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Author Topic: battery or starter??  (Read 4395 times)

Offline MiloMorai

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battery or starter??
« on: January 05, 2012, 03:50:23 PM »
I just hopped ohen I tried to start n my consours and when i hit the start button, got a click and all lights went out.  Clock rebooted.  turned key off waited, then tried to start again and got the same result.  It got rather cold last night but the bike ran fine yesterday.  It my battery dead or do I need a new starter?? Don't have a voltmeter
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Offline RFH87_Connie

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2012, 05:02:47 PM »
Check the battery connections and give the battery a charge.  Also, check the fluid in battery if it isn't maintenance free.
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Offline BlkBird

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2012, 05:13:33 PM »
Quote from: RFH87_Connie on January 05, 2012, 05:02:47 PM
Check the battery connections and give the battery a charge.  Also, check the fluid in battery if it isn't maintenance free.

+1 on the connections.  It doesn't sound like the battery necessarily but it does sound like you are loosing the connection when the amperage gets too high.  remember to remove, clean and reattach to make sure there is no corrosion between the surfaces.  Also check the starter connection if you don't find an obvious problem at the battery.
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Offline GeeBeav

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2012, 09:32:52 PM »
Quote from: RFH87_Connie on January 05, 2012, 05:02:47 PM
Check the battery connections and give the battery a charge.  Also, check the fluid in battery if it isn't maintenance free.

. . . and while the battery is charging, go buy a digital multimeter. It'll save you time and expense troubleshooting electrical problems.
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Offline Uded2me

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This forum is dead dead dead
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2012, 09:35:32 PM »
d e a d
« Last Edit: February 21, 2016, 09:14:57 PM by knight_mare »
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Offline redzgrider

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2012, 08:55:36 PM »
Your battery is toast. A battery can seem to be O.K. even when it's near its end, but one good cold snap is all it takes.
Lots and lots of options for a replacement, including cheap Chinese lead acid, American made lead acid or AGM, others.
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Offline Cholla

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2012, 08:22:09 AM »
Do not automatically assume it is the battery. Let's say you buy a new battery and install it. What do you have to do? Yep, R&R the connectors. The bake then starts so you think the battery fixed it when actually it was a poor connection at a perfectly good battery. Diagnose the problem before buying parts. Rule out the simple FREE fixes first.
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Offline kreaky

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2012, 10:52:57 AM »
Make sure that the battery electrolyte level is where it should be. Charge the battery, then take it to Auto Zone or whatever parts store is in your area and have it load tested, that will tell the story on the battery. Or, you can test it yourself with a multimeter. Connect the meter to the battery and hit the starter button. The voltage should not drop below 10V for a fully charged battery.
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Offline booger

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2012, 04:46:09 PM »
Quote from: Cholla on January 07, 2012, 08:22:09 AM
Do not automatically assume it is the battery. Let's say you buy a new battery and install it. What do you have to do? Yep, R&R the connectors. The bake then starts so you think the battery fixed it when actually it was a poor connection at a perfectly good battery. Diagnose the problem before buying parts. Rule out the simple FREE fixes first.

I always automatically assume its the battery, but my terminals and connections are always maintained spotless.  If the battery is 1 1/2+ years old, replace it first and save yourself a lot of time.
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Offline Cholla

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2012, 10:47:09 AM »
Diagnose the problem first and save time and money. If your car wasn't running right would you immidiately assume the engine is bad? If you had chest pains would you immediately assume you need a heart transplant? 1-1/2 years on a battery is nothing. The battery in my truck is from 2003 and the battery in the baike was, too until the regulator failed and burned it up 2 years ago. What if I had assumed just the battery was bad and replaced it without diagnosing a bad regulator?
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Offline BlkBird

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2012, 02:31:36 PM »
When a battery fails it will typically crank slower and then eventually give you the fast clicking of the starter solenoid.  What they almost never do is go click and loose all power.  That is a common symptom of a bad connection.  While I agree the battery may in fact be bad that could still be a result of a poor connection that has not allowed proper charging for a length of time. 
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Offline Daytona_Mike

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2012, 04:15:17 PM »
Quote from: BlkBird on January 08, 2012, 02:31:36 PM
What they almost never do is go click and loose all power. 
Actually this is exactly  what a bad battery does. I have had  it happen to me  a  few  times  (and heard of  many  times on different forums)  and the reason is a crack in the metal connection(s) inside the battery. This is why you take it to be tested with a load or put a volt meter on the battery and watch.
What happens is you will get a full 12.5 to 13 volts and everything seems to run perfect until you crank the engine and that added load breaks that internal connection and then after a few minutes it joins back up again very similar to a thermal fuse/breaker.
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Offline BlkBird

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2012, 04:40:10 PM »
Quote from: Daytona_Mike on January 08, 2012, 04:15:17 PM
Actually this is exactly  what a bad battery does. I have had  it happen to me  a  few  times  (and heard of  many  times on different forums)  and the reason is a crack in the metal connection(s) inside the battery. This is why you take it to be tested with a load or put a volt meter on the battery and watch.
What happens is you will get a full 12.5 to 13 volts and everything seems to run perfect until you crank the engine and that added load breaks that internal connection and then after a few minutes it joins back up again very similar to a thermal fuse/breaker.

To quote myself I did say "almost never" not never.  I work on cars and while the battery size is different the configuration is mostly the same and this rarely happens.  Yes it absolutely can happen but in my experience it is very uncommon.  Typically when someone has this concern / complaint there is a bad connection at a primary fuse, battery cable, or significant ground.  I know all about load which causes the break to heat up and disconnect.  I have seen more than a few dozen instances where those old lead battery terminals common to older vehicles will be slightly loose and dirty then the heat load will actually burn divots in the lead.
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Offline jworth

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2012, 08:15:01 AM »
I know it goes against conventional wisdom, but my experience is rather sudden battery failure.  When it happened on my Connie, I had just started the bike fine from home, went on a short ride, stopped to take in the scenery at the park, and then nothing.  I thought it might be a fuse or something.  That was with a conventional battery.  It has a 0-maintenance sealed battery now.   I'm not sure how that will work.  The last time I had battery failure in a car, it was the same thing.  Started fine in the morning then nothing when I went out to start it later. 

I have seen batteries get weak and not turn over strong enough.  That has usually been, in my experience, because there was something draining the battery. 
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Offline Daytona_Mike

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2012, 09:53:23 AM »
It has been 4 days and  MiloMorai hasn't come back.
 I guess we are having a conversation  amongst ourselves. He  lives about 10 minutes from me.
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If you still have fuel in the tank, you are not lost yet
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Offline RFH87_Connie

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2012, 09:59:12 AM »
He probably tightened a battery connection and is out enjoying a long ride .....
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Offline MiloMorai

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2012, 11:54:09 AM »
Sorry guys. I had to go out of town for a job. Actually on a musical cruise as s ecurity :-).  Took the battery up to the auto store and had it tested.  It was bad.  Got  a new battery and meter and everything immediately  went for a ride.  Thanks for all the advice.
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Offline Mettler1

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Re: battery or starter??
« Reply #17 on: January 12, 2012, 01:55:52 PM »
Quote from: MiloMorai on January 12, 2012, 11:54:09 AM
Sorry guys. I had to go out of town for a job. Actually on a musical cruise as s ecurity :-).  Took the battery up to the auto store and had it tested.  It was bad.  Got  a new battery and meter and everything immediately  went for a ride.  Thanks for all the advice.
 

   Great!! And you have a great week end weather coming up. :P
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