As some may have seen, last weekend I needed to have my bike push started. My battery never seems to have enough juice to start it. I'm concerned it may be the stater. If I hook up a tester to it what should it read, or could it be another problem?
How old is the Battery? Has it been charged? Could be a Stator issue as well... If the motor is turning over your starter should not be the issue...
Are you keeping your bike on a trickle charger when not in use? My batteries tend to last about 4 years before needing to get a new one.
Get a multimeter, set it to 12v DC. Use it to measurer the battery voltage at rest, and while cranking. It shouldn't go below 12v while cranking. Also test the voltage at the starter.
More things between the starter and battery: Main Fuse Starter Solenoid Make sure you test everything! -Tom
I'm about to go tear it all down and start messing with it. Thanks for the info guys. It's very frustrating!
After forgetting my key at my gf's house. A good drive across town. I was unable to test the battery when it was on. However, it was only reading 5.35 volts with it off.
You could have charging issues to....as in the stator not producing the output voltage or the rectifier/regulator controlling the charging voltage
That's what I'm afraid of. As soon as I get the key I'm going to check it. The part is going to run me $200, and I already need to replace my fork tubes. All this money could be going to track days!
Any battery voltage (disconnected) below about 10 volts is a strong indicator of a defective battery. If it is reading less than 10 volts, charge it with a charger (no more than 2A charger) overnight. Check again. If it's back to 12+ volts it may or may not be bad. If it's still below 11 volts, replace battery. If you have any "extras" connected to the battery, disconnect them. I have a gear indicator that the instructions said was OK to leave connected to the battery. It actually discharged the battery in about a week of non-use. I had to wire it to a switched power source instead.
Well now I can't find my battery charger. One thing after another! I do have a speedo healer and now my two bros juice box. I guess I could toss my buddy's battery in there and see the difference in 24-48 hours.
Ok, so the bike read 14.4 while revving at 5000RPM. This is with my buddy's battery in it. It read 13 with the bike off, and occasionally jumped anywhere between 8-12 until settling at 13. Also, I tested the rectifier and the green wire with a light colored stripe read .88. I'm assuming this means it has that much resistance. I tested the power harness to the stator and it read the 12 volts. A little over I believe but I got lost in all the numbers. I'm assuming the difference between 13 and the 12.? will be .88. I have a haynes manual and I'm stopping just shy of testing the stator, since I just replaced the oil so if I don't have to I won't. Any thoughts? Side note: I'm colored blind to red and green, so the green wire with a light colored stipe may be red.