Short journeys

[Sam-NI]

Thought I had my wee bike sorted. Viper_Biker (Gareth) did my fueling, and it was great. I had previously fixed my electrical issues (I thought)

Took it for a long run on Sunday. (Well over 150 Miles) with no issues at all.

Since then, i've only had it out on very short journeys, to work, and into the city, probably less that 2 miles each time. After a few trips, probably about 10, my battery was flat, and couldn't turn over then engine, just a relay click! It bumped ok tho!

Now, will a load of short journeys kill the battery, or is it something else!

Charged the battery up, started no problem.

Here's some Voltages across the battery so you can hopefully assess my problem.

Ignition off 12.9v
Idle, no lights 14v
Idle, Lights 13.2v
5k RPM no lights 13.4v
5k RPM Lights 12.7v

Check Wiring between RR and Stator, seems fine.

Checked resistance of the 3 coils of he stator, all less that 1 ohm, and all not earthing.

Checked the RR as the Elextrec guide suggested, using the diode function on the DMM and all readings where in range.

So was it short journeys, or something more sinister?

(Just realised this isn't the Workshop! Opps!)

[lukemillar]

How old is your battery?

On my old 675, I had similar issues. Charging circuits were fine, and the battery would charge up on a tender but would discharge very quickly - even if I didn't ride for just a couple of days. Eventually got to the point where it just wouldn't hold charge and a replacement battery was the only solution.

[Sam-NI]

It's a new battery, maybe 2 weeks! :S

[viper_biker]

Short journeys shouldn't kill the battery. There definately something astray with the electrics. Unfortunately, I'm useless with electrics.

[Le_Blur]

I had very similar issues which I traced back to a corroded wire at the genny connector behind the RH mid panel. I pulled the panels off to discover a rusty blackened connector which green corrosion all over it. Poking it with a screw driver gently made one of the wires snap and fall off. Oddly, I had previously check the resistances and each wire was sub 1ohm.

Anyway, the reason I mention this was the symptoms were exactly as you describe. Long journeys weren't a problem but short journeys spent bimbling through traffic drained the battery until it would just die at a set of traffic lights. I think with one of the stator coils not really contributing to the charging system, the battery was only charging off the voltage supplied by the remaining 2 phases and this wasn't enough to charge the battery unless the engine was running at high revs for an extended period. Could be what you're experiencing. I'd take a look at that connector if you haven't already.

[Davez29]

Hi Sam, I had a similar problem on my CBR. I checked everything as mentioned in the Haynes but was getting nowhere. At first I was blaming the RR but as I changed for a spare it made no difference, battery seemed fine too, I even bought a new one (wasted) eventually I just took the plunge and decided to replace the stator, hey it worked.. maybe look into this.

If you can bring your self to look in the CBR section you willl see my post here.. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=35727

[magg]

Were you running with lights on for the very short journeys, did the bike suddenly fail to crank or was it becoming progressively harder after each journey.

[Neosophist]

5k RPM Lights 12.7v

This isn't enough to charge the battery.

Perhaps the alternator is breaking down with a load placed on it. Or you have a bad connection somewhere but you seem to get getting a loss of power when the lights are on.

Either the genny can't supply the power (due to fault) or there is a short / bad earth / connection somewhere thats zapping the power.

I assume your riding with the lights on?