battery drain problem SOLVED

[Oss]

Bought a new battery and started following the leads under the seat to try to figure out if I had a parasitic drain as the battery was less than 2 yrs old and bike is always ridden at least every 2 weeks  Had to buy new smaller nut and slightly thinner bolt to fit in the terminals as could not get the old nuts in the terminal area.  All is tight and clean.

Found that the cover to a relay (think it is the one going to my centec) had come off
That meant that bare metal was probably coming into contact with the frame
Put the really good duct take over the cap once it was snug on again and wrapped it also around the top inch or two of those leads.    The back of the minipanel also will need to have a layer of electrical tape so it doesnt accidentally ground itself.  I believe it has the electric lead for heat, for charger, for fog lights and something else, maybe the horn? but no fuses blown in it as I checked 1st

Also took a thin piece of soft 1/16" styrofoam and placed it under where the battery sits
Less vibration/jarring can not be a bad thing  
EDIT

So the interstate started
I could swear that I could see the fuel gauge for a few seconds but when I got the bike onto the street I noticed no speedometer or odometer or tach and the fuel gauge was gone also

The LED panel in series with the fog lights showed 14 v + and charging and the clock was lit on the display

Stumped.  Still cant set the clock either for about a year now

So I will buy replacement relays and try to figure out if that was the problem internally

Also I blew 2 15 amp mini fuses as I tried the rivco air horn  That fuse in the original fuse panel
 Out of those now so will have to look at it next saturday or sunday  I get home too late during the week

Any ideas??

Glad to have found that before a long ride season  

Takeaway is check those relays as the caps can come loose and be happy I have 3 bikes

  if it happened to me..............

[John Schmidt]

Oss, those nuts on the battery posts can be a pain to reengage with the shorter bolts. I always cut a short piece of plastic tubing, maybe 1/2", and slip under the nut...leaving the tubing there for the life of the battery. It holds the nut up against the top of the slot and it never moves. You can remove/reinsert the bolt w/o problem from then on. 

[Ricky-D]

I think your alternator is bad and causing your problems. Easy enough to check.

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[Bighead]

I think your alternator is bad and causing your problems. Easy enough to check.

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One would think that if the alt was bad the battery wouldnt last 2 yrs.

[9Ball]

The air horn fuse sounds a bit small.  My air horns draw 18A, so I use a 20A fuse on my power panel.

[Hook#3287]

If the alt is charging 14+ it's doing its job.

I'd test for volt draining.

Today's batteries are junk.  Could be a bad one.

On my dodge truck, the OEM batteries lasted 15 years.  2003.

I'm on the 4th since.

[Ricky-D]

Quote from: Bighead
One would think that if the alt was bad the battery wouldn't last 2 yrs.

The Valkyrie has been notorious over the years for having alternator problems.

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[Oss]

I have had alternators replaced twice so well aware of the symptoms thanks Rick for taking a stab at it

But the first thing to go is radio, then entire dash at once In my experiences

My dash is fine,  fog lights fine showing over 14 V on the meter and radio works fine  When the last alternator was going it showed no green lights at all That was my cue that I had better start on the way home.  When it died 10+ miles later I fred flintstoned to a Shell station and plugged into an outside outlet with my small charger for an hour or so to get me enough juice to get home and took the headlight fuse out to save amps

Maybe that relay that had the cover pop off did that because it was fried ??

Anyway will get a couple of new relays and go thru the process of replacing them and fuses to see what is what when I get the chance  Meanwhile was a great day to take the police bike to work  Must be closing on 60 degrees and sunny  just light cool breeze

[old2soon]

         Evan-Ross found problems in that Red 9 pin connector on my I/S couple years ago. He had too recrimp each connector. Wurkin on memory here could be in the right side of the fairing. Those wires into that plug are small as are the connectors. Maybe All the connectors here and there need cleaning? Yeah I know-not a lot of help!  Hope ya discover What ails yer ride. RIDE SAFE.

[MarkT]

Yep I have spare alternators and brushes and bring both on road trips.  Have come to expect failures there around 50k or so.  Now I have changed all my lights to LEDs so the load is less.  Still bring them and other known Valkyrie failure parts and lots of tools including a lift and impact driver, Dewalt drill, electrical repair gear on trips.  Always pull a trailer for extra capacity.  And extra fuel with an IS and belly tank and fuel sharing petcock.  So I can fix mine and other's problems.  

[Oss]

Replaced the rl44 relay
Checking fuses under the right cover there are 2 oriented perpendicular
A blue fuse is different than my other mini fuses wider spacing

What is that one for. Hope it is the fuel gauge speedo and tach
Will check with auto zone tomorrow see if they have it as mc Shops
 Closed till Tuesday
Radio works time shows on display but fuel is still gone

[indybobm]

Have you checked the rectangular connector/junction down under the battery? The one that is all taped up and is prone to corrosion.

[Oss]

Dave thanks for the call

I am too cold (hope I am not coming down with the chineseflushit) to go out today
but checking the leads to see if one of the wires slipped its connector makes sense to me


Also maybe the compressor just hapoened to crap out on the horn, it has been known to happen

For now not riding anything, just resting drinking fluids and taking the stuff wife made for me
(elderberry syrup and tea with echinacea mostly)

Did get delivery on a new Yuasa battery and charged it overinight at 1.8 amps

[ColoValker]

If you tow a trailer that needs a wiring adapter, I had a trailer light wiring adapter with high resistance short to ground that would drain my battery in 4 to 5 days. Unhooked it and the drain quit, finally replaced it and all good.

[Oss]

Thanks I do have a trailer set up but still feel like crap so havent gotten to look at it yet

[Oss]

IT LIVES !

Actually pretty embarrassed as I disconnected everything, reconnected everything then went through all the fuses one by one testing the controls
Noticed the signals were out and even tho the fuse looked ok replaced that 15a one and had display back

Sometimes even the simple things can be difficult when you don't see the problem.  

Had a nice ride across the switchbacks of Chappaqua Rd (meats favorite road) then up 7 bridges to 133 to the Taconic Parkway and opened the bike up in the nice breeze.

Of course when I got back I went to start the red bike which was dead as expected. Fortunately I bought a brand new YUASA battery last week and it is now charged.  This weekend if it is nice I will install that thru the spaghetti Stan put on top of it and take it out for a ride.  I knew that battery was on its last legs well over a year ago when I got the bike from him.

Life is so much better when you can ride, even a half hour ride is better than no ride.

Thanks everyone for suggestions  And the horn now works too after I knocked the compressor with a wrench and fiddled with the hose going to the horn below the bike

[Dusty]

 I spray WD-40 in the compressor intake when running the compressor. It lubricates the vanes and frees sticky things. You do get some oil dripping out of the horns and I just put a rag under the horns.

Dusty

[Jersey]

Glad to hear! 

[NewValker]

I spray WD-40 in the compressor intake when running the compressor. It lubricates the vanes and frees sticky things. You do get some oil dripping out of the horns and I just put a rag under the horns.

Dusty

A shot of Remington gun oil does the job too.
Craig