Trying to figure out my battery problem

[username123]

My 600 Bandit (K2) won't start. Just makes one of those nasty clicking sounds. Managed to bumpstart it and do the 35 minute journey home with the electrical system working properly (and giving it plenty of revs). Parked up. Switched off. Tried to start it up again, no success.

This is just basic 'battery no longer holding charge' stuff, right? That's what it seems like to me, but I'd really like it if someone could validate my thinking that this is the most likely cause.

[N cee thirty]

how olds the battery?

not got heated grips that could be draining the battery?
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[username123]

yep, got heated grips. used them on the way to work. turned them off when i got there. bike wouldn't start at the end of the day. didn't use them at all on the journey home, bike still wouldn't start immediately after turning off after the aforementioned 35 minute run.

age of the battery, search me. the bike is 8 years old. nothing to tell me that it is newer than that, though i presume it should be. i've only had the bike 4 months or so.

was hoping the specific symptoms might rule out some possibilities, or point to some.

[N cee thirty]

hmm might aswell replace the battery if you have the money


if you want to investigate further get a multimeter and check what it has when the bikes switched off
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[stirlinggaz]

sounds the battery is past its best...........
put a multi-meter on battery terminals, when its off, then when youve bump started it & its idling & again at 4 or 5000rpm.
readings should tell you if its f*cked. (or if its the r/r)
cheers,
GAZ

[map]

If the battery isn't being charged then the regulator/rectifier may need replacing as well.

Common for that to go but you can still kickstart/bumpstart and after a few miles the electrics appear working.

Worth checking as if you just replace the battery it'll get buggered if the charging circuit is knackered.

IIRC to check* connect a good battery/power pack in parallel and run the bike. Put a multimeter on the battery and read the volts. Greater than 13 means it's charging. Otherwise it's not.




* I'm sure others on here can verify this method or recommend an alternative.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[username123]

Maybe I'm displaying my ignorance here, but doesn't the fact that my electrics worked for 35 minutes while the engine was running suggest that the alternator is fine? Or is it a case where it might have been putting out enough to power them but not enough to charge the battery?

[map]

Alternator may be fine. I was meaning the regulator/rectifier may be faulty and therefore battery will not charge.
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[username123]

I need to work on my basic reading comprehension.

[Casper]

read this doc.

Admin, if you are reading this why cant i upload or pm a docx doc?


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Battery Short

You want DC volts to check the battery "20V" option which looks like you've got on the pic. To check the reg/rec you use the same setting with the probes across the battery with the engine running which shows you the voltage being put out by the reg/rec. revving the motor will display the max output probably 14 odd volts.
That works whatever reg/rec you've got, external or built into the alternator like a Bandit.
With an external reg/rec you should have 3 wires going into it from the alternator/stator, disconnect the wires from the reg/rec, use AC volts and a highish setting to start with 100v?? and with the engine running at a high tickover(it's running off the battery only so make sure it's charged beforehand) put the probes on the wires in pairs 1-2 , 2-3 then 3-1 and you should see the same voltage for each pair. If they are the same then the alternator/stator should be good. You can also do a continuity check across the three wires without the engine running.
If you've got an alternator with a built in reg/rec you a bit knackered as you can only check the reg/rec DC output, if that's not putting out the right voltage it has to come apart.

20K ohms is ok to check continuity.

The 200V AC setting works for testing generator output. It should be around 20V at tickover, going up to 60/70V at high revs.


Having 12v across the battery does not tell you that it is charging. You need to measure the voltage across the battery with the engine running at a fast tickover - you should have 14.2-14.4v in order to charge it properly. A fully charged, new battery has 6 cells of 2.2v=13.2v nominal, so the voltage needs to be higher than that to charge at all.

A healthy, fully charged battery should be able to spin the motor over continuously for at least 30 seconds before giving out. I don't think your battery is charging properly.
The fact that the battery terminal is getting hot could be due to the voltage dropping to such a low level when cranking that the current has to increase massively to compensate.
First thing I would suspect is the battery itself especially if it's over 3 years old. Next on the list would be the reg/rect (IIRC Suzukis of this era had a bit of a rep for them).
With the battery out and the ignition off, check continuity between the -ve battery terminal and the frame/engine. This should be near as dammit 0 ohms. If it's more, then you have a bad connection to ground.
Next (still with the battery removed), switch off all the lights then check continuity between the +ve and -ve terminals, first with the ignition off and then on.
With ignition off it should measure infinity, or in the very high M ohms. With ignition on, if should be much lower but if it's less than about 10 ohms then you have a short somewhere.