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Display Mesage #78924


Electrical issue
Written by cameron19444 on 9/12/2008 at 07:51 pm

Larry:

I initially checked the battery connections and they felt tight,
though I must admit they may have some corrosion I couldn't see.
Looking at my maintenance schedule, it doesn't look like I've
replaced the battery since I bought the bike back in '02, over 50K
miles ago. Think I'll eliminate "old battery" as a the potential
cause and clean the contacts and I'll see if the problem returns.

Thanks for your input.

Cameron

--- In ipcrc@yahoogroups.com, "Larry Butler" <larry_n_butler@...>
wrote:
>
> Cameron- This sounds exactly like symptoms I experienced on my
ride
> to Daytona Bike Week this year. At a gas stop in South Carolina,
> after filling I got the same responses you described. After
pushing the
> bike away from the pump and checking fuses, etcetera, it seemed I
got a
> more promising response depending on how the key was wiggled.
Voltage
> at the battery seemed OK, checked with a multi-meter. Eventually
it
> started and I rode to a hotel across the highway. Before checking
in I
> tried restarting the bike and it seemed to work consistently. As
I had
> acquired my first cell phone for this trip, I felt bold enough to
> continue, though with some trepidation. No problems the rest of
the way
> to Daytona. Days later while at the ABATE campground the
problem came
> back and persisted. The battery was now a bit lower (right around
12.0
> volts as far as I recall). I'd been using the battery to run a 12v
> fluorescent light in the camper and recharge my cell phone at
night.
> I've been using the 8 watt fluorescent light for years with no bad
> results. I noticed one of the battery terminals seemed no longer
> properly tight. Addressed that but he bike still would not start.
> Honda Riders Club sent out a truck from the local service station
to
> give me a jump and that did the trick. I rode around the
campground a
> lot in lower gears with the headlight bulb disconnected to restore
> charge. I had no more electrical issues for the rest of the trip,
nor
> after getting home, but I ordered a new DEKA battery. In
retrospect,
> I'd say: 1. I suspect the initial problem in SC was due to the
battery
> cable loosening up due to vibration. Possibly I did not have it as
> tight as I thought when last installed. 2. I had run this battery
down
> to dead twice in the fall by leaving my grip heaters on overnight
before
> rewiring them to use the switched circuit from the battery. So
perhaps
> it no longer had the same capacity after being twice revived by the
> battery charger. 3. I did not imagine the cell phone charger
would use
> significant power, but who knows? It would probably be better to
set up
> so that it could be charging while underway 90 PC 'Polar Cruiser"
> --- In ipcrc@yahoogroups.com, "cameron19444" <cameronsmi@> wrote:
> >
> > Shortly after my cross-country trip, I had a bit of an issue with
> > the battery, which I believed was taken care of with use of the
> > Battery Tender over the course of the next couple of days. I went
> > to start the bike this morning after getting the green light on
the
> > Tender. I heard a quick couple of clicks and then nothing. No
> > lights, no instrument lighting, nothing. Turned off the key and
> > turned it back on. The instrument lighting came back on, so I
tried
> > ths starter again and got the same clicking and loss of lights.
> > However, when I turned the key off and back on (several times) I
got
> > nothing.
> >
> > Checked the main fuse and all the minor ones that I could locate.
> > All were good, though I did notice some white stuff on the
contacts
> > on the four-prong plug covering the main fuse. I greased the
> > contacts and tried replacing the main fuse just to ensure it
wasn't
> > burned out but not in the visible portion of the link. Still
> > nothing. Checked for loose connections and burned wiring, but
found
> > nothing. Tried the four-prong connector again, and the next time
I
> > tried the ignition switch, it lite up and I was able to start the
> > bike -- I did verify that the clicking sound was the main fuse
> > relay. Nothing I did after that could make the problem return, so
> > I'm hoping that it was just the contacts that were in question.
> >
> > Anyone have this issue before and have it turn out to be
something
> > else. As I said, the battery was recharged fully before I started
> > the whole process, so that wasn't the issue. As a matter of
fact, I
> > turned the bike off and restarted it a number of times. I even
> > tried the kill switch and I couldn't get the problem to surface
> > again.
> >
> > Cameron
> > '97 PC800 "Chariot of Fire"
> > '02 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD with Velorex 700 sidecar
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>

Message Thread for message #78924