| Author | Message | ||
     Victorspecial |
I changed my oil the other day and fired the bike up to get things flowing. It died on me after about a minute. I tried to start it and it only turned but didn't fire. Then all went dead. Fuses all good. Checked battery voltage at it read 2.4v. That's two not twelve. Unhooked the neg lead and got 12.7. Had the battery load tested and it showed good. Did some continuity checks and found the starter hot lead shorts to ground. Is this normal? Solenoid tested good (this time). I topped the battery off on the Battery Tender and put it back in to do voltage checks. With the battery hooked up it showed full working voltage. Not 2.4v. Fired right up. Starter still shows a short to ground but operates normally. This must be normal. What could be causing this? I don't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Thanks all. | ||
| Shawns |
Check to see if it is charging after it is started. Did you turn the bars after it started? If so it may be a broken wire at the ign switch. | ||
| Victorspecial |
Charging is fine. Took the ignition switch apart last time I had trouble and it looks great. It's not the battery for sure. An intermittent short maybe. | ||
| Shawns |
Possible, but unlikely. My bike isn't back from being powder coated so I can't check the starter. If the starter is cranking, I would look elsewhere. Check the cut of switch on the bars. It' s hard to diagnose without it in front of me. A dead short would blow fuses, intermittent contact at the ecm or at your kill switch. Do you have a check engine light? | ||
| Victorspecial |
No CEL. Didn't check the codes. Low voltage makes diagnostics go wacky. | ||
| Shawns |
I would start with checking connections. Especially your cutoff switch. What year is your bike? The 08's had problems with the cluster draining the battery. If I remember correctly you had to leave the kill switch off so it wouldn't kill the battery. | ||
| Victorspecial |
I'll check connections but the cluster has already been replaced with an 09. | ||
| Victorspecial |
Oh, and it is an 08. | ||
| Shawns |
Like I said it's hard to diag without it in front of me. I hope for your sake its a loose connection and ya find it quickly so you can get on on the road again. | ||
| Victorspecial |
I appreciate the help. Like trying to diagnose medical symptoms over the phone. Not so easy. She runs. I don't know for how long though. Can anyone else tell me if their starter shows continuity to ground? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Focus on that 2.4 volt reading, I think that is your most significant fact. How did they test the battery? Load test, where they fully charge it, then put it under a high current load, and measure the current? Thats the only way to get a good test. Even if it was a short to ground, it's hard to imagine it doing that on a good battery and getting down to 2.4v, and the bike not smoking or on fire. That is a LOT of current. So that makes me suspect it is a bad battery or a bad battery charge problem. | ||
| Victorspecial |
I took the battery to the local Honda dealer and they tested it. The last time I had problems I took the battery to the same dealership after taking it to an auto parts store with a tester. Both tested it good. It is a new battery purchased this February. Yes, the 2.4 v was a bit of a surprise. I don't know what the hell is going on. After these thunder storms pass, I'll get some riding in and see if it happens again. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Victor - The starter is a switched-hot, so it should show ground on a meter. 2.4V is either a low battery or a bad ground or a combination. Honestly, if you've got an 08, check your keyswitch wiring. I've fixed mine twice, even removed some of the fairing stay to reduce pressure on the wiring. Loretta died 2 blocks from the shop, on my way home last week. Pushed her back to the shop and went home.. switch wiring again. 3 of the 4 switch wires were broken, in the insulation, 1/2-3/4" from the solder connections. Vibration failure. I'm replacing them with longer, higher strand/lower AWG wiring this time... I thought I fixed this last time.  Z | ||
| Victorspecial |
Thanks for the info Zack. I checked the key switch wiring last time I had electrical trouble and it was like new. All joints secure. I should check again though, given the trouble you've had. Took it out for a 80 mile ride yesterday and no issues. I hope it doesn't happen again. |
