Hi all. My bike lives up an entryway that leads from my back garden to the street. It has to come out once a week for the bins to go out which means it gets started then ridden up the garden into the entryway and that's about it. A few months ago the battery kept going dead after a couple of weeks and I just got a new battery. It's been fine since until recently when I haven't been riding it much due to cold weather (haven't ridden it since Nov 12) so the only time it's been started is once a week for just a few meters ride up the garden. So for the past few weeks the battery has been too low on power to start the bike up.
Then yesterday I decided I'll finally get the battery out and put it on charge but before I did so I tried starting it and it fired up pretty easily. Then I thought I'd take it for a ride so I put my gear on and went to start it again and it didn't want to know. :doh: After putting the battery on charge for about half hour I put it back in and tried again and it fired up so I left it running while I put my gear on and took it out. I stopped while I was out and had the engine off and I was stopped for a good 20 mins before firing it back up which it did no problem. Got home and a hour or so later It started fine to ride it back up the entryway for the night. But then today It's gotta come out for bins going out and went to start it but nope, not enough power. The battery is less than a year old so don't know why it's dying over night. I can understand the weeks of it being started for like a minute at most then left for the rest of the week. Maybe it's just the cold weather and the fact I have a scorpion tracker on it.
Is it possible my reg/rec is broken? I had the alternator re-wound about a year ago as it burnt out so doubt it's that unless the re-wind was done poorly. Is it just cold weather or what?
Cold weather is a killer for batteries...and tyre pressures.
Check your charging rates & makes sure all the earths etc are good. Also you can check the reg/rec to see if a diode has gone, that's cause it to drain down when the bike is off.
Sounds more like an intermittent thing at a guess than a failed battery.
Quick simple test, at night, put your bike facing a wall with your headlight as the only source of illumination. Start the bike and watch for any changes in light output, should be minimal if any. Start revving the engine to 4000 rpm, there should be a noticeable change in illumination, if there is no change the most likely the reg/rec has died. If you get a small amount of extra illumination and your battery is dying after a few days of use then you are probably burning stators on the alternator.
The headlight definitely gets brighter when revving it. Not sure it would be stator as I did have it re-wound only a few months ago but also when that happened it was dying far more frequently to the point that I would ride it somewhere then it wouldn't start up even straight after riding it. Hope it isn't my reg/rec because they're expensive to replace and look a pain to get to.
I'm hoping it's just the cold weather and the frequent short engine starts just to ride it up the garden that is killing the battery. Never had an issue when I was riding it frequently and the weather was warmer after I replaced the battery.
The Reg/Rec either works or it doesn't, if your l headlight gets brighter then power is passing through it and it is working, otherwise it just turns into a heat sink.
If the alternator has been rewound it should be okay but if one stator isn't perfect and burns out, the rest will eventually follow.
As your light gets brighter, I would have the alternator checked.
Just weird that if I go for a ride it'll be fine. Just seems to drain overnight. But again had no problems with it since I changed the battery until now when the weather has been cold and the bike hasn't been ridden for over a month. So maybe I've just killed the battery prematurely. What batteries are good for the GSX and particularly have high CCA?
Mike, charge batt n get it tested is first step. If ok, then check charge volts, next is amp meter to see if a drain when bike is off. Max drain allowable is around .08. If above that need to find culprit, easiest way is just removing fuses one by one to give a clue to whats doing it.
Quote from: mikesaa309 on Thursday, 05 January 2023, 03:01 AM
Just weird that if I go for a ride it'll be fine. Just seems to drain overnight. But again had no problems with it since I changed the battery until now when the weather has been cold and the bike hasn't been ridden for over a month. So maybe I've just killed the battery prematurely. What batteries are good for the GSX and particularly have high CCA?
I've had success with the SSB lithium.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184241435244?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=xOoRoHOEQly&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=_M0J_4k6R_O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Quote from: mikesaa309 on Thursday, 05 January 2023, 03:01 AM
Just weird that if I go for a ride it'll be fine. Just seems to drain overnight. But again had no problems with it since I changed the battery until now when the weather has been cold and the bike hasn't been ridden for over a month. So maybe I've just killed the battery prematurely. What batteries are good for the GSX and particularly have high CCA?
I had a fairly brand new battery fail after 15 months. On charge etc, behaved ok and looked good, but one day after a short ride and stopping for petrol, was completely flat. Jump started bike to ride home, and all ok, even held charge. Had battery tested and one cell had started to break up.
Fitted a new battery (and to answer your other question) I fitted a new Yuasa YTX14H-BS, this is the heavy duty version of the standard battery (which is a Yuasa YTX14-BS) and gas 240CCA compared to the standard battery with 200CCA.
After fitting the YTX14H-BS it's been good as gold. Available from Halfords.
Shall have to look into getting the Yuasa YTX14-BS at some point. I don't get it though, the other day I went out for a ride then the next day it wouldn't start again. I did however buy a jump-start battery pack. Basically, a portable phone charger with it's own jump leads. The piece of kit is awesome, just hook it up to the battery and start the bike (even works on cars and other vehicles). Went out for a ride which was 3-4 days ago, then today I go out on it and I have jump-start kit at the ready as it was only 10c, but the bike started up. Really don't get what is going on lol. But for now, I'll put up with the jump start kit and then when I start riding more will get a new battery. Not really riding too much this time of year.