| Author | Message | ||
     Haven564 |
Hello, I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Haven't tried to start the bike in about a month. Yesterday, went to start it and makes a loud clicking noise. Put a multi-meter across the battery and the voltage dropped from 12 to around 7 when trying to start. Had the battery on a trickle charger. Purchased a brand new battery and charged it over night. Connected the new battery up this morning....and same thing (clicking). The voltage drops to 5 or 6 when trying to start now. All the lights come on and you can hear the fuel pump when turning the key. One thing I did notice is that the odometer goes off when trying to start (not sure if this is normal). I have posted a Youtube video where you can hear the clicking sound. Anyone have any ideas??https://youtu.be/0WVFZCXt6pA | ||
| Terrys1980 |
Any clicking is almost always a bad connection and the starter not getting enough current. Double check all battery and ground connections. You could also try swapping the starter relay with a known good one. | ||
| Haven564 |
Is it normal for the voltage to drop that much on the battery when trying to start? Thanks for the help | ||
| Terrys1980 |
No it isn't and I'm not sure what on the bike could pull down a new battery that quick unless there is a short somewhere. The voltage should stay in the close 12 or just above. | ||
| Akbuell |
Sounds like the starter is doing what we used to call 'dragging'. Various relays/contacts/connectors are doing their thing, just not very well. The poor connections suck up volts, without transferring amps. Might do to inspect the starter motor itself, especially the internal contacts. They do get wonky on occasion. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Haven564 |
Well, I hate to sound dumb, but I think I just didn't charge the new battery enough. Borrowed a portable jumper and connected it up. Bam, it starts right up. I'm going to let the the battery charge more and see what happens. Thanks for the help guys. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
That is why I ditched my small wall adapter battery tender for something with a readout. Can't trust the dummy lights. http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinum-6v-12v-batte ry-charger-and-maintainer/p-02871239000P | ||
| Haven564 |
That's probably what I should get. Just have a cheap one light is either red or green. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Point of reference. If you suspect a grounding problem somewhere in the loop, use a jumper cable to go from the ground post on the battery to a good ground point on the motor. This bypasses all the ground straps and their connections. This will tell you if the battery and or starter is good. Well, the ground connections anyway.. Used this on my Uly to narrow things down. Brad | ||
| Akbuell |
Excellent! Glad it was a simple fix; good for you for double checking. As a point of reference, I hooked up a multimeter to my X-1, and volts went from 12.5 down to the very high 10's-11 volts while the starter was cranking. | ||
| Buellistic |
Just like a car, you get the battery with highest CRANKING AMPS YOU CAN FIND ... | ||
| Reepicheep |
A "good" battery can go down to 5v or less when starting the bike. (By "good" I mean a battery that will still reliably start the bike every time... not necessarily new out of the box) |
