Power probs, Battery? Alternator??

[hush]

Okay, I had a search round but didn't find anything that matched what is happening.

The bike (Kawasaki KH-125), kicks smoothly and easily. Now the problems start, all electrical. The indicators: Turn left, nothing, bring the revs up to 2K, they start to glow, up to 4K and they flicker, 5K flashes as normal.

When driving with the revs at 5K or above, indicators work just about, but touch the clutch lightly, and they work properly... Slow down and they stop working.

The head light is dimer than it should be at idle, but brightens up properly at about 2.5K.

I thought it may be the battery, but figure that even if that were the case, the alternator should power the lights and indicators fine whilst charging the battery. That being the case, I'm looking for ideas, especially as yesterday afternoon the bike just passed its MOT, so they must have been working then. Is it possible that a lead to the battery or alternator is loose or something?

Any ideas will be really appreciated, cheers.

[McJamweasel]

Sounds like a buggered battery to me. With the lights working as you rev higher that means that the alternator is working ok. Take the battery out and try and charge it, although you may just need to buy a new one.
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[hush]

Cheers. If the battery is good just lacking in charge, how much success do you think a good run without lights would have? I don't have a charger right now, and am kind of hoping that I can charge it from the alternator. Figure a new battery may end up being cheaper than a charger though

[McJamweasel]

A new battery will be chaeper than a charger, but a charger will be useful in the long run anyway (for when this happens again). That said, you may not be able to charge it. Do you have a volt meter? If you do see what the battery is reading.
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[Hex]

As Jam said it sounds like the battery is duff.

In theory you should be able to charge the battery from the alternator. However if the battery is badly discharged it may never get a proper charge back. Things like the optimate battery charger reckon they can sometimes revive such batteries.

Check the levels in the battery and give it a good charge off the bike would be the best way/buy a new battery though even then you may find you still need to buy a charger to charge it up initially.
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[Jammy-G]

Could it be a bad earth?

[hush]

Okay, problem appears to be solved, so here's a quick rundown and final solution.

It turns out it really was simple, though I have to admit that it involved something I didn't consider. I'll go through what I did, though this shouldn't necessary be read as a guide, it may be helpful to end the topic.

Step 1: I was pretty sure the battery was flat, but to be sure I removed the battery, switched on the ignition, kicked the engine over and switched on the indicator... nothing, revved up to 4K, and I had light

This confirms that the battery was not power the bike. Now I'm guessing that the battery was not charging from the alternator. The next part should have been the first thing I checked but I completely forgot about it...

Step 2: Traced back the power line to the inline fuse. Blown. Oddly it looked as though it had blown some time ago (it does beg the question how this bike went through its MOT a couple of days ago). So I replaced the fuse.

Step 3: Okay, battery time, could possibly recharge it, but since I don't have a charger, and they tend to be twice as expensive as batteries, so for now its off to the local battery guy for a 12V (odd that cause the KH is meant to be 6... but still). Put it in, and we have life

I'm guessing that everything else will work fine, but I'll check the battery electrolyte for the next couple of days, and of course the fuse to ensure it doesn't blow again.

Thanks for the suggestions guys