Not starting or crankinking at all

[Sidk]

I just drove 15 Km and noticed the lights where rather dim. so i parked the bike. and when i tried to start it again nothing.  no cranking at all lights very dim and just a buzzing sound when trying to crank.

my non technical self thinks its the battery.. but id thought id ask the experts..

strandedly yours..

Sid.

[London_Phil]

That kinda sounds like a flat battery.
Hope you get recovered safely, then we can all remotely diagnose a charging problem..

[ssevy]

What he said

[Sidk]

Jumper cables juice and we got a runner..

drove back home.. all goes well. parked it and waited a bit.. and the bike started up again fine with no issue.   

very strange as i did the same distance going out and it went flat.. but coming back all was peachy...

will try again tomorrow morning and see what happens.. weird.

[Sin_Tiger]

Stick a voltmeter across the battery terminals with the ignition off, note the voltage, switch the ignition on and note the voltage, start it up and bring the revs up to about 2500 and note the voltage again.

You should see a trend like this (actual voltages will differ but the pattern is the important point) Off 12.8V, Ignition On 12.1V, running 13.6V. If you don't see that, you have a charging fault.

The Steamer charging circuit is pretty simple, so it's either, a duff battery, a wiring fault or a faulty alternator.

[Sidk]

Stick a voltmeter across the battery terminals with the ignition off, note the voltage, switch the ignition on and note the voltage, start it up and bring the revs up to about 2500 and note the voltage again.

You should see a trend like this (actual voltages will differ but the pattern is the important point) Off 12.8V, Ignition On 12.1V, running 13.6V. If you don't see that, you have a charging fault.

The Steamer charging circuit is pretty simple, so it's either, a duff battery, a wiring fault or a faulty alternator.

Thanks for the input..


Tried starting the bike this morning.. started on the first try..

will get the voltmeter out tomorrow and see what happens..

[davetheworv]

check battery leads are tight too and joint is clean, simple but ........

[Sidk]

ok.. i put a voltmeter to the battery terminals (which are clean and tightened)

ignition off: 12.3V
ignition on : 12V
at 2500RPM: 14.7V

after sitting for a day with only a start up for 20seconds it started up again on the first try.

[Sin_Tiger]

Your charging system and wiring is good.

Check / clean the battery connections as the man says, protect with some dielectric grease.

If your battery is more than two years old and it happens again, time to invest in a new battery. Please don't ask which one, there's more than enough be said on the subject 

[Mustang]

odds are more than likely just a duff battery................

steamers have a very reliable charging system .............

once the bikes running you can completely remove the battery and it;; still run fine

I have 4 steamers and every single one , cooks the electrolyte (acid) in the battery after the first year that the level is always low. topping off with distilled water does nothing for them , a fresh shot of electrolye usually gets a little more life out of them ( maybe a month or two.)

in the 20 plus years of feeding these beasts I discovered long ago that the battery is not big enough for a steamer............needs a higher amp hour rated one . like a car battery .but there isnt room.

2 years tops is all I can get out of the cheap ass ones from walmart.
but for 40 bucks i throw a new one in every spring and never have battery troubles again .

[Sidk]

7
Your charging system and wiring is good.

Check / clean the battery connections as the man says, protect with some dielectric grease.

If your battery is more than two years old and it happens again, time to invest in a new battery. Please don't ask which one, there's more than enough be said on the subject 

I promise not to ask about battery models and i pre promise nothing about tyres either.

[Sidk]

odds are more than likely just a duff battery................

steamers have a very reliable charging system .............

once the bikes running you can completely remove the battery and it;; still run fine

I have 4 steamers and every single one , cooks the electrolyte (acid) in the battery after the first year that the level is always low. topping off with distilled water does nothing for them , a fresh shot of electrolye usually gets a little more life out of them ( maybe a month or two.)

in the 20 plus years of feeding these beasts I discovered long ago that the battery is not big enough for a steamer............needs a higher amp hour rated one . like a car battery .but there isnt room.

2 years tops is all I can get out of the cheap ass ones from walmart.
but for 40 bucks i throw a new one in every spring and never have battery troubles again .

hmm i wonder if i could mount a car battery in the back inside a givi case..

[London_Phil]

Funnily enough there an active girly thread on a sudden death battery, get em in early boys....

[Sin_Tiger]

I promise not to ask about battery models and i pre promise nothing about tyres either.

You're in touch with the forum Ying Yang then 

[Sidk]

I haven't touched anyones ying yang...