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Mororbike electrical fault - can you help? |
I have a Yamaha FZR600R and a month ago fitted little neon lights. No problems there. Recently had heated grips fitted too. It went fine for 20 miles or so, then cut out on the motorway. No warning, no spluttering, just zero engine power. I pulled onto the hard shoulder and tried restarting the engine. The starter motor was very perky and the lights were on full beam i.e the battery was not flat - it just wouldn't start as if I had no petrol (full tank before you ask). I called the RAC and the guy tested the battery. With the lights and hotgrips on there was only 12.7V at the battery which is one whole volt less than it needs. He jump-started it and it went fine (hot grips unplugged). Straightforward, right? Just too much of a draw and the bike runs at a loss? No! This is the bit I don't understand: it wasn't just too much of a draw because this would have run my battery down but my battery wasn't run down at all - there was still loads of life left. Why is this and what can I do? Sounds like you have a pinched wire or fuel line somewhere, maybe when you put the bike back together. Perhaps even the power/ground wire to the battery wasn't fully tightened. Sometimes it doesn't take much. The bike should have kept running even if you'd have disconnected the battery entirely so the state of the battery would have nothing to do with it cutting out. Have you had a problem with it since then? If not, it's possible having the mechanic take it apart enough to get to the battery released the pinch and it'll be ok now. If it was a pinched wire, you might want to chase that down if possible (if it's in a bundle it might be just about impossible to find the actual pinch). The gear you have isn't going to draw enough of a load on the bike to prevent the battery from charging which was proved when you tried to start it and it sounded like it was trying just fine. Source(s): I have a chopper without a battery (kick start) and a Hayabusa with heated grips, Gerbings' jacker liner and gloves, LED accent lights, GPS power plug, power adapter (for iPod and phone jacks), Autocom communications system. With them all plugged in and on, my battery will not charge at idle however it charges fine at 13.3v at 2500rpms. I believe that the installation was ok but that when you turn on your ignition that there is a short to ground and it drains your system. I would check any ground from your heated hangrips. You understand that your bike will run with the battery disconnected once started. If the problem is the load of your hot grips it鈥檚 the load on the alternator that鈥檚 the problem. Did you check the compatibility of the grips with your bike? Have you any idea what they draw (A)? I don't think your aftermarket parts are the problem. If there was so much of a current draw to kill the engine, the battery would be dead. Keep a spare spark plug and float bowl drain screw wrench handy. When the motor cuts out again, quickly pull off a spark plug cap. Install the new plug, lay the threads of the plug against the engine and try to start the bike. If no spark, then there's a problem with the ignition system (CDI, pulse generator, kill switch - it's unlikely that both coils would go bad at the same time). Open a float bowl drain screw to check if the carbs are getting fuel. If the carbs were clogged, the bike would at least sputter. Get rid of the neons, they don't make it go any better or help you in any way. Assuming they've been wired correctly, hotgrips shouldn't be a problem on a bike like that, you'll have to balance what you want - whizzy lights or warm hands. I vote for the hands. This sounds like an earth problem mate, possibly a loose contact from when you fitted the grips and neons? At 12.7 volts the battery should of turned the engine over and certainly would not of caused it to cut out. The jump start, with the additional power would of overcome a loose connection. I would suggest checking all points where the electric system is ground to the frame and replace any shady looking connections. Especially around the ignition coil. As for grip compatibilty- are they 12v? is your bike 12v? then they are compatable! |
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