Battery or Alternator gone bad?

[Flying Tiger]

I'm noticing that I'm having to charge my battery after about every 10th ride.  (I'm ordering a Optimate type of battery charger to plug into the power input)    #-o



But I don't think I should really have to do this in the summer month, do I?  The alternator should keep the battery topped off.

I'm not running any other power accessories.  Has anybody else experienced this.



Do I have a bad battery or alternator?  Is there a way to check the alternator's charging capablilities?   :-k



The 2002 Tiger still has about 10 months left on the warranty.  If it's the alternator, I'd like to get it taken cared of while it's still under the warranty.



Any help is appreciated...Thanks,

Lawrence

[Guest]

My August 2002 bike had to have a replacement battery when I went to collect it from the dealer from new!!

I don't know whether it was the battery itself or a faulty alarm ( which failed a week later) but it could have been a faulty batch of batteries from Yuasa or wherever they came from.

[Flying Tiger]

I'm hoping that mine is the same problem as yours.  I'll take the lesser of the two evils.  At least I'm hoping that replacing a battery is less expensive than alternator work.

[dezrat57]

Hello!

i have  Battery Tenders on all of my toys 24/7, i seldom buy new batteries

its up to 115+degrees in the summer, heat normaly kills batteries but not since i started using trickle chargers.

best of luck,dave

[MikeF]

I have an 03. Since new I have kept the bike on a BatteryTender when I'm not going to ride for more then a day, which means that it has spent most of the 11 months that I've owned the bike on the tender. A couple of weeks ago I went to start the bike and there was not enough battery power to even light the lights. I had ridden the bike the day before.  So I charged it. It held a charge so I let it sit after riding it a few times and it was  OK. Then a couple of days ago it was dead again. Went to the dealer they checked everthing and all was OK. Since they felt that they needed to do something they replaced the battery "just in case". So I'm still trying to see if that has repaired the problem.

So I'm wondering if there is some relay that fails to shut off sometimes when the key it in the off position that drains the battery? That would explain why this would not show up with a new battery, but starts to be a problem with an older one. I don't know. Any thoughts?

[NortonCharlie]

My 01 955i Tiger still has the original battery and works fine.  I have never hooked up a charger.  I also have a heated vest and grips that get used when it is cold.  I ussually get a longer ride in 20 miles or more pretty regularly.  I have about 42,000 miles on.

[Guest]

problem.

So I'm wondering if there is some relay that fails to shut off sometimes when the key it in the off position that drains the battery?

I don't suppose that you're leaving the parking lights on? It's the next click on the switch.

[dezrat57]

on my previous post,

i use BT's always; but i have noticed on the fillable batteries a loss of water occurs,i check bi-monthly.

the sealed do'not seem affected???,

i've only had issues w/water types in same time frame if left low.

best of luck,dave

[Sasquatch]

It's the battery.  Trust me.



Went through this on the 01 last winter.  Battery even tested good, but the charging system was doing really odd things.  The dealer finally installed a new battery for giggles and all the problems went away.  The official word is that on the Triumphs, the battery is such an integeral part of the charging system, once is starts getting "weak" the charging system starts wigging out.



Some batteries seem to last for ever, even with abuse.  Our company truck, which can sit for weeks at a time, in temperatures ranging from -20 to 110 F, has had the same battery for over 10 years now.



My last FZR, with an awesome charging system, and a battery tender for storage, needed a new battery every year.  Go figure.

[Flying Tiger]

It's the battery.  Trust me.



Went through this on the 01 last winter.  Battery even tested good, but the charging system was doing really odd things.  The dealer finally installed a new battery for giggles and all the problems went away.  The official word is that on the Triumphs, the battery is such an integeral part of the charging system, once is starts getting "weak" the charging system starts wigging out.



Some batteries seem to last for ever, even with abuse.  Our company truck, which can sit for weeks at a time, in temperatures ranging from -20 to 110 F, has had the same battery for over 10 years now.



My last FZR, with an awesome charging system, and a battery tender for storage, needed a new battery every year.  Go figure.

Thanks for the ecouraging news, TigerJay;   :D/



I just recieved the Battery Tender yesterday and I am hoping this will resolve the electrical issues.  The Battery Tender's LED indicator light on the battery status on give me reasuance before I ride.  $29 for the charger is inexpensive peace of mind.



The 12v input/output on the side of the Tiger is sooo convienent.  I just park it, plug it in and am much more confident that I won't be walking home from a dead battery. (hopefully) [-o<  



Toward the end of the summer I may still have a Triumph dealer confirm that the battery charging system is in good shape.  (since it is still under warranty)



Regards,

Lawrence

[Flying Tiger]

I got stranded again.  This time 26 mile away from home.  Night time.  Cold.  The headlights gradually got dimmer.  The Speedo and Tach dropped to zero as I was still going about 40 mph.   #-o  ](*,)  :x



Again, rode two up back home.  Took the battery out of the lawn mower, it just barely fit.  Got home the bike home and put all batteries  on charger.



It's gotta be the alternator not charging, or working.  Because once the bike is running, the bike should be able to run off the alternator, Right?

   :-k

[Bushwhacker]

It's gotta be the alternator not charging, or working.  Because once the bike is running, the bike should be able to run off the alternator, Right?

   :-k

It is most likely the alternator.  It is definately something between the alternator and the bike.



The bike is running off the stored electricity in the battery.



On a car it could be either the alternator or the voltage regulator - I do not know enough about bike electrical systems to even know if they have a voltage regulator.



I know some bikes have a "rectifier"  (my Virago did) which does the same work that a voltage regulator does in a car and if it goes bad you get the same symptoms.



I would take it to a mechenic who has a volt meter and knows what he is doing to check the electrical system all along the way.  Could be just a loose wire somewhere.



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[Flying Tiger]

I was talking to the Triumph service tech over the phone, I told him of the particulars.   He metioned that if I put a volt meter on the battery leads to see if it's sending a charge, it should probably read about (at least) 13.5 while the engine is running at about 2,500 to 3,000 rpm.  (I know that with a car it's at least 13.8 volts)



In doing that, I was only able to get 13.2 volts @ 3000 rpm, at it's highset peak while it was reving.  I set an appointment to take it in.



He also mentioned that the bike died (once it was running) because basicly, the bike was running off the battery, and once the 12 volts are gone, the fuel injection stop feeding gas to the engine and everything stops.   #-o  



Now it makes sense why it didn't keep running,  I forgot about EFI.  My head was back in the carberator days.  (this is one reason carberators are'nt so bad after all) :lol:

[Bushwhacker]

He also mentioned that the bike died (once it was running) because basicly, the bike was running off the battery, and once the 12 volts are gone, the fuel injection stop feeding gas to the engine and everything stops.   #-o  



Now it makes sense why it didn't keep running,  I forgot about EFI.  My head was back in the carberator days.  (this is one reason carberators are'nt so bad after all) :lol:

Carburator bikes still need electricity.  Something has to supply spark to the spark plug or the bike is not going to run.



Also lights, etc need electricity.



If the electrical system is working correctly the bike should run once it is started whether it is efi or carburator - even with a bad battery.





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[ATDRS]

On any ECU controled vehicle the battery is used as a voltage buffer and if the ECU does no get a clean 12 volts it can default to off to protect itself.

No amount of bump starting or jump starting will help because of a faulty battery. Nature of the electronic beast.