After a 145 mile ride south east of Tucson my 1992 ST 1100 died in my RV park one block from home. All fuses are good, battery shows 10 volts between terminals, but no lights, clock etc work. Retightened battery terminals, still nothing. Battery is 10 month old AGM. Any thoughts?
Engine stopped, no warning lights, headlights,clock
- Thread starter jamesw905
- Start date
JPKalishek
Armadillo Kicker
either the battery is bad, or it isn't getting a charge. Does a jump start the bike? if it does, and it stays running after the jumpers are disconnected, hit the brakes (often the low voltage will keep it running barely and that is enough to kill the engine) Still running? then check voltage. If you have no volt meter, watch the headlights as you rev it. Do they brighten a bit? If so it is charging, but it still might not be enough. I had a regulator that was marginal. even with LEDs everywhere but the headlights, it was only "charging" at 11.5 volts until it got over 5,000 rpm when it finally got to 12 volts.
I had a spare but it is a very old stock one as well so I bought a Rick's. On the other hand, the other bike has twice had the battery go south ... bike batteries tend to either work, or not. I had done some volt checks days before and it started fine going in to work, and coming home, no go. I bumped started it and needed gas, so had to again bump start it ... not easy on a 700 pound beast. I've only had one that slowly got weak, and gave me a bit of warning before it was going to die.
I had a spare but it is a very old stock one as well so I bought a Rick's. On the other hand, the other bike has twice had the battery go south ... bike batteries tend to either work, or not. I had done some volt checks days before and it started fine going in to work, and coming home, no go. I bumped started it and needed gas, so had to again bump start it ... not easy on a 700 pound beast. I've only had one that slowly got weak, and gave me a bit of warning before it was going to die.
If the battery is dead after only 10 months, there is something more wrong than just a dead battery. Although it *could* be a defective battery from new, your charging system needs an inspection. Are you still with the OEM 28 amp alternator?
st11ray
2006 ST1300
My old '94 died one time while I was pulling into my driveway. It was the 28 amp alternator.
Both you and the OP were lucky to be near home! My '95 ST1100 28 amper died about 130 km away, but, my CAA (AAA) membership saved the day, paying the $300 towing fee back to my house!
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Well get a new battery and then tell us if there is still a problem.
John OoSTerhuis
Life Is Good!
If you still have the OEM 28amp alternator, the very first thing to do is perform the alternator test in the service manual. Simple continuity check of the three AC legs of the stator. Quick n easy, engine off. Proceed from there.
Edit: do you run an onboard voltmeter? If so, what was it reading when the ST quit?
Edit2: what does the red 4P connector at the starter-relay/main-fuse unit look like?
John
via iPhone 4S
Edit: do you run an onboard voltmeter? If so, what was it reading when the ST quit?
Edit2: what does the red 4P connector at the starter-relay/main-fuse unit look like?
John
via iPhone 4S
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The 28 amp was replaced last year with the 40 amp alternator. The digital volt meter was 14.2 volts in the early part of the ride but the sun made it hard to read for the second part of the trip. I will try the jumping suggestion and let you know tomorrow what's happening. Thanks for all the great advice.
John OoSTerhuis
Life Is Good!
OK then. Check the red 4P. It may have overheated and melted at the red lead. Wouldn't be the first one. Assume you checked the new 40amper's 55A fuse, AND the main 30A fuse, right?
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The red 4P looks like it's been hot but that is from the 28 amp days and hasn't worsened. That plug would get too hot to touch almost immediately with the 28 amp, but stayed at ambient temp once it was fitted with the 40 amp. Both fuses are good. I'll try the jumping first thing in AM. I also want to install a more prominent volt meter that doesn't require unsafe riding to view in bright sun/heavy traffic situations.
Could be a broken main ground wire, I'd check your grounds...
After sitting overnight the battery registers 12.6 on two different testers. All fuses are good, ground wires are good,and power is present in the wires heading toward the ignition so I wonder if the ignition switch failed. Tried jumping off the car, nothing.
kiltman
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If you haven't replaced the red plug or the wiring to it, I would do that no matter what. It still may be the cause or it will be a problem later on.
The ignition switch is a possibility, as that happened to my '95. On mine, the lights, etc were all off, with the key in the on position, but turning the key slightly towards off brought everything to life. The base contacts had worn after 170,000 kms. I took it apart, cleaned all the contacts, put it back together, but no luck. I needed to replace the contact base. If you get lights on with a small movement of the key, I'd say that is definitely your problem.
FWIW I have bought new AGMs that were faulty. My guess is you have a bad battery. My 1995 never gave me any charging issues even with the 28 amp alternator, maybe I was just lucky for 85k miles.
Make sure that your battery cable connections at both ends are clean and tight.
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I took steel wool to the cables and wires on both +- sides of the battery. The negative cable looks corroded from the visible top down into the plastic covering. I tightened the bolts up good, turned the key on, all lights came on and it started like it was new. When I get back from a short trip that negative cable is heading for the recycle bin. Thank you for every reply. All were helpful.
I like it when the fix costs $0.00 (assuming you had the steel wool on hand already).
I had a similar problem many years ago on a car battery. I had some corrosion that I cleaned off, but didn't look close enough to see it had worked its way inside the insulator and was creeping down between the strands of wire in the battery cable. Finally cut back the insulator and found a mess, and like you plan on doing, replaced the entire wire.
The part about your failure that's a bit weird though, is that it was normal one day, and totally dead the next. You'd think the corrosion would have created a more gradual symptom of weaker and weaker starting over time.
I had a similar problem many years ago on a car battery. I had some corrosion that I cleaned off, but didn't look close enough to see it had worked its way inside the insulator and was creeping down between the strands of wire in the battery cable. Finally cut back the insulator and found a mess, and like you plan on doing, replaced the entire wire.
The part about your failure that's a bit weird though, is that it was normal one day, and totally dead the next. You'd think the corrosion would have created a more gradual symptom of weaker and weaker starting over time.
Outlaws
Outlawarrior
Just saw your thread and the cable would have been my next suggestion.
not an engineer but do understand that electricity travels on the exterior of a conductor and previous overheating can foster corrosion and eventual failure.
happened to me on my '91 and bypassed the fuse with an inline unit, end of problem.
glad you found and fixed the issue...
not an engineer but do understand that electricity travels on the exterior of a conductor and previous overheating can foster corrosion and eventual failure.
happened to me on my '91 and bypassed the fuse with an inline unit, end of problem.
glad you found and fixed the issue...