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Rsh
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 03:06 pm: | 
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Bagger,
This was posted in another thread its a link to all about batteries. It also lists simple tests to check for parasitic draw.
By the time you read it all you will be an expert. Good luck.
http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html |
Bobup
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 03:27 pm: |
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This may or may not relate to the "charging" issue...
I had my battery go flat over a ten day period. I charged it up and it went in to my dealer, mainly for a couple other (non-electrical) issues. It was at the dealer for three weeks straight. They had no problem starting it after what they said was 14-15 days.
I had it home and rode it for two days. Parked it for five days (nasty weather and I was sick). I tried to start it after five days and the battery was totally flat again.
Now what I have surmised from this is that there is a difference between how I "park" it and how the dealer "parks" it.
It is not an obvious thing.....I put the ignition in the "locked" position and the dealer just puts it in the "off" position.
Faulty switch? maybe....BMC want the dealer to pull the ECU and send it back east to look at the "calibrations".
So...it could be related to the other issues, or it may not be.
Bottom line is that BMC and the dealers ARE working together and trying to resolve issues as they come up. Let the dealers do their jobs. |
Unibear12r
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 03:57 pm: |
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Interesting about the key position Bob. I never thought there might be a difference between off and lock.
And you made me realize that I misspoke on my last post.
My bike is almost always in Lock when unattended, even in my garage. I've (unknowingly!) tested my bike in both the off and locked position and the voltage drop is the same. |
Unibear12r
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 04:03 pm: |
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I still wonder if people are not putting the key to Park instead of Lock. It's easy to not notice. I did it once on the old 12R and learned that lesson. Lucky I saw the tail light reflection off the garage door before the battery was totaly dead.
(Message edited by unibear12r on March 29, 2008) |
Tijuanajack
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 05:02 pm: |
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I just stopped in my local dealer to check on my 1125R. They told me it was ready and that I had a bad Voltage Regulator. So after reading a lot of post, I asked them if a bad VR would cause a short or draw big enough to completed discharge the battery. They told me it was possible, so I'll leave it at that and let them mess with the repairs. I'll post all I find out to help all in what ever I can. There is a lot of info flying around the Dealers service departments and BMC and they have to keep certain info between them so as to not create hysteria. I luckily paid extra for a extended warranty with BMC and and extra warranty with my dealership to where all I pay for is tires and brakes. They cover the rest. My dealership has been very helpful and informative with feed back.
Toby |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 05:55 pm: |
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Thanks Rsh I read it and the battery that fits my bike on another site is 14 amp hour agm battery and the one they had was 12 amp hour agm,
also if I read it right if the battery get totally discharged then that hurts the battery and I have had two time almost fully discharged battery,
all the more reason to replace it,
Kisan makes a volt amp meter with a smart charger for 180.00,
when I can afford this I will buy it,
they also have an tire air pressure gauge for front and rear tires and give performance info to for 250.00,
I would like to get this also tires and tire pressure is a big safety issue, so I would be investing in my safety.
Mike |
Bearly
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 06:27 pm: |
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Unibear12r:
Hey good point for some. I noticed also that my machine turns on the panel and warning lights with the key IN BETWEEN "OFF" and "LOCK".
I alerted my dealer to the above situation and he said that they were all that way and it was "OK". Funny cause I bought their first one. :-)
So if someone were not careful, they could be switching on some components without knowing it. Even if not in park and still counterclockwise from "OFF". |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 06:48 pm: |
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Bearly can the key be removed in that position.
Mike |
Rsh
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 06:57 pm: |
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The key can be removed on the on the XB from the park position. I did it the other day at work and when I came out after work to go home I went to start the bike and the starter solenoid would just click when pressing the start button. |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 07:52 pm: |
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I knew that but I was asking about taking the key out between park and off like Bearly said,
I will turn the bike to park then to lock so I make sure it is off,
I just left with the battery at 12.81 rode to wall mart not letting idle below 2500 rpms, two stops 3 starts and was riding at 4000 to 5000 rpms,
now my battery is 12.56, I was using my 90 watt jacket liner no high beams nothing else.
it was very cold and windy and my hands froze.
Mike |
Unibear12r
| | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 11:10 pm: |
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If the rectifier goes bad the battery discharges through the alternator. Doesn't take long to kill the battery.
I let my bike idle from cold start until the bike stopped getting any warmer. I turned on all the electrics, including the high beams, and the voltage was fine.
Until the fans came on. At that point it was obvious that the alternator was maxed (at idle).
If I'm ever stuck in a traffic jam in the heat for any length of time I'll make sure my high beams are off. That's all I think I'd ever have to think about as long as I don't add anything beyond say a GPS or even a CB.
The interesting part came after the key was turned off.
The fans kicked back on to cool the bike and the battery voltage dropped a lot. This tells me that the fan current is fairly high (more than the draw with key "on" and high beams "off" prior to starting) and so is the battery's internal resistance. When the fans turned off the battery voltage returned back to almost exactly what it was before I started the bike. The system pretty much balanced out what it used with what it made.
Mike with three starts on a short ride long enough to heat the bike up to fan running temp you have asked that bikes electrical system to do the hardest thing it can do.
That 90 watt vest will draw almost 8 amps.
The low beams draw almost 6 amps.
That's getting close to half the alternators max output. What is the alternator's output at idle? Less, likely a lot less but how much we don't know.
