| Author | Message | ||
     Cletusberontwood |
My 2007 Ulysses has been progressively not starting well - finally, it took a jump start to get it going, so I replaced the battery. Rode up it the hill and it blew the battery fuse. Couple of notes about when trying to start it: 1. it makes the rapid clicking sound. 2. if trying to start in gear, with the clutch pulled, it will want to drive the bike forward (it has since stopped this). I have wire brushed and cleaned the battery terminals, battery leads, ground connection on frame near the battery and also the ground strap connection under the airbox. Still no luck - clicking. The bike will start with a jump start. The new battery is showing 12.2-12.6V and is a standard lead acid Deka battery. Do you think the starter might be stuck extended/engaged? I have rocked the bike forward and back to see if it might dislodge. Any other ideas? I guess the next step is to open the primary cover and just see what is going on in there. (Message edited by cletusberontwood on April 17, 2024) | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Connect your voltmeter to the battery and note how far the voltage drops during starting. Below 10v generally indicates a battery issue or an extreme draw. Lurching forward during an in-gear start just indicates clutch drag. Since that problem has stopped, it is probably the normal condition. An oil change often solves this. | ||
| Arry |
That rapid clicking normally indicates a bad battery. Even a new battery can be bad. You say it will start, with a jump. Does it seem to start normally, when you jump it? If it does, this also indicates a bad battery. You might find a shop that can load test your new battery. | ||
| Cletusberontwood |
Thank you Mark and Arry. The bike does start normally when I jump it. I will check with the vendor about testing the battery. | ||
| Tootal |
Yuasa batteries used to have a weak link internally. They would show proper voltage but under a load the internal connection would break. I believe this was on the ones made in USA, go figure!! You might be experiencing something similar. | ||
| Cletusberontwood |
You were all spot on - took the battery to the vendor and it tested bad (it also had a build date of April 2023!). The vendor ordered two new batteries and gave me the newest of the two, build date of March 2024. Bike starts perfectly now! Thanks everyone! |
