
I just came in from the shop. I pulled the starter.
The top lug / terminal was rusted. It was not a full coating , but enough to cause a problem. I used a tooth brush style wire brush to clean it. The ground wire was dirty , cleaned it with electronic cleaner because of the plastic connector. The bottom lug coming from the solenoid , was not into bad of condition.
I coated both the top and bottom lugs with liquid electrical tape. This will keep them dry and clean. The tape is a liquid plastic that drys in about 5 > 10 minutes in this weather ( 45 deg) . I also ran another ground wire from the bottom bolt of the solenoid to the battery.
After I was finished I started the bike . No hesitation at all. First time today. It is suppose to get into the low to mid 30s tonight . I'll try it first thing in the morning.
 
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