Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => The Bike - C10 => Topic started by: ZG RIDER on July 09, 2012, 11:39:21 PM
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Hello all,
Ran into trouble today after a ride. Bikes been starting fine since I purchased it (with a new battery) about 3 months ago. after my ride turned the bike off then went to move it after about five minutes and the battery appears to be dead for the most part. It will start with a jump but wont start without. >:(
Where do I begin trouble shooting?
Thanks in advance for any advice, Connie newbie
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forgot to mention during my ride the left rear blinker bulb went out, so I thought, as indicated by fast blinking dash indicator. after a preliminary check for the source of the battery failure I found one of the blinker plugs disconnected from a recent cleaning(rear pig tail plug). I re connected it now the blinker works but the bike wont start. Any connection?
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First thing I would do is check for a receipt for the battery to verify it was new. And not just a new battery that replaced the old one three years ago.
Next thing I would do is see if I can get warranted on the battery. From your description, everything points to a dead battery.
Turn signal light disconnection being related to non starting would be a stretch.
But, clean the battery terminals and positive/negative lugs tomorrow just to make sure. It Kent Hoit to try that first. Make sure the connections are comfortably snugged down too.
Rick
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well yes I figured the battery was dead but how does it go from fully charged and starting the bike dependably to dis charged and useless after one ride? doesn't the generator/alternator keep it at full charge? what would/could possibly drain the battery while riding?
The battery does appear to be brand new and I did clean and tighten connections.
Thanks again.
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You could possible have a dead cell in the battery. When they die they just die as fast as that. I have known brand new fresh out of the box batteries to die within hours of first use, luckily it does not happen very often. but does still happen. Have an auto shop load test it, a simple test but it will prove whether the battery is buggered or not.
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Your going to need a voltage meter. (I thing Harbor Freight has them for $5)
What is the voltage of the battery while at rest with the engine off. What is the voltage while running with the engine rev'd up a little bit say 3,500 rpm?
Are you getting any sign of life? Does the horn blow with the key turned on (engine not running)?
It is possible you may have a J-box problem but we would need more info before we start diagnosing that as an issue.
One interesting battery issue I have seen is a cracked connection inside a battery, even new batteries. You turn on the key and stuff works (lights ,horn)but the second you hit the starter the load opens that connection and now it is a dead battery. Yours maybe that way but then sometimes the battery comes back to life tricking you into thinking it is not the battery. A voltage meter will confirm this problem.
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You are correct that the bike should be charging the battery during the ride, so is it? Perhaps your charging circuit went out and you were running the ignition and accessories off the battery during the ride. The above test is designed to check for that as well, as in "What is the voltage while running with the engine rev'd up a little bit say 3,500 rpm?". If it's not above 13.5, you may need to look at the charging circuit. I have not experienced it on this bike, but I believe the alternator (stator?) connector has been an issue for some.
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Thanks for the advice! The battery is on a trickle charger for the night. I did however jump the bike this morning and checked voltage at the battery at about 2500 rpm. It read 14.9. the shop says it shouldn't be more than about 15 with a rev or lower than 13.5 at idle. Does that sound right? Ill let the battery charge, test again tomorrow, and report back.
I was also told that the generator/alternator does not charge the battery while riding. It only maintains whatever level of charge the battery has when the bike is started and that I have to occasionally charge it to maintain a full charge.
Thanks again!
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" I was also told that the generator/alternator does not charge the battery while riding. It only maintains whatever level of charge the battery has when the bike is started and that I have to occasionally charge it to maintain a full charge."
Someone has led you astray with this statement. The alternator most definatly does charge the battery while riding. Otherwise the battery would get flatter and flatter every time you started the bike.
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+1
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well yes I figured the battery was dead but how does it go from fully charged and starting the bike dependably to dis charged and useless after one ride? doesn't the generator/alternator keep it at full charge? what would/could possibly drain the battery while riding?
The battery does appear to be brand new and I did clean and tighten connections.
Thanks again.
Did you check the water level in the battery? If it has boiled down or is otherwise too low that can cause a sudden onset. In your latter post your voltage sounds about right so without other testing it sounds as though you have a bad battery or a loose crappy connection.
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T Cro is on it, just make sure that it is a battery you can add water too. I believe that my battery indicates to NOT remove the strip and check for water because it is sealed.
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T Cro is on it, just make sure that it is a battery you can add water too. I believe that my battery indicates to NOT remove the strip and check for water because it is sealed.
Supposed to be sealed.... I've seen some "lower cost" sealed batteries that needed to be pried open and have water added as they still somehow managed to boil off water.
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The battery does appear to be brand new and I did clean and tighten connections.
