Battery not charging, test and replace alternator?

Al Gully said:
I used this Solar conductive tester to check the internal cell condition.
It's my go to tool when I have electrical charging/battery problems.

Clore Automotive SOLAR BA5
VITAL FOR EVERY CAR OWNER
The Clore Automotive SOLAR BA5 Electronic Battery Tester is an ideal solution for every car owner. The device is suitable for testing most types of 12V batteries. You'll be able to check the condition of wet batteries (including maintenance-free), AGM (flat plate, spiral wound), gel cell, and even deep cycle batteries. The SOLAR BA5 basically belongs to conductance testers that apply an AC voltage during the measurement. An important feature of the tester is that it's capable of indicating the cold cranking amp level, therefore, to find out the estimated lifespan of the battery is no longer a problem! The tester allows you to measure amperage capabilities in the range from 100 to 1200 Cold Cranking Amps, so it'll be suitable for most modern car batteries!
SIMPLICITY AND USABILITY
The tester offers a really incredible ease of use. All readings are shown on the digital LED display, it doesn't matter where and when you will carry out the testing—the display will provide you an optimal viewing. Additionally, you'll be able to select the CCA rating to obtain the most accurate readings! A simple navigation via a few buttons will allow you to select among CCA, DIN, IEC, EN, CA standards depending on the type of an accumulator. Special indicators under the display will help you assess the condition of a vehicle battery based on the achieved data. Additionally, the tester provides pass/fail LED results, so, it'll be a piece of cake to determine whether the battery needs to be replaced.
The SOLAR BA5 is an ideal choice to settle on. An excellent compatibility with a large number of batteries, reverse polarity as well as a comprehensive protection against overloads makes this car battery tester a versatile solution for any self-respecting car owner.

clore.jpgSolar.jpg
Click to expand...
I did not assume, I used a batter test with load testing.
 
Roger. said:
I hope it never comes back and catches you out - you'll wish you had looked into the problem some more...
Click to expand...
Without a doubt!!!! I know the next time I have time and going to clean the bike and take apart the right side I am going to do more trouble shooting or removing the connections to the unit all together.
 
squid101 said:
I did not assume, I used a batter test with load testing.
Click to expand...
Although not germane to this thread.......

Although uncommon, a battery can test OK and still have something wrong. I had a relatively new one (about 6 months old) that suddenly failed in the middle of a trip. Took it back for warranty where it tested just fine on the bench. I described, to the tech, the situation, whereupon, he picked the battery up, shook it around and retested it. It tested fine. Did it a second time and it failed completely. Apparently a broken internal buss bar (whatever that is) can do this (according to him). Gave me my money back since I had already put a new battery in.
A very wise man, who was the guru for Vstroms, used to say "...99% of electrical problems originate from the battery...."
Bikes have a love/hate relationship with their battery!!
 
Here is a question I asked but was not fully answered. I understand that a bad battery will not have enough amperage to start a battery. You can jump it, run it all day, see that it is "charging" based on a meter, but it is really not taking a charge. When you shut the bike and try to restart it will not work. That has happened to me on bikes and cars. However, in all of these instances in my experience, the alternator was charging the battery. This thread was started because the alternator was not charging. So my original question was this, will a bad battery cause the issue I was experiencing? Would it show that the alternator is not charging? What does the condition of a battery have to do with the alternator generating electricity? Please do not think I am challenging anyone who responded to this thread, I really want to understand this more, electric problems are always the hardest things for me to diagnose.
 
I think you're right to question the battery condition, vs what the alternator is doing. Your bike should be able to run with a dead battery if the Alt is charging, just like vehicles IMO. I don't think the Alt can generate enough power though to run your headlights, heated seats, etc and the engine with a dead battery, well at the same time. Electrically I'm not strong either , but experience on some situations gives us a little knowledge.
I agree that the battery is usually a part of any electrical issue on the bike and that's why most suspect it first. Since you have ruled that out, did you find anything else yet?
 
Kevcules said:
I think you're right to question the battery condition, vs what the alternator is doing. Your bike should be able to run with a dead battery if the Alt is charging, just like vehicles IMO. I don't think the Alt can generate enough power though to run your headlights, heated seats, etc and the engine with a dead battery, well at the same time. Electrically I'm not strong either , but experience on some situations gives us a little knowledge.
I agree that the battery is usually a part of any electrical issue on the bike and that's why most suspect it first. Since you have ruled that out, did you find anything else yet?
Click to expand...
Yes, the issue is the heated grips. The control was in some sort of state where it was drawing full power but was not illuminating the led lights. I had to rev the bike to start charging, then turn the heating grips on then off. They would not go on at idle. Once the heating controller reset all is well, including charging at 13.9 to 14.0 v at idle.
 
