Battery Drain no crank after 3 days sitting

Terminator2

Terminator2

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Joined
Jun 27, 2016
Messages
28
Age
70
Location
Auburn California
Bike
2006 ST1300
Hope everyone is doing as well as can be. Just been riding and haven't posted in some time. Been having some battery drain issues for a few months. If bike sits for 3 days, volts are down to 11.8 and bike might crank over. So, been using trickle charger. I'm not highly electrically inclined. New oem alternator and harness are 2. 4yrs old and 16k miles on them. New battery approx. 6-8 months old. Here is my youtube video of testing so far
.

Thoughts are appriciated as usual. Thanks guys.
 
as I recall the clock circuit on the ST1100 draws something like 1-2mA, well above what you're seeing, and doesn't cause battery drain.

after 3 days you've drained something like 55mAh from the battery. Even though its a pretty new battery, that seems suspect to me. So either your measurement technique isn't right, or your battery is weak for some reason even though it isn't very old.

when you say you're not electrically inclined, are you inclined enough to know how to connect the meter. It seems like you probably have it done correctly, but just in case, describe how the meter is connected in your video.
 
The manual states that 2.5mA is the maximum acceptable current leakage. I haven't watched the video fully, but I would be pulling one battery terminal off and setting the multimeter between that and the battery. If that is what you did, then seeing 0.76mA isn't excessive, and the reason for the fast current drain may be inherent to your battery. If you pull the battery out of the bike, how does the voltage change over time (i.e. through self-discharge)?
 
Parasitic draw is usually about 30 milliamps or under. Some modules need to go to sleep . That can take up to 30 min. So leave everything hooked up and check is after 30 min. If nothing changes charge the battery and leave the fuse out for a few days. If that solves the problem then you will have to see what else is on the circuit. Clock and instrument cluster are the only thing I can think of that needs constant battery power to keep memory.
 
Do you have accessories that might not be turning off, like heated grips? If you know how to use a multi meter, then the current draw test noted in @TerryS's post will tell you what the parasitic draw is. If you don't know what you are doing, you can roast* your meter. Start with the highest setting for amps and work your way down. You might reach out to a friend who knows to help you trouble shoot this.

*Years ago I had a Kiethly multi meter. I hooked it up to measure current draw and immediately blew the internal fuse. No big deal, but it was my only meter and of course I did not have the appropriate fuse. I was surprised when i took the meter case apart and saw how small the circuit board inside was.
 
A .76 ma current drain is well within the maximum allowable limit of 2.5 ma specified by Honda. It is less than 1/3 of the allowable maximum. Based on that it does not appear as though there is anything wrong with the electrical system insofar as current leakage goes. Perform a charging system functional test to see what your charging system is doing. You did not state whether or not you had the battery tested. Even though it is not very old have the battery tested to make sure that it is good. Assuming that all connections are clean, tight, and corrosion free, based on the results that you have posted it seems more likely that either there is a charging system fault or the battery is defective. Having the battery tested is the easiest and cheapest place to start.
 
Alternator should not have any parasitic draw,
Yes, an alternator can absolutely cause a parasitic draw. While an alternator's job is to charge the battery, a failure inside the unit will drain power and leave your battery dead when the engine is off. [1, 2]

The Culprit: Bad Diodes or Voltage Regulator
The most common reason an alternator causes a draw is a failed diode inside its rectifier. [1, 2]
  • How it works: Diodes act like one-way check valves. They force the electricity generated by the alternator to flow in only one direction (into the battery). [1]
  • The failure: If a diode shorts out, it allows electricity to flow backward—leaking power from the battery into the alternator and turning it into a giant resistor when your vehicle is turned off. [1, 2]
 
Last edited:
Terminator2 said:
Hope everyone is doing as well as can be. Just been riding and haven't posted in some time. Been having some battery drain issues for a few months. If bike sits for 3 days, volts are down to 11.8 and bike might crank over. So, been using trickle charger. I'm not highly electrically inclined. New oem alternator and harness are 2. 4yrs old and 16k miles on them. New battery approx. 6-8 months old. Here is my youtube video of testing so far
.

