So, I shorted the battery to ground, . . .

randalicious

randalicious

Seasoned M/C Rider
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
93
Location
~Georgetown, TX
Bike
'07 ST1300
. . . and now, the dash stays dark and pressing the starter button doesn't do anything. If the key is turned to ACC, the dash clock displays the time (1:00), though.
All this happened after I was changing the battery and allowed a loose wire to my GPS power to short the positive side of the battery to ground. Funny thing is that the inline fuse in the GPS power line didn't blow.
I've checked all the other fuses with an ohm meter, and they are all good. So is the fusible link next to the battery at the starter relay connection(s).
I've also disconnected the GPS power line from the battery, and still nothing . . . .
Does anyone know of another fuse or circuit breaker that might cause everything to be no-go? Or, do I need to trailer it into the dealer? I'm just about to spend some quality time with the factory manual, but I'm hoping for some help from the group.
It's an 07 ST1300 in case you can't see my avatar/etc.
 
I'm not a great wrench like many of the others on this site, but until someone smarter than me responds, I would suggest you check the battery connections and the connection to the ground- particularly the grounds.
 
Hmm, sorry missed your next to the relay comment sorry. I need to get a bigger screen.

If you have a volt meter start at the battery and work your way out.
 
randalicious said:
All this happened after I was changing the battery and allowed a loose wire to my GPS power to short the positive side of the battery to ground. Funny thing is that the inline fuse in the GPS power line didn't blow.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to understand how this happened. Was the loose wire a positive or negative lead? What was the other end of this wire connected up to when this happened? What did the loose wire touch? The positive battery post directly? Was there a significant spark generated when this happened?

Sounds like it has to be a fuse problem. There are two main fuses. One is 65A and the other is 30A. The 30A fuse is located by the starter relay switch.
 
Scooter said:
I'm trying to understand how this happened. Was the loose wire a positive or negative lead? What was the other end of this wire connected up to when this happened? What did the loose wire touch? The positive battery post directly? Was there a significant spark generated when this happened?

Sounds like it has to be a fuse problem. There are two main fuses. One is 65A and the other is 30A. The 30A fuse is located by the starter relay switch.
Click to expand...

To cut the suspense, I think I've got the problem solved, but here's the answer to your question:

The loose wire was the positive that goes to a cigar lighter socket that was hanging loose. The metal ring on the front of the socket (ground for the plug) touched metal somewhere in the underseat area. The ground for the socket was grounded. The seats were off. There was only a slight click.

It's not a fuse problem because all of them checked as 0 ohms.

But here's the rub--I had the old battery on the charger (@ 6 amps) for several hours and hooked it up to the bike. The bike came alive, however, did not crank, just like before. It sounds like it's not turning over fast enough to crank.

I'm taking the new battery back to the store tomorrow. The voltmeter says that the new one puts out about 10 volts, even after charging up on the trickle charger.

Thanks, you guys, for the prompt responses. Thanks a million! :bow1:
 
Yeah, always look at voltage, not impedance when looking for why things are not working electrically. ;)
 
6A is way too much current to charge a motorcycle battery! It should be done 1,5 to 2.0 A max. Probably fried something inside the battery with the charger. The loose wire likely wasn't related, particularly as you mentioned that the fuse in that wire didn't blow.
 
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