battery not charging fully

Joined
Dec 3, 2022
Messages
21
Age
69
Location
alberta , canada
Bike
07 st1300
So, i,m riding down the highway .It is a very warm day last summer. All is well and normal until I notice that the bike has lost all info from the dashboard.. The tach goes to zero , the speed goes to zero , everything goes blank as if the key was turned off.. It , the bike , however is is still running normally. I am about 10 miles or so from anywhere , and so am hoping that we make it! I do make it to that point ,and decide if I should shut the bike down or do I leave it idling. I have to shut it down as it is to warm to leave it . Let it sit for 5 or so minutes and try to start. No dice , at best ,I get the click of a dead battery.. I get a boost from a aux. battery pack and the bike starts right away. I let the bike idle for a short while and notice that a wire from the circuit containing the fuse is smoking hot and starting to melt the insulation. I shut it off . In total the bike maybe ran for 5 min . I let it cool again for a few and try to se if it will start up again on its own (no boost pack) , and it does.! Believe me that this happens to me twice more , same thing again.. It would seem that upon shutting off the bike and then restarting with a boost is resetting something. Any thoughts or advice . Thank-you
 
Seeing as this is your first post, welcome to the forum from Texas !

As you didn't specify directly, we can assume you have a 2007 ST13 (as per Profile).

I've read about this, but haven't found it yet.

Others with direct experience with this will no doubt beat me with troubleshooting info.
 
Seeing as this is your first post, welcome to the forum from Texas !

As you didn't specify directly, we can assume you have a 2007 ST13 (as per Profile).

I've read about this, but haven't found it yet.

Others with direct experience with this will no doubt beat me with troubleshooting info.
Thanks Texas , and yes it is a 07 ST 13. Its a great bike . I:ve had it for about 11 years. Rode mostly in Canada of course , but it has been in California with me on it.
 
You didn't state what circuit was overheating to the point of melting the wire. Before you do anything else, you need to identify what circuit was overheating and why. Repair that defect, then you can diagnose the battery/charging issue.

You also need to find out why it got to the point of melting the wire- a fuse should have blown before that.
 
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You didn't state what circuit was overheating to the point of melting the wire. Before you do anything else, you need to identify what circuit was overheating and why. Repar that defect, then you can diagnose the battery/charging issue.

You also need to find out why it got to the point of melting the wire- a fuse should have blown before that.
Hi and thanks for the reply and insight , I will take a pic of the wire in question and forward to you. I agre that the fuse should have blown , that was the first thing i checked. I did replace it right away anyway.. I also replaced the battery that day with a new one , thinking there may be a short in it or something. I will get back to you. thks
 
What is the size of the fuse? My guess is someone removed a small fuse designed to protect the wires and put in a bigger one (example - replaced a 7.5 amp fuse with a 20 amp fuse). Prime suspect for electrical problems on ST's is the 23 pin connector behind the headlight - look at the wires for discoloration and/or melting plastic indicating overheating. The ground wire frequently is the problem.

In fact, you should probably look over all the connectors on the bike for these signs.
 
Hi and thanks for the reply and insight , I will take a pic of the wire in question and forward to you. I agre that the fuse should have blown , that was the first thing i checked. I did replace it right away anyway.. I also replaced the battery that day with a new one , thinking there may be a short in it or something. I will get back to you. thks
IMG_0325.JPGIMG_0329.JPG
 
Your picture is of what is supposed to be what Honda calls main fuse B. Original from Honda that is a 65 amp fusible link.
What you have is not the way that it came from Honda. Someone bypassed the 65 amp fusible link, presumably because it had blown, and installed a standard automotive fuse. You have a green fuse installed, which is normally only a 30 amp fuse. Original from Honda it is 65 amps, so that whole set up is questionable from the little that I can see in the picture.

It is hard to tell from your picture, but the wire size used to do this bypass looks to be much smaller than the original wires. This would explain the overheating since they can not carry the 65 amps this circuit is designed for. If it had a 30 amp fuse in it, it should have blown.

I would remove that whole set up. Purchase a new fusible link from Honda and put it back to the way that it is supposed to be. Once you have the correct wire size and the correct fusible link in place, you can then start checking to see what it going on.
 
Yikes! That's truly a mod done by someone who doesn't understand electricity. Glad it didn't cause any more damage than melted insulation to this point; agree with replacing the 'modified' part with an original and trusting Honda's engineering (in this case anyway!)
 
well that's a first, never seen a mod like that before. Time to remove that addition and get it back to stock form before going any further. I'm curious what's inside the fuse box and how it looks given the melting wire scenario, but its a moot point really since it has to go.
 
Hi, Harry and welcome from Alabama, we also know hot here.
I agree with @Andrew and believe you need to put that fusible link back to stock configuration.
There are several insights and photos on the bike's electrics in the Articles on the forum, and I'm sure someone will suggest getting the official Service Manual for your machine. They are still available.
 
BTW, here's the part info for the 65A fuse in case the one inside the housing is shot. Maybe get a new cover (item 12) while you're at it, since the original has been cut open.


Capture.JPG
 
Your picture is of what is supposed to be what Honda calls main fuse B. Original from Honda that is a 65 amp fusible link.
What you have is not the way that it came from Honda. Someone bypassed the 65 amp fusible link, presumably because it had blown, and installed a standard automotive fuse. You have a green fuse installed, which is normally only a 30 amp fuse. Original from Honda it is 65 amps, so that whole set up is questionable from the little that I can see in the picture.

It is hard to tell from your picture, but the wire size used to do this bypass looks to be much smaller than the original wires. This would explain the overheating since they can not carry the 65 amps this circuit is designed for. If it had a 30 amp fuse in it, it should have blown.

I would remove that whole set up. Purchase a new fusible link from Honda and put it back to the way that it is supposed to be. Once you have the correct wire size and the correct fusible link in place, you can then start checking to see what it going on.
Wow,,,Thank-you very much. I had never really given it much thought. I guess I always perceived a modification there ,but it did always seem to function . I will certainly take your advice and knowledge ,and replace to factory specs.. Sure glad I connected with the Honda forum.. Thanks again . I will keep you posted.
 
Hi, Harry and welcome from Alabama, we also know hot here.
I agree with @Andrew and believe you need to put that fusible link back to stock configuration.
There are several insights and photos on the bike's electrics in the Articles on the forum, and I'm sure someone will suggest getting the official Service Manual for your machine. They are still available.
Thanks Good to be with you all.
BTW, here's the part info for the 65A fuse in case the one inside the housing is shot. Maybe get a new cover (item 12) while you're at it, since the original has been cut open.


Capture.JPG
 
Yikes! That's truly a mod done by someone who doesn't understand electricity. Glad it didn't cause any more damage than melted insulation to this point; agree with replacing the 'modified' part with an original and trusting Honda's engineering (in this case anyway!)
I will get the proper parts for sure,, YAH That is the way the bike came to me when I bought it.
 
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