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Author Topic: Battery died  (Read 1034 times)
Colin
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Orba, Spain


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« on: April 29, 2018, 10:16:29 PM »

Out for a nice ride in the mountains yesterday and just before the peak of a 1000m mountain I got a small missfire. I thought, wrongly, hopefully just a bit of rubbish in the fuel and it will clear. It didn't it got worse as I started down the other side of the mountain and then cut out completely and oil light just glowed faintly needless to say nothing when I pressed the starter button. Luckily it was a pretty steep mountain and downhill all the way so I managed to coast down about 4 miles round several hairpin bends to the small town at the bottom and parked outside a bar and had a coffee and waited for the breakdown truck.

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Colin
Retired and living in Spain and riding my bike most weeks due to the great weather here.
VRCC Espana
My Bumble Bee re-build
Gavin_Sons
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VRCC# 32796

columbus indiana


« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2018, 02:14:29 AM »

Sure it was the battery and not the alternator?
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Robert
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S Florida


« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2018, 04:58:03 AM »

Sure it was the battery and not the alternator?

 cooldude cooldude
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“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.”
Bighead
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Madison Alabama


« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2018, 05:20:15 AM »

Sure it was the battery and not the alternator?
Well a bad alternator will cause the battery to die Roll Eyes
Seriously check the output on the alternator,or you might end up stuck again. Nice looking bee BTW.
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1997 Bumble Bee
1999 Interstate (sold)
2016 Wing
Jess from VA
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« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2018, 05:56:20 AM »

Sorry for your troubles Colin.

Short of a crash out, having a bike die for some mysterious reason while out on the road a long way from home is everyone's number one nightmare. 

It hasn't happened to me for a long time (not counting Ujoints and wheel bearings, where I managed to limp to safe haven), and I hope it says that way.

At least with a mountain down slope, you could have tried a couple push/bump starts. (after pulling the headlight fuse)
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Gavin_Sons
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columbus indiana


« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2018, 06:07:05 AM »

Sure it was the battery and not the alternator?
Well a bad alternator will cause the battery to die Roll Eyes
Seriously check the output on the alternator,or you might end up stuck again. Nice looking bee BTW.

No way!
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Bighead
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Madison Alabama


« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2018, 06:16:02 AM »

 
Sure it was the battery and not the alternator?
Well a bad alternator will cause the battery to die Roll Eyes
Seriously check the output on the alternator,or you might end up stuck again. Nice looking bee BTW.

No way!
2funny 2funny
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1999 Interstate (sold)
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John Schmidt
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« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2018, 08:45:54 AM »

Sure hope the driver of the wreck truck didn't hit any big bumps after loading your bike. He's tied it down with the sidestand down....a big nono. A good bump or series of them will end up bending the cross member it's attached to. Doesn't look like he used the handlebars for a tie down point, that's good.

I agree with the others re. the alternator, check the output before doing anything else. Charge the battery a bit so it will start, then put a meter across the battery posts. Bet you'll find either none or low voltage coming into the battery.
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..
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Maggie Valley, NC


« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2018, 09:47:11 AM »

Sure hope the driver of the wreck truck didn't hit any big bumps after loading your bike. He's tied it down with the sidestand down....a big nono. A good bump or series of them will end up bending the cross member it's attached to. Doesn't look like he used the handlebars for a tie down point, that's good.

Made my heart sink a little when I saw that  Shocked
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Colin
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Orba, Spain


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« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2018, 10:00:04 PM »

Alternator OK checked the output.

No problem with the cross member the roads here, unlike the UK, are pretty well maintained and 3/4 of the way home we were on motorway/freeway.

New battery and fired right up so good to go again.

Thanks for the concern guys. cooldude
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Colin
Retired and living in Spain and riding my bike most weeks due to the great weather here.
VRCC Espana
My Bumble Bee re-build
Bighead
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Madison Alabama


« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2018, 11:26:13 PM »

Glad to hear alternator is good Colin.
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1997 Bumble Bee
1999 Interstate (sold)
2016 Wing
Willow
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« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2018, 07:56:47 AM »

The thing that confuses me is that the engine runs off the alternator.  Once running it should continue to run even with a completely dead battery.  With a bad battery it simply won't perform when the alternator isn't turning such as starting.

Am I incorrect?
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The emperor has no clothes
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« Reply #12 on: May 01, 2018, 08:20:46 AM »

The thing that confuses me is that the engine runs off the alternator.  Once running it should continue to run even with a completely dead battery.  With a bad battery it simply won't perform when the alternator isn't turning such as starting.

Am I incorrect?
I don`t think you are. It sure sounds like an alternator issue to me or bad battery connections. The only way I`d see it dieing while riding is if the rpm`s got below 800 or so. Not really likely in my opinion while riding in the mountains.
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northernvalk
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Sudbury, Ontario, Canada


« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2018, 08:26:55 AM »

I thought someone else posted something about the coils needing constant power and running directly off the Alt doesn't work... Willow, in my experience you are correct, LOL, I had an old jeep that had a bad battery for two months, just kept parking on inclines!!!
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gordonv
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VRCC # 31419

Richmond BC


« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2018, 09:15:59 PM »

Yes, Willow is correct. The engine died because there was no more power stored in the battery, otherwise it would run off the alternator.

Running off the alternator is not a good thing to do, it's there to fill the battery or keep it full.

You've now run your bike for a while off the battery. Get a volt meter, and with the engine off, check the voltage. A charged new battery should be high 12V. A new battery below 12V would mean to me it's not being charged.

Start the bike, and check the voltage again at the battery. Rev to 1500 rpm and what's the reading now. @ 1500 you should have something closer to 14v on the battery.

If you are still showing battery voltage, then the power is not getting out of the alternator into the bike. That should be the 50A dog bone fuse. There is a spare inside the terminal.
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1999 Black with custom paint IS

¿spoom
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WI


« Reply #15 on: May 02, 2018, 03:29:06 PM »

Alternator OK checked the output.

No problem with the cross member the roads here, unlike the UK, are pretty well maintained and 3/4 of the way home we were on motorway/freeway.

New battery and fired right up so good to go again.

Thanks for the concern guys. cooldude
Excellent, now I would suggest an inexpensive volt gauge. At the least, have a helper look at the headlamp from an angle or shine it in/at a dark area and rev the throttle a few time from idle to 2k. If the alternator is functioning you will see the headlamp output obviously get brighter & lesser. 
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Bighead
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Madison Alabama


« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2018, 03:33:38 PM »

Or just use a volt meter.
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1997 Bumble Bee
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GiG
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« Reply #17 on: May 03, 2018, 07:43:38 AM »

Or just use a volt meter.

That would be the one used across nearly the entire Honda product line of vehicles.
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« Last Edit: May 03, 2018, 07:45:37 AM by GiG » Logged

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