cbr400rr lights draining battery?

[veze]

hi, ive got a cbr400rr nc29.
it was running like a bag of shit after i got it, so i changed the plugs and its now fine.
the other prob was i thought the reg/rec was gone so until i can afford a new one ive been treating my battery like fuel, just keep it charged every couple of days with my smart charger.
now, im in leicester and i went for a taz up to matlock yesterday which was nice, i had my lights on, because u know what those cagers are like with there 'sorry mate didnt see you's.
now when i was about 5 miles from matlock my bike cut out, so i switched the ignition of, then on again, but the battery was flat as a pancake. so i switched all the lights off and all that and bumped it, and rode it to matlock with none of the lights on, but it was daytime and ive got bright orange leathers so its ok.
when i got to matlock, i parked up and thought id check once again, and it started fine.
went for a mooch and got some chips and eventualy potterd home, and ran with no lights on all the way home for about and hour and a half, which aint to bad bcuz it was light.
when i got back i put my battery on charge and the charger said it was full. so maybe my reg/rec and alternator are working fine.
could it be possible that the lights are draining the battery??
cheers.
josh.
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tlm50,mt5,sr50. rs125 extrema, cbr 400rr nc29 suzuki gs500e.Honda cbx250 rs . FJ1200 .fz6,fjr1300

[Kickstart]

Hi

Suspect it is like the VFR400 NC30 and has a bit of a marginal charging system. Check your headlight bulbs and see if they are the right ones. Quite possibly the correct bulbs are some odd fitment and someone has modified some more readily available (and quite possibly higher wattage) bulbs to fit.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[lonner]

hi m8

as above


would also check age and condition of the battery as it sounds like its not holding much charge either

so you may need a new one as a dud battery showing full charge soon flattens hth

[Mudskipper]

I thought headlights stayed on automatically on all NC29's?

I certainly had no option of turning them off on either my 94 or 96 model...
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[lonner]

[Shaun]

It does sound like the reg/rec, although in saying that it's acting how mine did when my problems first started.

I don't have it anymore sadly but if you post on 400 grey bike there's a pdf file bouncing around that's bassically a flow chart giving you instructions on what to check with a volt meter to figure out where the electrical problem is.

I never managed to fix mine though.

[veze]

cheers for yor help guys, i will pop the bulbs out and have a look, i suppose it my be worth my while going on grey bike and having a chat with them, thanks for your help.
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tlm50,mt5,sr50. rs125 extrema, cbr 400rr nc29 suzuki gs500e.Honda cbx250 rs . FJ1200 .fz6,fjr1300

[Trixie]

Kickstart could be right - I had the same thing years ago where the bike was fine with the headlamp off but kept cutting out when it was on.

It turned out that the headlamp unit I'd fitted the previous day had come with a too high wattage bulb and the poor bike couldn't cope (and like an idiot I hadn't checked before I fitted it). As soon as the correct wattage bulb was fitted it was fine.
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Dead nobodies in company cars...

[veze]

yeah, that would make sence if they are a higher wattage than the stock bulbs, because they are not very bright unless i put the lights on full beam because i thing the full beam bulbs are seperate to dipped beam??. To be honest if its on dipped beam the lights are pretty shocking, there not bright at all, and if i rev the engine they dont really pick up, so your probably right they are probably the wrong bulbs.
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tlm50,mt5,sr50. rs125 extrema, cbr 400rr nc29 suzuki gs500e.Honda cbx250 rs . FJ1200 .fz6,fjr1300

[Shaun]

Shockingly I actually found the file I was on about lurking in my documents!

Might help you a bit.

[veze]

thats excellent, thank you matey.
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tlm50,mt5,sr50. rs125 extrema, cbr 400rr nc29 suzuki gs500e.Honda cbx250 rs . FJ1200 .fz6,fjr1300

[Bikeless]

Just to contradict everyone,i put more powerful bulbs in my Gullarm and never had any problems.

[veze]

lol, oh well, urm its worth a try ey, unless something is shorting. i dunno. i will have a look on the weekend. did u notice on ure gullarm that the lights are a pile of poo?
how do you adjust the headlight aim on them, i cant seem to find the right screw.
cheers
josh
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tlm50,mt5,sr50. rs125 extrema, cbr 400rr nc29 suzuki gs500e.Honda cbx250 rs . FJ1200 .fz6,fjr1300

[Bikeless]

Stock bulbs are crap,35W/35W,i changed mine to H4 55W/60W but they don't fit the Jap market headlights.You have to bend the bottom 2 tangs in with a pair of pliers and locate them using the top tang only.

Can't remember the adjuster and i've flogged my Haynes manual now.It should be 2 screws on each headlamp on each corner at the rear.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Also possible that if someone has bodged in bulbs to fit that they are no longer in the right place for the reflector to project the beam properly.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Bikeless]

The H4's i put in were exactly the same size and shape of the bulbs i took out except the two bottom tangs are slightly different,they fitted perfectly with a good beam pattern and passed MOT's.

[Kickstart]

Hi

My point was that someone might have tried the same and no modified the tag (or worse, bodged in a totally different bulb). Doesn't take them to be far out for the pattern to be miles out.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Bikeless]

Sorry Keith,i thought you were calling me a bodge merchant, ,i own a number of torque wrenches you know,