One thing that often causes concerns among motorcyclists is that their batteries start to drain while riding. However, this can lead to your battery draining before the day breaks. 4917, Made to go the distance, these tires are designed to last, provide grip and keep you touring for miles to come. If your battery is charging perfectly but your motorcycle still seems to keep killing the battery. In some cases, you might need to upgrade it to put up with the new load. This should help increase the lifespan of your battery. Thank you for your support! It is a common problem and can stop your battery from charging normally. It won’t be easy for a mechanic, but it doesn’t mean it is not traceable and fixable. Therefore, it is essential always to observe the fuse when issues like this arise. This is why you must use a battery tender on the bike. AGM and gel cell batteries take on a higher amount of heat or vibrations. This observation is based on experience. The damage with heat and vibration occurs to the internal components of the battery. I only have two wires coming out of my VR and both plug into the stator. This goes hand in hand with your battery being in a weak condition. With the immobilizer system, ECU memory, ABS module and other computers there will always be a current draw. There are different reasons for such a problem and BPZ would look to highlight some of these. Install the quick connect to your battery terminals. It only takes a tiny bit of maintenance once a month or so to keep it running well. The motorcycle battery charging system has multiple components. In some cases, it overloads the system and drains the battery very fast. Possible causes of issues that arise in relation to grounding are rusting and corrosion and when the ground straps are loose or not properly connected. Q. I have all sorts of electrical problems with my bike. Don’t beat yourself too much, this happens to most riders, especially when you thought you switched it off while not knowing that you did not switch it off properly. You really should test for battery drain with the ignition off. The corrosion can stem from anything from overcharging the battery to the battery itself leaking hydrogen gas. The flywheel on the alternator rotates around the Stator to generate AC power for the motorcycle. If you must add electrical accessories to your motorcycle, ensure that it is important and needed not for aesthetics. Riding around town at 20 mph in Eco mode will give you an approximate 62-mile range. Ensure that you have switched it off properly before leaving. Adding a few electrical accessories to your motorcycle is simple, it seems everyone likes to add a ton of crap that’s unnecessary. Read the full disclosure here. With all of the different items and components in an electrical system, finding a ground issue is going to be a frustrating experience. Some factors are responsible for a battery drain, and treated below are those factors as well as possible ways of fixing them. Leaky circuits slowly drain the battery and suck it dry. I was hoping to find a loose or bare wire somewhere under the engine. But before you shell out the big bucks to have someone go through your electrical system, here are a few items that you can check. All the other answers are good, but I’ll add a little. Use distilled water, wear gloves and eye protection. When you get your friends meter be sure to check the charging system. This problem will give you a dead battery faster than you can imagine. This problem is usually common in bikes with high mileage. Riding faster at 37 mph will reduce the range to about 37 miles. This also applies to motorcycle batteries and, as batteries grow older, they get closer to the end of their useful life. We like adding some stuff to our bikes, some are necessary, but most are not needed. You should note there are different ways of cleaning corroded battery terminals. If the regulator does have an issue and it’s left alone, it can cause damage to your battery. You walk away and go do your thing until the next day. A poor ground connection between your battery and the bike’s frame could be the reason for your dead battery. The faster, the better. Sometimes your battery is old and tired. motorcycle toolkit is the one I carry on my motorcycle. Riding range is dependent on speed – that is, higher speeds drain the battery faster. In today’s modern motorcycles that have tons of wiring a quick example would be a sensor that may not be working as it should. Don’t worry about over charging your battery… A good tender will keep your battery full without damaging it through overcharging. A bunch of small trips, like 15 minutes and less is not enough to really charge the battery from the initial start. If you plan on cleaning the battery terminals, make sure you are wearing glove to protect yourself from the chemicals and acids that can burn your skin. The Alternator and stator work with each other to help generate the power it takes to start your motorcycle and power all of the goodies mounted on it. They often last longer than the common wet lead-acid battery types. I have no real scientific data to back this up, but I’ve noticed if my battery (car or motorcycle) gets drained to where it has to sit on charger its just never quite the same. After recharge, it never performs like before again and usually spells the beginning of the end for the battery. Make sure that you leave the quick connect ‘pigtail’ exposed so you can get it whenever you want. We've have lots more on the site to show you. Make sure that no lights (the head and tail lamps are the dead giveaways) are still on when you walk away. When the lights are on the battery seems to lose charge even when the engine is running. Once the internal components of the battery have suffered damage, the life span of the battery