electrical concern

[Gearhead24]

This past week has been a headache for me between the carbs, tank liner, and electrical. I'm fairly certain I already know what is the fault but I want to be sure.
When my fuel delivery failed and I pulled over I was able to crank the bike enough to pull more fuel hoping to make it home. Ran out of fuel one exit later and when I tried cranking then, it only cranked for about 10 seconds before acting like the battery was dead. I pushed the bike to somewhere I can wait for my tow and sat for an hour, after that hour I tried the starter again and the battery had juice. When I got the bike off the trailer I tried starting it and the battery was back to being dead. When I got the bike in the garage I looked at the starter relay and it had partially melted, the cap was sort of melted but the 30A fuse was completely melted but not popped. I replaced the fuse and after leaving the battery on the tender and cleaning the carbs I got the bike to start, but had another fuel delivery issue due to the inline filter I put in there. The next day my truck wouldn't start (more dead batteries, go figure) so I said screw it and took the bike to work. 3 miles away from home fuel delivery issue happened and the battery died almost right away. I just tested voltage on the battery both key on and off, and got 11.5v. Went to try the starter and got incredibly sluggish cranks for a couple seconds before it started clicking, then no clicks at all.
I believe my battery is the major component at fault here, but the bike was ridden daily with no progression towards this failure. I also believe the starter relay failed in a manner that would fry the battery since it is melted. Considering doing the relay mod with the Ford relay and will get my hands on a new battery. Just want to fix this fault so that I am not ruining more batteries the second the warranty expires. Really bothered that all this has happened right when I get myself situated for a different major repair I've been eyeing for so long now

[WintrSol]

You definitely killed that battery and, by the sounds of it, cranked too long for each attempt and cooked the starter relay enough to melt the plastic around it and the fuse. About 10-30 seconds per attempt, with a good wait between to let things cool down is needed.

How long is your daily ride? It takes a while to replenish the battery, so relatively short rides will slowly deplete it, and make it eventually fail.

[Gearhead24]

My daily ride used to be just under 5 miles up the road, so that makes sense. Whenever I would crank it to pump fuel I’d do 15 seconds max but wouldn’t give it much time to cool off. Now my daily ride is 15 miles so that won’t be an issue anymore. Considering switching to a noco lithium battery, read some other threads here with good reviews. I will be doing the ford starter mod but not immediately. If I want to save money I need to be back on two wheels

[Pluggy]

Gearhead, you may want to make the next battery a cheapie until you are sure the electrical system on the bike is long-term correct.  Most of us would prefer to kill a $45 battery rather than a $160 battery.

[John Schmidt]

Check your main ground to the engine. Also, I've known of numerous riders that brag about going 5-7 years on a battery which I feel is foolish. I don't let a battery go more than 3-3.5 yrs, just isn't worth the trouble and a lot safer than going dead at the wrong time. Been doing that for about as long as I've been riding, never had one die on me due to age.

[Gearhead24]

Going cheap initially was the plan, noco will be down the line when funds are there. I got an ever start battery from Walmart which I’ve heard mixed reviews about but oh well. I also got everything to do the relay mod and will be doing that. My ground connection is good, solid, and clean so there’s no unwanted resistance on that side of things. The old battery was from February of this year, but autozone warranty was only 6 months so I was sol on that. Will find out tomorrow how well this conversion works when done by me, then I can get back to carburetor troubleshooting

[Jess from VA]

I respect Mr Schmidt's excellent advice on Valkyries very much.

But I've had my 2 Valks (good lead acid) batteries on little Battery Tender Jr's for years.  They are both plugged in 24 X 7 year round, except when riding or traveling, and my batteries last for many years (longest was 11).  The BT Jr is a low volt float charger that just comes on whenever the battery gets low, then shuts off.  (green led off, red led charging).  I wire the pigtail to the battery and ziptie it to the frame behind the side cover.  When I go for a ride, I always look for a green led first.  When I roll into the bike shed, key off, petcock off, Battery Tender plugged in.  This system leads to never having to guess or worry about the battery (until the red led stays on constant).  In around 20 years, I've never cooked or overcharged a battery. 

When my batteries finally die, it's quick and obvious.  I keep a spare in the shed, with acid on the side, so they last forever until acid added and charged up. 

https://batteryhubstore.com/products/battery-tender%C2%AE-junior

[0leman]

I agree with Jess, my valk is on a battery tender when not in use.  Been getting 7-9 yeas out of batteries.  When they do quit, the quit.  No warning.  Thankfully the last one was in by garage.  The previous one was 90 miles from home at a gas station.  Had to beg a jump start.   

[John Schmidt]

Jess & Oleman, I agree with using the Battery Tender, I have had one or more in use for many years myself. There's one thing you both stated that is the reason I don't test my luck...your batteries go dead without warning. I've known of cases where the green light on the Tender was showing full charge, yet at the first stop the battery was dead when trying to restart. Both the bikes in my garage at the moment have had them replaced simply because a while back they showed full charge yet not enough juice start the bike, I'd hit the starter and the "full charge" voltage dropped from full to 9-10vdc. I can only think of two scenarios where getting caught with my pants down is OK...batteries ain't one of them. 

[Gearhead24]

I do have a battery tender, I just don’t use it unless I’m not riding for more than a day. Currently the tender is charging up the new battery. I plan to get a tender/reconditioned unit in the future so I can save my batteries before they die completely, but for now just my wee little tender will have to do. Completed the relay mod last night so when I get home from work I’ll find out if I did everything right or not

[WintrSol]

Just don't get a tender that is too powerful for the battery. Flooded and AGM batteries normally can't go above 1/10 the Amp-hour rating when charging, so a 14Ah battery should only get 1.4A (1.5A isn't that much over); one rated 5A or more will likely damage the battery, unless the battery maker says otherwise.

[Jess from VA]

Thankfully the last one was in my garage.  The previous one was 90 miles from home at a gas station.  Had to beg a jump start.   2funny

I hesitate to say (or write) this out loud, but I've only ever lost a battery in the bike shed. 

I have had the red and green led alternating back and forth peculiarly in the shed to know it's not safe to ride the bike with it anymore.

[Gearhead24]

Put the new battery in, rewired the starter relay to use the truck relay, and everything works as it should. Bike fired right up, and I idled it in my garage for a little over 30 minutes. Crossing my fingers that my carbs are ok and not having a delivery issue anymore