Starting problem

[mdglaw]

I took the Rocket for a ride through Maine this last weekend along with my friend on his BMW F650. It was a bit chilly and I ran my heated grips and I have motolights installed. As we searched for a place to stay and the air got cooler I ran the heated seat. I have never had a problem running these things. We were not in stop and go traffic.

Saturday morning the bike would not start. We ended up jumping it from the motel owner's truck. I stopped at a NAPA store and bought a battery charger just in case. I did not run the above items all day. It started and ran every time all day with no problem.

Next morning same thing. Had a bit of juice, quickly lost. I pulled out the battery and ran the charger, She charged right up and started with no problem.

When I arrived home I disconnected everything and let it sit. It read 12.77 volts and in the morning 12.75. Last night I checked for current draw with a ammeter. I found a current draw of .103 amps which seems very high to me. Pulling fuses did not isolate the problem Only the general 30A fuse stopped the flow. Now this is interesting. No key on, and when I decided to reattach the negative ground just as it touched the battery post the generator and oil lights and the trip odometer flicked on and off. I could not get this to happen every time.

I left the battery connected last night to see how much it would drop and was surprised to discover it was only at 12.70 this morning. I expected it to be much worse. However, when I checked the load when starting the bike would not start and the voltage dropped dramactically.

It seems that the current draw is not the real issue. I am not sure why if there is an internal short in the battery why it would still start multiple times during the day. Of course the bike is warmed up, but still.

The bikei s a 2005 and the battery would be three years old, and has 16000 miles on the bike. I do not keep it on a charger but during the winters I switch a good charger between the Triumph and my Ducati.
Frankly, I am somewhat hesitant to buy a new battery this time of year.
Any thoughts?

Mike

 

[tmiller]

Three years old, I would replace it. That's about all the life you get from a battery. I have an '05 and just had to replace mine this summer. Got the replacement from Pep Boys.

Tom

 

[NativeOne]

Mike: The Rocket batteries are kind of notorious for being weak so I would at least have it checked by someone to see if there is an internal short. A 3 year old battery is at the top of its' usage and with winter coming on, probably should be replaced anyway.

Native One

 

[tdragger]

Mine was acting up last year as well. After disconnecting the terminal leads and giving them a good scrubbing, it has worked fine since.

It is very possible that you may be developing a problem with the ignition switch that many of us have experienced. The odd jumps of the gages when you connect the terminal leads makes me think of the switch. When mine went, I could jiggle the switch around just right to where the lights and gages would come on and I could hit the starter. Otherwise it was just dead.

 

[GreyFox]

Thanks G Man. That's the kind of stuff I like, basic how to information. I too am sitting on 3 years and just noticed about three hits to get it going.
Keep it up :!:

 

[TurboFan]

Wonderful Tutorial Gary. I will write 10.5 volts on the side of my battery charger so I can remember that number. Any comments on should I plug in my cell phone every time I sit at my desk or should I try to let it cycle down to the 1/4 charge or so?