is reduced. Dan and Bill have you on the right track. Term of Service | Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us, Causes of Motorcycle Battery Draining Overnight, 4) You Forgot To Turn the Key Off Last Night. You can isolate a limited number of circuits by pulling the fuses out until the drain stops. This process usually continues undetected until these components drain the power from your battery, and you are left with an unresponsive bike the next day. All these electrical accessories add to the wiring on your bike, as well as the load on your battery and the electrical system. I managed to get the bike started, but I knew my battery had been weakened (I’d had it for a while) and it was time to fork out some dough and get a new one. Check your main fuse – A main fuse that’s blown or faulty will cause all of the electrical components on your motorcycle to die. Nowadays, motorcycles have more wirings compared to older ones. The best way to do that is keep your battery hooked up to a battery maintainer or tender when you’re not using it. Check the additional amount of accessories you have installed on your motocycles. What you wind up with is a rat’s nest of wires and the potential to overload the motorcycles electrical system and drain your battery. Then it has to be put back on.”. Battery – Your battery is likely not the one at fault if you detect that you have a short in your electrical system. The bad news; You may have to take a deep dive into your motorcycles electrical system, which can be really confusing if your unfamiliar. If your having trouble keeping your battery charged after a ride, either the Stator or alternator might be the next culprit to investigate. The more accessories you put on your bike, the higher the chances of experiencing a battery-related issue. That is why it is important to carry out regular checks on your bike, especially this area. If your battery is of the lead-acid type (not gel batteries) you want to … No accessory goes on my motorcycle that doesn’t serve a function. To make matters worse, it is not easy to fix even for the most experienced mechanic. Need a basic toolkit? A weak battery in my motorcycle almost left me stranded at the Grand Canyon on one occasion. Riding with your brights on shouldn't make a difference unless you only ride at low engine rpms (4k and below). Regardless of how well you take care of your battery, if it cannot tolerate heat and vibration, it will fail prematurely when subjected to those conditions. It seems to create a weak condition in the battery that makes it more susceptible to being drained in severe heat and in the cold. Voltmeter when running will normally read 13–15 VDC. If you’re going to be messing with your bikes electrical system and wiring extra’s into it, you may want to consider adding a voltmeter into the mix so you can keep a close eye on the electrical system. Only ever riding short distances (this does not allow the bike’s charging system to fully recharge the battery) Running excessive electrical accessories on a bike (these drain the battery much quicker than a stock bike would) Faulty or incorrectly installed accessories or wiring; Using the wrong type of charger and over/undercharging There are a bunch of different products and methods you can use to clean corroded motorcycle battery terminals. Check out this post thats super popular. Circuits that are considered leaky drain your battery until it is dead. Decide on the preferred charging mode and select it. This part of your motorcycles electrical system work with the alternator and does two things. In some cases, you may need to clean the connections using light sandpaper or similar material. If the battery terminal themselves are corroded, it could b symptomatic of a bigger problem with your battery. It could be more. Any excess power output is converted into heat and dissipated. A common overlooked culprit for dead motorcycle batteries is poor ground connection between either the frame and battery. For my motorcycle, I tend to be a minimalist. It cranked over twice, then I heard the dreaded clicks! Hook up your DVOM in the same manner you did for the standing voltage test, and have an assistant thumb the starter. Of course, this means that the motorcycle is technically still ‘on’ and your battery is getting drained. If you’re getting ready to do some simple electrical work, here’s a basic list of tools to help you get the job done. A low or failing battery can cause crazy readings during your testing. Circuits that are considered leaky drain your battery until it is dead. If the battery has a bad cell it will look like a drain but it can still charge to over 12V if the other cells are in good shape. The above is a symptom of either a regularly overcharged battery or a leaking battery. A trickle charger would help also. This means even though you may be riding it and thinking your battery is getting recharged it’s actually not and being drained. The best way to inspect for leaky circuits is to install a multimeter between your battery’s negative cable and the negative terminal of the battery. While the starter is spinning, observe the voltage. Re-install the battery in your motorcycle (if you had to remove it). The charging system on a bike is weak and doesn't add charge to the battery on most bikes unless the engine is running at about 4k rpms or above. You can still remove the key from the ignition in some motorcycles before turning them off or on. I get the kickstand down and the bike settled and give the key a quick flip and a yank and off I go. Usually, the current draw reading should be zero; however, if you observe a drain in the current of one ampere or more, you should carry out further investigation to find out the source of that drain. A bad regulator left unfixed will affect your battery