| Author | Message | ||
     Spectrum |
I'm having a weird intermittent electrical problem with my 03 XB9S that hopefully somebody has seen before. When I hit the starter switch I hear the starter engage then the entire system looses power. After this turning the key on and off has no effect (still no power). If I let it set for a few minutes then turn the key back on everything is fine and it will start and run as normal. This has only occurred when the bike is cold and has setup over night. If I take the seat off before starting I see a spark at the positive terminal on the battery just before the powerloss. I don't have the proper electrical test equipment but as far as I can tell all fuses and relays are good. I did remove the handlebars the day before this started happening to re torque the steering head bearings. Just took the four hex head bolts off and laid the handlebars back out of the way. In other words I didn't unhook any of the electrical controls. Any ideas or suggestions? | ||
| Bartimus |
Your seeing a spark because the electrical connection is loose! tighten both of your battery connections... | ||
| Darthane |
What Bartimus said - most likely culprit. You may also have a severely discharged battery if that turns out to be the case due to it being unable to charge properly. Unscrew the connections, clean them up with steel wool/wire brush, put a dab of blue loctite on the threads and set them in snugly again. See if that fixes the problem. | ||
| Spectrum |
Thanks I'll try cleaning and tightening the battery terminals. I must say though, I don't think this is a discharged battery. When it does start it sounds like it has plenty of amps to fire the starter. I did notice the head light flicker a bit in brightness on a bumpy road yesterday. This could indicate a loose battery connection. Didn't think about it much at the time, thought it might just be a result of odd conditions giving the effect of a change in brightness. | ||
| Cheesebeast |
My 2003 had very similar issues- the answer for me was to replace the battery. They really do need a fresh one every two years. If you have a voltmeter- you should get one if you do not- then test the battery you have. I am going to guess it would be about 12.3-12.5 volts. A fully charged battery goes about 12.7+. Good luck, the VRod battery is an exact match- that mattered to me as a Harley dealership is very close, but they don't sell Buells or parts. | ||
| Darthane |
Batteries can, have, and often will last considerably longer than 2 years. I'm not particularly kind to mine, but I still have my original battery in the XB9R and it's going strong - the bike's a 2003. |
