dead battery in less than 24 hrs?!

hello forumites,

here's another issue. background:
wed - had maintenance done on the bike, mechanic also charged battery
thu - bike started on first attempt, no issue, less than 15 minute ride
fri - bike started no issue, less than 15 minute ride
sat - bike started no issue > rode the bike for about 3 hours > parked > moved the bike to a different spot after approx 2 hours (started no issue, no sign of battery dying, lights not dimming when rev-ing.) > went to bed
sun - afternoon > bike wont start. i can hear the ignition starting and engine turning over. after a couple more attempts, starter wont even kick in (dying starter/ignition sound, lights were almost going out when using ignition).
mon - same as sun but weaker ignition/starting attempt.

what's going on here?! i said less than 24 hrs because of the sat-sun issue.

tue - rolled the bike to start. started ok. rode the bike for about 30 minutes > parked > same issue as before.

new battery?! attempt to recharge?! battery not keeping charge?!

any input would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

Sounds like exactly what happened to me, sounds like the battery is dead but then again, im not a technician.
I figured that the previous owner didn't maintain the bike as well as they should have as they didn't replace the spark plug (which is why they probably sold it to me cause it would have trouble starting) so I decided to change the 5 year old battery and its been starting up just fine the past month.4

Oh btw, when the bike is unable to start, is your neutral light dimming?

How's the stator and rectifier/regulator?

Does your bike have a parking light position on the ignition? I've accidentally clicked over to that once or twice but caught it before leaving the bike...

Do you have a 12V socket or anything that you may have accidentally left on/plugged into the bike that could have been draining the battery? Alarm system etc?

If none of the above is the case, then potentially it's a bad battery or the battery is not being charged properly by the bike...

when i turn the main switch to on, the headlight and front signal lights turn on (and rear lights), anything lit, dims when i attempt to start the bike.

stator/rectifier/regulator?! dunno.

bike does have a parking light position on the ignition. this past week i tried and turned it on maybe 3 different times and each time lasting no more than 5 secs. (just wanted to try it). i dont have any add ons besides the stock electrical equipments on the bike, so i cant think of anyhting else that might drain the battery.

now, if the bike is not charging the battery properly, then this sounds like a bigger issue. but what would explain the days before sunday?! where there was no issue at all starting the bike. starts with one click every time.

Parasitic drain on the system or the battery itself is fubar

What ken said ^^

Your charging system is likely not to blame, because the bike didnt die while being ridden for 3 hours. It also started when you pushed it.

Its most likely a crap battery.

you know there's a technical section, right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5:12

hello forumites,

here's another issue. background:
wed - had maintenance done on the bike, mechanic also charged battery
thu - bike started on first attempt, no issue, less than 15 minute ride
fri - bike started no issue, less than 15 minute ride
sat - bike started no issue > rode the bike for about 3 hours > parked > moved the bike to a different spot after approx 2 hours (started no issue, no sign of battery dying, lights not dimming when rev-ing.) > went to bed
sun - afternoon > bike wont start. i can hear the ignition starting and engine turning over. after a couple more attempts, starter wont even kick in (dying starter/ignition sound, lights were almost going out when using ignition).
mon - same as sun but weaker ignition/starting attempt.

what's going on here?! i said less than 24 hrs because of the sat-sun issue.

tue - rolled the bike to start. started ok. rode the bike for about 30 minutes > parked > same issue as before.

new battery?! attempt to recharge?! battery not keeping charge?!

any input would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

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Why did the mechanic charge the battery? what led to it needing to be charged?
Your charging system is probably not working correctly. Could be the anything in the charging system

without knowing anything else - this is my guess. A few very simple tests will isolate which component is not working correctly.

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pd...ng-diagram.pdf

im not exactly sure why the mechanic charged the battery. bike's been fine the whole week starting without any issues. it feels like the mechanic pulled a fast one on us (i had someone else bring the bike to the shop). the mechanic didn't even ask and he just went on and did a whole bunch more stuff to the bike and just wrote them all down on the receipt and charged us. i couldnt really argue but my friend just paid what the mechanic charged and we can't just ask the mechanic to 'undo' the job that we didnt request. though my friend filed a mini complaint. (i doubt that this would do anything).

anyhow, i will check the battery later, but regarding the rectifier/stator/regulator, where/how do i check this? (fairly new to this). i checked the manual and didn't see anything referring to these, though i saw a diagram for ignition/starter, but it's all circuitry.

thanks peeps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5:12

im not exactly sure why the mechanic charged the battery. bike's been fine the whole week starting without any issues. it feels like the mechanic pulled a fast one on us (i had someone else bring the bike to the shop). the mechanic didn't even ask and he just went on and did a whole bunch more stuff to the bike and just wrote them all down on the receipt and charged us. i couldnt really argue but my friend just paid what the mechanic charged and we can't just ask the mechanic to 'undo' the job that we didnt request. though my friend filed a mini complaint. (i doubt that this would do anything).

anyhow, i will check the battery later, but regarding the rectifier/stator/regulator, where/how do i check this? (fairly new to this). i checked the manual and didn't see anything referring to these, though i saw a diagram for ignition/starter, but it's all circuitry.

thanks peeps.

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What do you ride?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by djltoronto

What do you ride?

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virago xv250

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5:12

virago xv250

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If you can identify and test the componest from the diagram I linked in post #9, you should be fine. If you can't, perhaps you have a friend that can help you?

If you can ride to my house tonight I can help you.

Vic Park / Danforth

Do you have a charger? If yes, charge it up full. Then take the battery to any garage and ask them to do a load test on it, they should do this free. If it fails the load test then the battery is gone, no matter how much you charge it.

sat - bike started no issue > rode the bike for about 3 hours sun - afternoon > bike wont start. mon - same as sun but weaker ignition/starting attempt. tue - rolled the bike to start> started ok Doesn't sound like the batt lost it's charge looking at the chronology of events as you describe them. If there is a starter solenoid it may have bad contact causing high resistance high drain. Once in a while makes good contact and everything goes as normal?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5:12

but regarding the rectifier/stator/regulator, where/how do i check this? (fairly new to this). i checked the manual and didn't see anything referring to these, though i saw a diagram for ignition/starter, but it's all circuitry.

thanks peeps.

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Sounds like a rectifier going bad issue. You can narrow down the problem with a simple voltmeter across the battery terminals. Once battery charged, shouldbe 12.4-12.8volts at rest (or else bad battery). Once bike started and idling you should see 12.8-13v. Raise revs to 4k and you should see 13.2-13.8v if rectifier/stator is good. Post results and we can help narrow down the issue.

You should do some basic troubleshooting on it to help us out diagnose the problem. Tell us the voltage reading at the battery with the bike idling and at about 3k.

2 days no start then overnight Sunday the batt is ok to start on Monday?
Check the connections to the batt and the starter solenoid. If the batt is dead it wouldn't have started on Mon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RetroGrouch

How's the stator and rectifier/regulator?

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+1, make sure the bike is actually charging the battery while riding. I think during your 3 hour ride, some wiring was disconnected or your stator fried... Reason i say this is because if you rolled the bike to start it, and if your stator was charging your bike, your problem should have been solved with your new "slightly damaged" battery.

P.S. LSA batterys cannot be discharged more than 30% without any damage occurring, keep your battery's topped up!!!!!!!!