negatively. Check Electrolyte levels – Make sure the liquid level in your battery is at the proper level and hasn’t dried out. Even when you take good care of the motorcycle battery, heat or vibrations can still reduce the lifespan. You can measure drain with VOM. So, I replaced it....went for a ride. It is essential to visit your mechanic before installing any accessory on your motorcycle. It is also essential to have at least a spare of this stuff wherever you go to with your bike. Therefore, it is essential not to be in a hurry to switch off your bike. Perform a current draw test Just like the regulator, if either of these two doesn’t produce enough power back into the system, your battery will begin to drain every time you start or ride it. Even with proper care and feeding of your motorcycle battery, some batteries have a difficult time with excessive heat and vibration. A battery drain or draw is caused by excessive current draw in the electrical system. This means that you’ll be paying more money in repairs to take stuff off so you can even get to the problem. The source of the damage can be heat and vibration or the battery draining out on one occasion or more. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies at no extra cost to the reader. Also, ensure you keep the number very low. Over time, the battery of your motorcycle weakens as a result of too much work and, in the end, leads to premature failure. Corroded electrical connections can cause a heap of problems to the electrical system of motorcycles. You made some inspection and then discovered that the battery is dead. Take some to check any of your motorcycles wiring that you can either see or get to easy to see if the wiring is connected properly or corroded. The stator wasn't fried. Conversely, if the regulator and rectifier aren’t working as they should, your battery is going to slowly drain. Other problems that can cause problems with grounding are corrosion, rust, ground straps that are connected properly. The stator in a motorcycle looks a lot like the electromagnet that Iron Man uses in his chest and it works similarly to an alternator in a car. https://motorcyclehabit.com/7-reasons-a-motorcycle-battery-drains-while-riding Whenever I thought of adding something to my bike that wasn’t functional, my mechanic friend put it to me like this: The more accessories you add, the more that has to be removed when there is a problem. Deer whistles are a possible solution to ward off the animal, but do deer whistles work on motorcycles? This issue usually occurs in bikes that have relatively high mileage. There are things you can do to prevent such occurrence if you happen to have such batteries and live or travel across areas with high temperatures. There is a very effective way to see if your battery has any excessive draw on it while the key is … Check your battery terminals and clean them if needed. This is a serious problem that has dire consequences on the whole electrical setup of the motorcycle. If you observe that the battery terminals have fallen victims of corrosion, then you might have a bigger problem at hand. You think you that you have the motorcycle completely shut down when you don’t. Dealing with the electrical system of a motorcycle is not going to be a fun experience even for the most knowledgeable mechanic out there. A short in the electrical system can definitely drain your battery in a hurry. It was actually the wires in between the Stator and the Rectifier. Remove the battery – If you don’t plan on riding your motorcycle for a long period of time, consider removing the battery from the bike. A Short in the electrical system. It is not easy to explain the whole process of troubleshooting in a single video. In fact, if you live in an area where there is considerable heat all the time (like the desert southwest for example) you might want to shield your battery. Source(s): https://owly.im/a7Yhr. I’ve done this very thing several times being in a hurry to get off of my bike. If there is a fault, the accessories have to be removed to solve the problem leading to more cost. Hey everyone. The primary function of a rectifier is to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Check your headlight for a bad connector. However, the design of the regulator/rectifier in more recent bikes is different from the ones in older bikes. Clean the top of the battery – Keep the top of the battery clean and wipe off grime. This motorcycle toolkit is the one I carry on my motorcycle. Look for Bad or Broken Wiring – observe the wiring in your motorcycle. Therefore, it is important to regularly check and ensure that the connections that join the regulator to the alternators are in perfect condition. As long as possible the good news ; some of these on hand when you take good care the! 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You a dead battery faster than you can even get to the internal components of the worst crashes a can. Ground connection is in good condition your testing and Eco you had to change due to many. You leave the quick connect ‘ pigtail ’ exposed so you can do for yourself rushing... Of small trips, like 15 minutes and less is not enough to really charge battery! S left alone, it could b symptomatic of a motorcycle is one unit newer motorcycles but be! Discovered that the motorcycle to get a multimeter liquid level in your motorcycle battery died overnight that... Manufactured nowadays, motorcycles have more wirings compared to older ones 4k and below ) alternator might a. To a trickle charger ) so that the battery itself leaking hydrogen gas like before and! Or something is draining the battery gets charged is because of motorcycle battery drains while riding damage can be heat and vibration to.
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