Thoughts are appriciated as usual. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Like many here - id load test the battery, 11.8 reading after three days and normal readings for draw to me indicates the battery is failing. Just replaced one for recent ST behaving very similar. Bought a quality battery and advised him to always leave it on a good battery tender when parked for days or more. Keeps battery at peak and avoids wear running low voltage - some of these latest batteries are not good quality. A standing battery should recover well above 12+ volts
 

Voltage engine cranking/run video today.
Danger Zone, battery amp draw changed. I only have automotive battery load tester.
 

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Al st1100 said:
Alternator should not have any parasitic draw,
Yes, an alternator can absolutely cause a parasitic draw. While an alternator's job is to charge the battery, a failure inside the unit will drain power and leave your battery dead when the engine is off. [1, 2]

The Culprit: Bad Diodes or Voltage Regulator
The most common reason an alternator causes a draw is a failed diode inside its rectifier. [1, 2]
  • How it works: Diodes act like one-way check valves. They force the electricity generated by the alternator to flow in only one direction (into the battery). [1]
  • The failure: If a diode shorts out, it allows electricity to flow backward—leaking power from the battery into the alternator and turning it into a giant resistor when your vehicle is turned off. [1, 2]
Click to expand...
Thank you Al. I'm trying to understand cause of pending failure. I installed this oem alternator 16k miles ago with new alternator harness. My bike odo is 108k today. Guess I'll dig out former failed alternator and attempt to find fail point.
 
In your video the battery voltage dropped below 10.0 V when starting the engine. A defective battery can cause strange voltage readings. Regardless of whether there is another issue or not I would still be wondering about the battery condition.

Previously you had a .76 ma draw, which is within specification. This latest video shows a 4.69 ma draw, which is to much. My apologies if I missed it but it is not clear to me whether you have isolated the source of this draw or not. Does it drop on its own eventually if you wait? Does it drop only when you disconnect something? Does it remain constant as long as the test meter is connected?
 
Andrew Shadow said:
In your video the battery voltage dropped below 10.0 V when starting the engine. A defective battery can cause strange voltage readings. Regardless of whether there is another issue or not I would still be wondering about the battery condition.

Previously you had a .76 ma draw, which is within specification. This latest video shows a 4.69 ma draw, which is to much. My apologies if I missed it but it is not clear to me whether you have isolated the source of this draw or not. Does it drop on its own eventually if you wait? Does it drop only when you disconnect something? Does it remain292 constant as long as the test meter is connected?
Click to expand...
Thank you for your patience. Amp draw Was 0.76. During my testing (while) ground disconnected with MM attached, I turned key to on position. Result was
the current amp draw of 4.69. Also noteworthy, during engine run, most fuses measured 14.1 volts (same as alternator output), however Fusebox #1:

July 3, 2026
10amp -ABS main = 13.4 volts
10amp- Position Meter Light 13.4 volts
10amp- Start Stop =13.7 volts
10amp- Headlight = 13.4 volts

I can't help but think that these 4 sub-par voltages have a connection with the engine off amp draw.
 
Terminator2 said:
Thank you for your patience. Amp draw Was 0.76. During my testing (while) ground disconnected with MM attached, I turned key to on position. Result was
the current amp draw of 4.69. Also noteworthy, during engine run, most fuses measured 14.1 volts (same as alternator output), however Fusebox #1:

July 3, 2026
10amp -ABS main = 13.4 volts
10amp- Position Meter Light 13.4 volts
10amp- Start Stop =13.7 volts
10amp- Headlight = 13.4 volts

I can't help but think that these 4 sub-par voltages have a connection with the engine off amp draw.
Click to expand...
there is a voltage drop across anything carrying current, and even more drop if there's corrosion in the path somewhere. So, depending on where you're measuring voltage as you move away from the battery you're going to get a different result.

What's the voltage with the bike running at the battery terminals? If you're over 14 there then all these other readings don't really mean much, and as has been mentioned before it could be the battery itself even though its not very old.
 
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