Engine died

[Phil A]

Hi guys,
The other day I set off and a few kilometres down the road the Engine Management Light came on, then the ABS light and 3 kilometres later the bike completely died. On trying to start a few minutes later the fuel pump came on and tried to start, but behaved like a flat battery, even though it was fully charged a week before and not used. So I thought it was the lithium battery as the engine MGT/ABS warning lights came on previously, but fortunately on that occasion I was just arriving home. So I put the old Yuasa YTZ14-S battery back in (fully charged) and started the bike no problem and no lights. So this morning I set off with the bike and 5 kilometres down the road both engine mgt and ABS lights came on so I came straight back home. Also the neutral light doesn't come on. The only work done was recently at a main Yamaha workshop where they replaced the headlights wiring loom. The only things connected to the battery are the auxiliary lights and CTEK battery tender.
I don't know what to do as the Yamaha garage is 40 kilometres away and I don't trust the bike to not to die on me again and have to call out the breakdown truck again.
BTW the cam chain and tensioner have recently been replaced with valve clearances checked.

 

[EricV]

We often do these things to ourselves. The first thing that comes to mind is a loose battery connection. Make sure the cables are clean, and secure. Carefully double check that the bolts for the battery cables are not bottoming out on the battery case, leaving the cables slightly loose. Use a washer or shorter bolts if need be to correct this if you find this issue.

When changing batteries in the past, the new battery comes with it's own bolts, often in a little bag. The natural tendency is to just re-use the bolts you had with the old battery. Sometimes that results in this issue as they are different lengths.

It also takes very little corrosion to disrupt a battery connection. Make sure the terminals of the battery itself are clean and the cable ends show no corrosion where the wire goes into the insulation.

 

[Chav]

Lithium ion battery’s tend to have a lot of issues and I’ve seen them wreck charging systems, I’ve had better luck with lithium iron batteries but I’ve had the best luck with regular ol agm lead acid.

 

[Phil A]

Just to add further details: I’ve had the same problem with both types of batteries. On both occasions the bike started fine and rode slowly across the country track from my house, then when accelerating on the main road less than 10 minutes later, the warning lights come on. Bikes is never used off road and lives in a dry, sunny climate, only seeing water when washed.

 

[RCinNC]

The problem you're describing sounds to me like an issue with the stator, or the regulator/rectifier.

If the bike starts fine and initially runs fine, then I doubt there is a connection issue. If it runs fine for a while and then the battery dies, then it sounds like the battery isn't charging while you're riding, and the bike dies as soon as the battery dies. Those symptoms do describe a fault in the charging system; either the stator is failing and isn't charging the battery, or the regulator/rectifier is failing and won't allow the battery to charge properly.

 

[EricV]

Just to add further details: I’ve had the same problem with both types of batteries. On both occasions the bike started fine and rode slowly across the country track from my house, then when accelerating on the main road less than 10 minutes later, the warning lights come on. Bikes is never used off road and lives in a dry, sunny climate, only seeing water when washed.

Before or after the headlight wiring loom was replaced? If both, that's another data point and suggests a longer term issue in play. RC might be on to something. Any codes?

 

[Phil A]

The problem you're describing sounds to me like an issue with the stator, or the regulator/rectifier.

If the bike starts fine and initially runs fine, then I doubt there is a connection issue. If it runs fine for a while and then the battery dies, then it sounds like the battery isn't charging while you're riding, and the bike dies as soon as the battery dies. Those symptoms do describe a fault in the charging system; either the stator is failing and isn't charging the battery, or the regulator/rectifier is failing and won't allow the battery to charge properly.

I think you might be right. When I first installed the lithium battery it ran fine And then one night I ran the auxiliary lights for 45 minutes riding home on a poorly lit dual carriageway and the warning lights came on just as I got home. Fully charged the battery, everything fine and then the problem started again after half a dozen reasonably short trips. Now it’s happened twice within 10 kilometres using both batteries

 

[Jlq1969]

I think you might be right. When I first installed the lithium battery it ran fine And then one night I ran the auxiliary lights for 45 minutes riding home on a poorly lit dual carriageway and the warning lights came on just as I got home. Fully charged the battery, everything fine and then the problem started again after half a dozen reasonably short trips. Now it’s happened twice within 10 kilometres using both batteries

Ask the Ecu...surely she knows something. If she knows something, she will show you the shortest way to find the problem… ..

 

[RCinNC]

I believe the service manual has a procedure to check the stator output. I've never had to do it so I'm not familiar with it, but if you need it I can look it up and post it. I suspect you'd need a multimeter to do it.

 

[~TABASCO~]

This could be very simple... It might be they didnt push the plug in all the way connecting the rectifier.... I have a gut feeling it's something along these lines.... If the 'poster' does not know how to go and check everything, might be best to take it back to the dealer where the electrical work was performed.....

 

[Cycledude]

After the battery is fully charged plug a volt meter into the power outlet and watch what happens after the bike is running, if it ain’t charging you will be able to confirm that pretty quick.

 

[ZigZag]

If you haven’t got a good circuit tester get yourself one. They aren’t expensive and very easy to use. There are plenty of YT videos showing you how to use one to test the charge rate of the bikes alternator. A guy called Ryan Urlacher has some great videos for checking out this problem.

 

[2daMax]

Process of elimination. I would remove the aux lights from the circuit and see if this is a contributor. Sound like some connector isn't connected properly and would need some time for the temperature to rise before starting to act crazy. I would check all the connectors, including the battery, and make sure they are all snug. Even then, if they are snug fit, there are cases where the pins for the male and female are defective and cause connection issues. This would be the next level to check if problem persists.

 

[Jlq1969]

Ask the Ecu...surely she knows something. If she knows something, she will show you the shortest way to find the problem… ..

 

[Phil A]

It was a Code 46. I started a new thread (with photos) in the "Electrical/Lights/Instruments" section as I realised this is probably the wrong place. I now know that it's a burnt out rectifier regulator connector