Bike won't start

[Juan]

Less than a year ago I replaced the battery with a Yuasa 14S. Last time I rode the bike was 12 days ago and had absolutely no issues. Today I tried starting the bike and had very slow cranking (needless to say, the bike did not fire up). The battery is fully charged. Any ideas please?

 

[Nikolajsen]

I think the battery it is low on power.
Maybe something is draining the battery, USB power output? or other attached power outlet.

 

[Thrasherg]

I would be suspecting bad connection at the battery. Usually if the battery is so flat that it cranks slowly, you hear the starter relay turn on and off quickly. As you don't describe that I would suspect you might just have some resistance due to corroded or loose battery terminals. But could be a flat battery as well. I would check all the battery connections (clean them up) and possibly put it on charge for a few hours and try again.

Gary

 

[EricV]

Less than a year ago I replaced the battery with a Yuasa 14S. Last time I rode the bike was 12 days ago and had absolutely no issues. Today I tried starting the bike and had very slow cranking (needless to say, the bike did not fire up). The battery is fully charged. Any ideas please?

Could be something as simple as a little corrosion on the battery terminals. It may not look like much, but can have a dramatic effect on how the bike cranks. Clean the terminals with a wire brush, and the battery posts where they mate, then re-attach and try starting the bike.

In your environment, corrosion is a battle. High humidity areas can get very small amounts of corrosion that don't look like anything to worry about, but will cause a voltage drop when cranking.

The other issue, as others mentioned, could be a current draw when the bike is off. If you have any wired accessories, even things that are shut off, it is possible for them to draw current when the bike is off and draw the battery down. My SWMotech tank bag with a powered ring did this dramatically. Even with nothing plugged into the powered ring, and it wired as the instructions called for, it would kill the battery in days. Once I installed it with a relay, problem solved. Made me wonder why the instructions called for a direct connection to the battery to begin with instead of a relay. ???

 

[Juan]

It was a weak battery. Bike started as normal after a 3 hour charge. I can't understand how the battery lost power in just 12 days. The battery is a Yuasa 14S bought in September 2017 (barely 7 months old).

I have nothing extra attached to the battery, except for LED fog lamps (SW-Motech) wired on a relay. I had an alarm attached last year, but I found out that it was draining the battery in a week, so I unplugged it.

Thanks for your contributions.

 

[Nikolajsen]

I actually have experinced to get a brand new Yuasa batteri, that also lastet less than a year....and also my riding buddy...
So sometimes Yuasa also make bad batteries, OR the dealer have the battery in stock for years and it have been charged, and no maintanance...
That will kill a otherwise new and unused battery.

I have actually startet to buy batteries from a shop that sell many batteries, rather than a specific motorcycle dealer, = more sure to get a battery in good condition.

So I guess, that your new battery, was bad when you bought it. If you are sure nothing drains it...

 

[Squibb]

Sounds like a parasitic drain somewhere, if all the terminals & earth/neg connections are good. Deserves research, in case it lets you down when touring.

I would be tempted to have a look at every retrofit first. The Alarm wiring has potential; if you just unplugged the unit, the wiring could still be an issue. If no success there, then try a disconnect on the aux lighting.

Do don't mention a SatNav? The cradles can go rogue, a common issue on GSs.

 

[Juan]

Sounds like a parasitic drain somewhere, if all the terminals & earth/neg connections are good. Deserves research, in case it lets you down when touring.

I would be tempted to have a look at every retrofit first. The Alarm wiring has potential; if you just unplugged the unit, the wiring could still be an issue. If no success there, then try a disconnect on the aux lighting.

Do don't mention a SatNav? The cradles can go rogue, a common issue on GSs.

I do have a satnav permanently wired, but since I only use a satnav on long trips (last one last December) I inserted a mini switch on the positive side of the power that goes to the satnav cradle. In any case, the power to the satnav is switched power, from the aux power socket near the battery. The only reason I inserted a mini switch is to isolate the electronics of the cradle when not in use. The Garmin Nuvi cradle has electronics in it, including a USB outlet.