And then when the fans kick in and they draw current somewhere in the same range as the low beams or vest?
I think there is nothing wrong with this bike's electrical system.
It just wasn't designed to run much more than the bike itself and a few small things.
Definitely not heated gear in the winter.
For now your air cooled bike (XB-certainly,Blast-maybe) would be a better option for winter gear as they take less alternator power to run the bike.
I would still charge and disconnect the 1125 battery to check it though as what you posted earlier makes it sound bad to me. |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 12:14 am: |
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Thanks Unibear I am doing my own test and BMC is sending more details on what the specs should be,
I know the bike is not made to handle extras the accessories outlet shuts off if the battery get to low,
a nice feature but also tell the charging system is maxed out,
I am hooking up toggle switches to the low and high beams, this will give me complete control over the lighting,
I have seen led front lights that strobe, they are new on the market and can used to be seen but not to see,
so I plan on a less wattage jacket liner and glove liner that will come to 80 watts just ten more than having both low and high beams on,
if I hit traffic I shut them both off while the white strobing leds will make me visable,
I am glad I can do this work and feel bad for the ones that can not.
I plan on rebuilding the Blast for cold winter cold weather riding it heats all my gear I have now, my only wish is that Buell comes out with an upgrade stator so I will have my cake and eat it to.
Mike |
Unibear12r
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 12:34 am: |
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Hopefully BMC does just that.
Putting in a switch for the low beams will help you a lot.
I've got to hand it to you, I've done some badweather riding but not like you do.
It's been getting into the 80's here at times now. |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 01:56 pm: |
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The 80's ouch that hurts, it just got over 40 and now is a high temp of 41.
yesterday I charged my nephews battery to full charge, and is not hooked up to his bike,
last night I charged my battery to full charge 12.81.
I just went out to check both batteries mine is in the bike connected to the bike, his is just on the shelf,
his battery reads 12.55,
my battery reads 12.62,
his battery has a 8 hour difference from charging and then being disconnected,
I think it is safe to say my bike is not draining the battery while sitting,
I read yesterday that a fully charged batter of the type that we have is full charge is 12.7 not 12.8 like I had thought, if I read the info right, so my battery is near full charge.
other bikes are blast 12.34,
ulysses 12.18,
I will now charge up those bike and see what they read after sitting for a day.
this is fun, I am learning so much about the charging systems, I use to be a mechanic long ago before becoming a welder, the bikes back then were simple to work on,
I do not even know if they had heated gear back then, I was young and tough and did not need it but did have a problem commuting to work with my hands, they would be frozen by the time I got there and would have to run them under cold water,
I did hear about an air conditioned helmet for 500 dollars way back in the late 70's early 80's
I am old school and know almost nothing when it comes to fuell injection although I know what it does and I am learning that as well.
My dream job would be working for Buell in the design and testing of bikes.
Mike |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 02:55 pm: |
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>>>>I know the bike is not made to handle extras
I'm dying to know how you know that. Care to share your secret? |
Baggermike
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 03:31 pm: |
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No |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 04:02 pm: |
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Curious to find out what folks will be doing with those unused watts. The system in FACT was designed to support additional electrical equipment.
The help plan, the specs detail the output and there have been two outlets provided.
Talk about the total WIN-WIN deal.
There are complete details in the 2008 Buell Electrical Diagnostics Official Factory Manual. The XB series manual is 99943-08Y which contains useful and FACTUAL test data.
The 1125R Service Manual will contain similar information for the 1125R. I am supposed to get an update tomorrow on manual availability.
I suspect it will be a handy thing to have. |
Cataract2
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 06:46 pm: |
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Court, please let us know what your update is. I'm looking to buy an 1125R in mid June and would like to get the service manual with it. |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 07:09 pm: |
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Smart move.
I would NEVER buy a motorcycle that I can not have the service manual to.
This is a MAJOR mistake that needs to be addressed in the future.
Court |
Jpfive
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 08:28 pm: |
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Oh, crap, Court. Here I go disagreeing again... I would like to have the service manual, but I have been enjoying this fantastic bike since January 5th. I would be going nuts if I was still waiting for them to publish the manual so I could have my bike. 
Jack |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 09:44 pm: |
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And there is the rub... tick off a handful of people by shipping the bike when it is ready, even though the manual is not? That brought some real pain to about 10 people here.
Or wait to ship a bike that is ready, until the manual is done, and tick of the other 990 people that are currently loving the sight of that 1125r in their garage...
I'm sure the infant care program was the plan to fill the gap... it seemed to serve some people really well, and others not so well.
It's a dilemma. I probably would have made the same call. |
Slypiranna
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 10:21 pm: |
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Yes, I would have shipped the bike as well before the manual...after all, you never really know the whole deal until you have every single form of educated and uneducated mc mechanics finding things that you, the builder, didn't even know existed!
...then you write the manual to conform to this!
...for those that can figure things out though, it is not a reason to hold off production or a deadline.
How I would love a manual for every job that I do, every single day. |
Bearly
| | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2008 - 10:36 am: |
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Good News!
Just got back from work for the last 11 days and my battery was right at 12.2 volts. I had a previous instance where my battery went flat after five days. You may remember I took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong after waiting six days. I can't explain but I trust it now. I've cleaned up and tighten the battery cables since it went flat as it's mostly the simple stuff. (or Al's rule of Grounding) All is Well! |
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