RIII electrical issues, help please.

With the OEM YUASA battery which has been in the rocket for 2 years the charge wouldn't hold while riding, so after maybe 6-8 rides it wouldn't start the bike so I charged it with a battery charger. Then after 2 cycles of 6-8 rides it would only last a couple of rides after wall charging it. I ordered & installed a replacement battery, non-Yuasa. With the brand new battery after a few rides it wouldn't turn over the engine as well but this time it sounded like the starter didn't get enough juice to even begin to turn over. With the new battery, and the engine starter button not making the usual starting sounds, the clock would reset as well when the bike was turned on...

The battery charger I use has a diagnostic mode and it shows the new battery as new and the YUASA battery as still good.

Maybe there are more than one electrical gremlins in play? Any ideas? Thanks!

Check voltage when bike is idling,should be 13.4 volts if not sounds like a charging system problem.

If the batteries show a full charge and are known good, I would check and physically clean those battery connections top and bottom. Make sure everything is tight. Next, I would look at that starter relay and the starter switch (less likely) which activates the relay. Are your lights disengaging during the starting process? Last, I guess I would take a look at the starter. Plenty of posts on starter replacement, substitutes and repair. It would be interesting to see what kind of voltage or current draw down you have on the battery when trying to start the the bike. 300 cca's is the minimum for a rocket battery in my opinion with a 320 cca being a good choice. I like this little item as a starting point for checking voltage drop during starting and checking your charging system. Not perfect, but very affordable.

Fingers said:

Check voltage when bike is idling,should be 13.4 volts if not sounds like a charging system problem.

Click to expand...

+1
IF IT IS CLOSE TO 13.4 THEN EITHER REPLACE OR CLEAN CABLES sorry caps