Got it started, but...

Started bike with jump leads from car battery. Started after about 4
turns. But when I disconnect the jump leads, it almost stops. Chugs like
an old knacker. Reconnect the leads and runs smooth.

Ok. I presume the battery is having trouble making sparks, but does this
mean the alternator is buggered? I suppose I ought to stick a meter on it.

 

I think fuel injected bikes need a healthy voltage to run but ICBW.
Don't bugger about - stick an Odyssey battery in it.

Steve

 

It's carbed.

 

It gets worse. Now it won't run at all without the car battery attached.
Even after it was warmed up.

Bollocks.

 

Utterly shagged battery, or bad connections - with earth being the most
likely culprit. I've had the same twice now on the 'tart', with the
added fun of random total electrics loss before final diagnosis. Starts
on jump leads - dies when disconnected. That tends to 'boil' the battery
because of it's position though.



--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Definitely FUBAR battery then IME.
--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

If Paul is connecting both jump leads directly to the battery then there
won't be an earth problem on the bike. Conversely, if Paul is connecting
the negative from the car to the engine block/frame then a poor earth
from the bike battery is certain.

If not the earth then most likely, the underused battery has developed a
short circuit cell. This is enough to sink all of the output current
from the alternator. Next would be the regulator, then alternator.
Someone with a meter & a clue should be able to establish which in
fairly short order.

 

If connecting jump leads direct to the battery by clamping on to the
existing battery connection you can still get issues particularly on the
earth side. More a problem with car type round post batteries with cap
type connections TBF, as on a bike you can usually see the green fur
that suggests a bad connection or get on to the battery post itself.
I've experienced it a couple of times on SOCs. The cure is obviously to
remove the connections and clean them up.

My money is on the battery. When I had it on the Voxan the experts here
were most dismissive, but Patrick at Pointe de Corde guessed what it was
as soon as I told him the symptoms.


--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Battery to battery.

I left it on the Optimate when I went down the pub (yes, I was that
angry) and now it is reported as healthy. I'll have another play
tomorrow. If it starts and runs, I'll put the Avometer on it. If one cell
on the battery is duff, wouldn't the Optimate say it was knackered?

 

Update: Just been out to the shed and put the Avometer across the battery
(Optimate says wonderful) - 14V. Fine. Put it back on the Optimate and
the red light comes on. I think my Optimate's shagged.

 

Wouldn't be the first one to go that way - I'm on my second and my
daughter has just bought her third one after the previous ones packed
up.

 

if a cell is sulphated sometimes the Optimate can recover it as it uses an
algorithm rather than a simple trickle charge. Up to 22V is used to apply
the electrical equivalent of "hit it with an 'ammer".
http://www.accumate.co.uk/optimate 4 flow chart.pdf

Where an Optimate lets you down is by giving a false positive i.e. the
green "your battery is okay" LED comes on. This just means that the battery
held enough volts to pass the test. The Optimate does not do a load test
and can't tell for sure if the battery has enough Amps available to start
your bike. The Optimate can be fooled when a battery has a high internal
resistance.

For a fully discharged battery I would not expect the battery to be
recovered by an Optimate after a few hours down the pub. It usually takes
an overnight session. So, if you have a fully charged indication on the
Optimate already I suspect you have a battery that has Volts and a higher
than optimum internal resistance which will deliver fewer Amps than
desired.

 

Did you disconnect the Optimate from the power source? My Optimate is a Mk1
and it does not like to be re-connected to a battery unless the mains plug
has been removed from the wall socket.

 

I always pull the mains plug and then disconnect the battery. It's
instinct since a certain incident involving a battery on charge, a
starter motor that needed testing and a trip to the hospital at high
speed.

 

ISTR the Optimate charges at around 1 amp. A typical bike battery is
around 10AH so if it claims to be fully charged in less than 10 hours
from fully flat this suggests that the battery is fucked.
Adjust the artithmetic as required.
You might get a few more weeks out of it after a day or so on trickle
charge but time to order a decent new battery.

Yuasa or Varta. YKIMS.

 

Post corrected.

 

My Quota - with Italian electrics - will happily run when the voltage
droops to the point where the indicators are noticeably dim in
daylight and the electronic tacho needle is sagging to indicate a
thousabd RPM too low. I don't know exactly what voltage that was but
the tacho perked up again when I turned the lights off.

This I learned when the alternator fried a year or so ago.

If you think about it, they have to work even when the motor is
cranking on the starter.

 

Don't **** about, buy a new battery. Better that, than getting
stranded somewhere with a bike that won't start ...

Paul.

 

Er, what about "TAB MOTO"? 50€ from the local bike shop. We shall see -
not today though, as it's pissing down.

 

Depends on how long you plan to keep the bike. Cheap shit batteries are
a false economy but if you just want it to work for long enough to
Nige it out you could save a few quid.