Do you know the age of the battery? Just because it is clean and shiny does not mean anything. There is usually a sticker or stamp on them. If it is older than 4 years, it is definitely a suspect.
As for the statement about the alternator not actually charging, consider this. Most older motorcycle alternators (ours) are just marginal at charging the battery. If it gets low and you just do some around town driving like stopping at the store, then gas, then lunch, etc. the alternator does not put out enough to sometimes recover from this. Do this for a few days in row and your battery won't have enough to start the bike. I put mine on trickle charge for a day or two about once a month just to avoid this and keep the battery topped up. I also run fog lights 24-7.
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Most older motorcycle alternators (ours) are just marginal at charging the battery. If it gets low and you just do some around town driving like stopping at the store, then gas, then lunch, etc. the alternator does not put out enough to sometimes recover from this. Do this for a few days in row and your battery won't have enough to start the bike. I put mine on trickle charge for a day or two about once a month just to avoid this and keep the battery topped up. I also run fog lights 24-7.
No the Concours alt is not marginal for normal use at all if you don't have any high draw add-ons such as you do; the alt is in fact known for putting out more voltage than really needed and boiling the water out of a conventional battery. But once you add in a 7 amp + (fog light) draw as well as another farkle or two and you are taxing the alt at slower speeds.
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I stand corrected then. I'd still recommend to anyone to put their bike (any bike) on a good quality trickle charger when not being used for a good lenght of time.
Not that this may have any bearing on his problem then......
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I stand corrected then. I'd still recommend to anyone to put their bike (any bike) on a good quality trickle charger when not being used for a good length of time.
Not that this may have any bearing on his problem then......
This I do agree with.... We keep our starting or e-lighting batteries here on board the ship on a charger 24/7/365 as there is nothing worse than a dead battery when you need it most.... That being said my bike stays plugged in to the wall while I'm gone.
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Well, 24 hours later and the battery would not take a charge. I did some investigating and found that it was purchased 4/11/12. I returned it to Autozone where they attempted to charge it as well and then told me it was "no good". The warranty was for 90 days. Just two days out of warranty and they wont give me a new one! This is why I don't shop at Autozone! Ill speak to the manager tomorrow and see if I can change his mind but Im a little skeptical about there batteries at this point.
I also have aux lights that are ALWAYS on for safety sake.
I'm hoping I just got a CRAP battery! I'm still puzzled how it would work fine and then die so suddenly! Are there any other systems that I should look at that could fail and kill a battery or do you think its just a case of cheap battery/bad luck?
Thanks again! Ride safe
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I had a battery go dead in my driveway. Bike started fine. Rode 10 miles home and shut it off in the drive. Went to start it again a couple of minutes later and stone cold dead. Not even any dash lights. Did a jumpstart which was fine but the battery was toast. New battery time. Had a couple of car batteries do the same thing.
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or do you think its just a case of cheap battery/bad luck?
I had the factory suppied battery go bad just 6 weeks after purchasing the bike; this is after spending 4 of the 6 weeks hooked up to a battery tender. Bike was put away for 4 weeks while I was at work come home and unplug bike from the battery tender and nada battery was **** up...
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Everything always works great before it doesnt anymore.
I had two cars with new batteries purchased from SAM's the same day. Two years later a few friends of mine were caught riding motorcycles in a heavy down pour. We got dried off and changed into dry clothes and decided to go out for a few drinks. Got in one car-dead battery, got in the other car - another dead battery. Both batteries died the same day exactly 2 years after they were purchased and right when warranty had just ran out. Go figure!
I run Optima batteries now.
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Ok, Autozone made good and gave me a new battery. Installed the battery after filling with supplied electrolyte charged it for an hour per instructions. started the bike and let it warm to running temp. and took readings with a volt meter. Readings as follows:
Warm and running at idle 1050 RPM 14.12 to 14.14
Rev to 3500 RPM reading drops to 14.12 and holds
Not running and warm immediately after shutting off 12.72
Above readings are with aux lights off/reading with lights on at idle 13.96 if memory serves.
Good to go? Or go do more?
Thanks again!!
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Warm and running at idle 1050 RPM 14.12 to 14.14
Rev to 3500 RPM reading drops to 14.12 and holds
Not running and warm immediately after shutting off 12.72
Sounds good.
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I started my bike up one morning to let it warm up, i shut it off to run in the house to grab my sun shades and came back out and turned the key on hit the switch and nothing, NOTHING at all, battery's can die fast without warning, yet some times a battery can give you a heads up with a few slower then normal crankings but its hard tell if your bike starts quick and easy.
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Thank you friends!
All seems well with the new battery :chugbeer:
I see Optima in my future 8)