Something isn’t right here. The ST1300’s electrical system has enough excess amperage to run a set of grips at full power plus two sets of heated gear and auxiliary lighting without exceeding output. The battery really exists to start the bike and act as a capacitor to absorb voltage spikes. The alternator provides for the entire electrical system loads and excess current charges the battery for the next start event.

From what I can cull out of the posts the alternator doesn’t pass the simple service manual test of standing and running voltage.
 
dduelin said:
Something isn’t right here. The ST1300’s electrical system has enough excess amperage to run a set of grips at full power plus two sets of heated gear and auxiliary lighting without exceeding output. The battery really exists to start the bike and act as a capacitor to absorb voltage spikes. The alternator provides for the entire electrical system loads and excess current charges the battery for the next start event.

From what I can cull out of the posts the alternator doesn’t pass the simple service manual test of standing and running voltage.
Click to expand...
That is really not 100% right. When I have the heating on about level 3 or higher with my other accessories one, it would blink, showing that it does not have enough amperage. This was like it since I got the bike new.
 
squid101 said:
That is really not 100% right. When I have the heating on about level 3 or higher with my other accessories one, it would blink, showing that it does not have enough amperage. This was like it since I got the bike new.
Click to expand...
Don’t miss the point. There is a problem with the grips but that’s not the charge issue, it’s a separate problem. A properly working ST could easily power many sets of heated grips on their highest power and still charge the battery. Grips are fused at 5 amps on the ST1300 IIRC and the ST has a 740 watt/60+ amp alternator. Some of that is used to run the bike but hundreds of watts are excess and available for accessories like grips, sets of heated clothing and extra lighting.
 
Last edited:
dduelin said:
Don’t miss the point. There is a problem with the grips but that’s not the charge issue, it’s a separate problem. A properly working ST could easily power many sets of heated grips on their highest power and still charge the battery. Grips are fused at 5 amps on the ST1300 IIRC and the ST has a 740 watt/60+ amp alternator. Some of that is used to run the bike but hundreds of amps are excess and available for accessories like grips, sets of heated clothing and extra lighting.
Click to expand...
Gotcha, good to know. I wondered about the spec on the alternator. And I get it that my grips might have had an issue since day 1. Thanks.
 
dduelin said:
Some of that is used to run the bike but hundreds of amps are excess and available for accessories like grips, sets of heated clothing and extra lighting.
Click to expand...
Not to confuse anyone reading this, I am assuming that you meant to write "but hundreds of watts are excess and available ......".
 
An
Andrew Shadow said:
Not to confuse anyone reading this, I am assuming that you meant to write "but hundreds of watts are excess and available ......".
Click to expand...
Andrew,

Yes, thanks for pointing out my mistake. I edited the previous post.
 
So as previously pointed out this would come back to bit me in the ass. The other night driving home the battery died. I was on the side of a parkway at night. I was playing with the hand warmer buttons and it looked like all the electric reset itself. Waited about 10 minutes and the battery had enough charge to start the bike. I used the light on my phone to confirm the battery was now being charged and made it home. Yesterday I removed the heated grips and unit. But the bike is still not charging. I have 2 questions. 1, the quarter harness, is that stock on the motorcycle or was it installed when I had the dealer put on the heated grips. 2nd, has anyone ever heard of an intermittent charging system?
 
I answered #1 myself, the quarter harness was installed by my dealer for the heated grips and the cigarette socket.
 
I agree, although I believe the problem might be elsewhere because I have check the battery connections a few times. I know I had issues with the heated grips, so I am going to keep them off. I was hoping removing them would have fixed this problem. I suspect that the issue might have to do with the quartet harness so going to check that out before giving up and bringing to a dealer.
 
Be sure to check and clean all the ground connections.

You could run a heavy bypass wire from the battery negative terminal directly to a bolt on the engine to test that.

A volt meter will only indirectly tell you what is going on. The best tool is a DC amp clamp meter.

get something like this.

ampClamp.jpg
 
So your saying add a second ground wire to the battery, this will allow me to start the bike and ensure the grounding is good? Thanks for the advice.
 
If the bypass wire "fixes" the problem then it means that issue is in the ground circuit. There are multiple grounds on the bike that should be cleaned and tightened.
if the bypass does not fix the problem the the issue is in the positive wires.
look for corroded or loose connections. Any high resistance point will reduce the current from the alternator. got to check both end of the wires and connections in between.
Some bikes have a separate alternator fuse that should be checked for corrosion. Not sure which bike you have....

I hope you did the standard clean a lubricate the starter, clutch, kickstand, and kill switches.
check all the fuses.

Sometimes when I hop on my bike and hit the starter button I hear a click and nothing happens.
I put the bike in gear, release the clutch, rock the bike forward and back once, pull the clutch and then it starts right up.....


good luck.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom