Dead Battery ..Again!

[ChuckS]

Again this Monday morning as I started to leave for work the battery did not have enough juice to start my bike. Compression started fairly easy. If the pattern follows as usual, I will have no problem till I let it sit for more than 24 hours again.

 

I have an extra fuse panel directly from the battery, and wired off that is an Auto-com (pro-7 or active-7) an Escort radar detector that I always turn off, and a XM Satellite radio that I also turn off. I also have wired from the battery an Gerbings switch for my heated gear that I likewise turn off.

 

I am having my left turn switch replaced Thursday as it is faulty and works only intermittently. I have had the R 1200 RT for 6 months and have 8000 miles on the bike.

 

I am frustrated about this! Anyone have any pearls of wisdom??

 

Thanks

[MattS]

an Auto-com (pro-7 or active-7) an Escort radar detector that I always turn off ... XM Satellite radio that I also turn off ... Gerbings switch for my heated gear that I likewise turn off ...

My bet is something didn't get turned off. That's more turnoffs than the Playmate of the Month.

[Whip]

Same thing happen to me R1200RT....The XM was the problem....when I turned the key off I assumed when the light went off the XM was off.....it still drained the battery...so now I unplug it and no more problems....

 

Larry

[RFW]

Again this Monday morning as I started to leave for work the battery did not have enough juice to start my bike. Compression started fairly easy. If the pattern follows as usual, I will have no problem till I let it sit for more than 24 hours again.

 

I have an extra fuse panel directly from the battery, and wired off that is an Auto-com (pro-7 or active-7) an Escort radar detector that I always turn off, and a XM Satellite radio that I also turn off. I also have wired from the battery an Gerbings switch for my heated gear that I likewise turn off.

 

I am having my left turn switch replaced Thursday as it is faulty and works only intermittently. I have had the R 1200 RT for 6 months and have 8000 miles on the bike.

 

I am frustrated about this! Anyone have any pearls of wisdom??

 

Thanks

You should be able to troubleshoot this with your eyes closed (almost!).

 

Connect a milliameter (any digital or analog Volt-Amp-Ohmeter should do) in series with either the battery's + terminal and the battery cable that you removed from this battery terminal.

 

With the meter connected, set the thing to the 250mA range (unless it it autoranging, in which case it will set the correct range automatically). You should be reading a small current which is what is discharging your battery. If the current is very small, switch to a lower range to more easily read it.

 

Now, all you need to do is start unplugging fuses until you see which fuse (when removed) eliminates the current drain.

 

Once you know that, it is a simple matter to see what components in the bike operate off that fuse.

 

Replace the offending fuse, and start disconnecting each component that the fuse services, until you see which is the offender.

 

If all the fuses are removed, and the current drain s still present, then the only thing that I can think of that could still cause the problem is leaky diodes in the alternator, but the likelihood of this is essentially zero. A faulty regulator could also cause this, but this type of failure of a regulator is almost unknown.

 

If there is no significant current drain that can be seen, then your battery is shot (internal self-discharge).

 

Anyway, I'll bet it is some accessory you have added, so concentrate on thise first.

 

Bob.

[FIRST_BEEMER]

Todays radios have two battery feeds. The second one is used for memory and stays on all the time. XM will also have a parasitic draw on your battery. I know mine will crank slow after 3 days of no use. If you installed the units you are referring to maybe you should remove them from the system to verify if they are the cause first.

It`s going to be a process of elimination until you find the source/draw fault. start by returning the electrical system to stock. (unplug all your add-on stuff) Get a good (fluke) D.V.O.M. and set it up to do a parasitic draw test (red lead of meter into the amp socket set the meter to m/a scale ) between (one end hooked to the cable and the other to the battery in-line) the battery and the battery ground cable. get the reading key off. On a bike it should be around 15 maybe 20 m/a or less. Then hook your systems back up and test it again. Then you can see what the real problem is. Your setup or the factory's

[fnyrt]

had a similar problem with a bad battery in my 1150 - would run fine all day - but the battery would self drain overnight. replaced the battery (under warranty with a little prodding) and it was fine from then on.