 

[HeliMark]

Not sure about the availability in Malta, but is there a place you can have the battery load tested? At least you could rule out the battery being the problem if you do not find dirty/corrosion on the terminals and connections.

Mark

 

[Checkswrecks]

One of the cheapest best tools EVER for this kind of problem!
::012::

 

[Juan]

One of the cheapest best tools EVER for this kind of problem!
::012::

I do have a multi meter, though probably cheaper than the one you're showing. The Yuasa website tells you how to test the battery, which I did. You put the battery off charge for at least an hour. Open circuit showing 13.2 volts which is very good (minimum acceptable is 12.8 volts). Then the Load test: Lowest voltage whilst pushing the start button and cranking is 10.1 volts which is also very good (minimum acceptable is 9.5 volts). So I concluded that my battery (Yuasa 14S bought in September last year) is good.

I'm still baffled by what happened a couple of days ago

 

[Nikolajsen]

I don't think there is any electronic in the Garmin cradle...
On my cradle to the Zumo 595, there is NO power to the USB, unless there is ekstern power to the GPS, and the GPS is in cradle and software is startet.
In other words, the electronic is inside GPS.
And GPS send 5V to USB, not the cradle.

Therefore if the contact pins is in good condition, there is no power consumption on the cradle alone.

 

[Juan]

I don't think there is any electronic in the Garmin cradle...
On my cradle to the Zumo 595, there is NO power to the USB, unless there is ekstern power to the GPS, and the GPS is in cradle and software is startet.
In other words, the electronic is inside GPS.
And GPS send 5V to USB, not the cradle.

Therefore if the contact pins is in good condition, there is no power consumption on the cradle alone.

Thanks for this. I was under the impression that the cradle provides power to the USB. In any case, the mini switch is there, so I might as well leave it.

 

[JackBurns40]

Many Garmin power supply cords have a sigificant parasitic draw. Mine goes through a switched fuse box to help avoid this. But both my bikes keep a Battery Tender Jr. attached when parked. (Though suspect not really needed for the DR.

 

[jackintherok]

For me and my Gen I S10 this is a never ending story, which I’ll not even try to recount (but 4 batteries worked to death, including Yuasa 12S in 5 years.
Parasitic draw with Garmin 590 1.29 mV, which is not insignificant but manageable (~0.5 Ah in 2 weeks).
My smart charger (Optimate 6) often told me batteries of 9 months or so old were A1, but I learnt the hard way they were not, especially, at temps < 40 F (when turnover was slow) … as if it was assessing the batteries as less powerful units. Got a battery tester (Ancel BA101 only ~$45 not a bad investment, and its volts checked out against my multimeter). Even a new BS 14S battery failed to start the bike at low temps (<40 degs; Ancel said cranking volts fell to below 9.5), but after warming the battery up and she started powerfully (cranking volts 10.5). Seems that battery resistance as measured by this unit gives a better idea of battery status. Bought a lithium iron phos battery (EarthX ETX36C (prob. overkill) … more powerful all round, but the bike still suffers at low temperature cold starts (bike tends to die sometimes on first attempt after ~2 secs, and then starts on the second when the exhaust has a strong petrol smell). It’s early days for the lithium battery, but so far (using WOT) it has not failed to start the bike from cold. It powers its way through problems. Seems there’s another problem of excessive fuel delivery during cold starts and a tendency for the bike to flood (reminds me of the old choke problems). I thank you guys for the cold starting tips, because I now feel confident I can start her anywhere, even if it means sleeping with the battery once in a while.

 

[EricV]

The LI batteries like to be 'warmed up' with some draw. Try just touching the starter button enough to turn the lights on, leave the lights burning for 30 seconds, then key off and start over, key on, kill switch to run, hit and hold the starter button. Should fire up more easily.