Possible Hornet reg/rec problem ?

[JackDaniels]

Hi guys,

i have a 2005 hornet 600 and have noticed in the past few weeks that if im only doing my 1 mile each way to work each day my battery is becoming flat, but after a long run the battery is fine again for a few days.

it doesn't discharge if i leave it for a day or 2 after a long run.

I fitted a new Mottorbatt battery this morning as i believe the battery that was on the bike was 7 years old.

After fitting the new battery i hooked up a voltage meter and stuck a vid on youtube.


Hopefully it was just the battery.

https://youtu.be/lguqo1mUSL4
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THEORY TEST - PASSED! - 02-08-11 CBT Passed - 09-08-10 MOD 1 - 09-08-2011 - MOD 2 - 28-09-2011
2006 Yamaha JOGRR>2010 Yamaha Ybr>1995 Honda CB400 Superfour >2005 Honda hornet>1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200 > 2002 BMW R1150GS > 2013 Tiger Sport 1050 > 2007 GSXR 1000 > 2005 GS500E

[russell210276]

put the battery on charge 12.3 is a bit low do the same again but rev the bike to 5000rpm your looking at just over 14 volts on the metre

[Scotsman37]

Maybe it was a bad battery, but inspecting the starter solenoid where the four prong connector may have surface corrosion not allowing a good electrical connection for the battery to get recharged.

Inspect and spray with WD40

[JackDaniels]

ive just been out and revved the bike to 5k at it read 14.2 does that sound right ?
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THEORY TEST - PASSED! - 02-08-11 CBT Passed - 09-08-10 MOD 1 - 09-08-2011 - MOD 2 - 28-09-2011
2006 Yamaha JOGRR>2010 Yamaha Ybr>1995 Honda CB400 Superfour >2005 Honda hornet>1999 Suzuki Bandit 1200 > 2002 BMW R1150GS > 2013 Tiger Sport 1050 > 2007 GSXR 1000 > 2005 GS500E

[Casper]

[russell210276]

yes thats spot on its working perfectly

[Scotsman37]

Cold climates do show bike's battery up if they don't give enough sustained juice to get the bike started with a cold engine.

A 7 year old battery is a bit old as batteries usually only stay good for a few years unless you flatten it out a lot which can possibly reduce the life span of the battery. A well maintained battery will last a long time...!

[Aff]

Sounds like your just not riding enough to recover the charge lost from start up.

I remember being told by my local mechanic a while ago, that it takes about 10 mins riding at about 40mph to recover charge lost from start up.
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Current Bikes:Honda 929RR Fireblade, Honda CD200 Benly (Project), Stomp Z2 140
Electric Bike Project

[ZaphodBeeble]

Your battery voltage does indeed look low. With the ignition on it shouldn't drop below 12V at the very least. With the ignition off you should be getting about 12.5V minimum on a healthy and fully charged battery. The voltage will drop to about 11.5V when you press the starter and should then increase with revs up to 14.5V maximum.

You could also do a current drain check. Take a wire off the battery and connect your multimeter (if your meter measures amps) inline between the battery terminal and the wire. Make sure your meter is set to 20 amps DC. DO NOT START THE BIKE WHILST CHECKING THIS you will blow the meter. You should see 0.00 amps with the ignition off. This is basically to check if the regulator/rectifier is drawing current from the battery even when the bike is at rest.
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Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.