 

1st attempt at the dealer diagnosing the left it on a tender overnight then called me to tell me it started fine

[RFW]

Todays radios have two battery feeds. The second one is used for memory and stays on all the time.

 

Don't worry about this one. The radio connection that keeps the radio's memory alive draws only a milliamp or two. This is less than the battery's own internal self-discharge.

 

Even if there were 10 milliamps of "parasitic" current for this sort of thing, it would take a 20mA-H battery a couple of months to fully discharge.

 

Bob.

[RFW]

had a similar problem with a bad battery in my 1150 - would run fine all day - but the battery would self drain overnight. replaced the battery (under warranty with a little prodding) and it was fine from then on.

 

1st attempt at the dealer diagnosing the left it on a tender overnight then called me to tell me it started fine

 

My God! Can anyone really be that stupid?!

 

Bob.

[MattS]

extra fuse panel directly from the battery, and wired off that is an Auto-com, radar detector, XM Satellite radio

Another way to distribute power, and ensure that there will be no current drain, is to grab power for all of these devices at the accessory socket. This always goes off with the bike, and is "fused" -- at 5A on the GS, not sure what on the RT. This eliminates the need for the fuse panel as well.

[FIRST_BEEMER]

That was an FYI for him.

And XM hooked to the same radio will cause a bigger draw because it to has a memory circuit.

[cranezilla]

I have wired all my accessories through an aux circuit panel from CAlifornia Sport Touring.

It automatically turns off power to the circuits with a relay wired to a cirduit controlled by the ignition switch, turn the ignition swicth off, circuits off, iginition switch on, circuits on.

Just wired one into the RT, have had one on the old Harley for 3 years.

Just need one wired into the wifes car for her radar detector, she keeps leaving it on and running down her battery.

[Timmer]

Sounds to me like the Autocom is still drawing current.

Pull the fuse for the Autocom the next time the bike is going to sit for more than 24 hours and see if the problem goes away.

When I installed my Autocom, I put it on a switched curcuit. I seem to recall something like that in the Autocom instructions.

[eaglemike]

I just asked the local service guy about this as I'm adding XM, etc, soon. He said there is a way the XM, and/or iPod can fool the CanBus into thinking it should be open for charging, and keep the circuits live, which will discharge the battery. I'm not an E-tech, and I don't know exactly how your bike is wired. He recommended the tourtech bus, so that's how I'm going to set mine up.

 

all the best,

 

Mike

[MattS]

He said there is a way the XM, and/or iPod can fool the CanBus into thinking it should be open for charging, and keep the circuits live, which will discharge the battery. He recommended the tourtech bus, so that's how I'm going to set mine up.

Did he offer to sell, or merely recommend the fuse bus? I would like to know the trick to get an iPod to "fool" the system -- must be one hell of an iPod.

[eaglemike]

Matt,

 

My choice of words might be wrong. Maybe if it's powered by the bike, and the power is not totally disconnected, but the device is turned off, the system sees it as a charger being connected. Again, I'm not an E-tech, and may not have clearly repeated what he said. I'm just offering a place to look into...........

 

No, he did not offer to sell the bus to me. I was looking for something like it, to hook some stuff to. You're not cynical, are you? This guy knows his stuff, and does not blow smoke, IMHO. He knows I'm in the aftermarket hard parts business for cycles....

 

all the best,

 

Mike

[MattS]

Maybe if it's powered by the bike, and the power is not totally disconnected, but the device is turned off, the system sees it as a charger being connected.

Plausible, possible ... just not very likely. When I think of fuse buses on these bikes, I think of hooking up refrigerators, 220 watt lights and electric underwear. Intercoms, radios and detectors draw small currents and don't need that kind of hardware to keep them going.

 

I think the deal with the new chargers is that they send power pulses to keep the system charging. An XM Radio or an Autocom is not likely to replicate such a pulse.

 

The original poster has a bunch of devices wired straight to battery; as has been mentioned any tiny draw by any of them will incrementally deplete the battery over time. A switched bus solves that, and is already provided by the bike without having to add one on -- in that sense an auxilliary bus is a solution in search of a problem.