Totally Weird Electrical Problem

[GZrider21]

Hello all, Im new here and Im hoping somebody might have some insight to my very perplexing electrical problem.

I have a 2008 gz and I bought it about a year and a half ago with less than a thousand miles on it. It looked and rode like it was brand new. I had to leave town for work and it has been parked for almost a year.

Yesterday I pulled it out and surprise surprise it did not start, no lights no horn no power. I figured hey easy fix lets give it a jump. Hooked it up to a car battery and after cranking out all the cobwebs it started right up, however when I took off and gave it some throttle it started to bog down badly and did not get any better. It would idle fine but when I gave it gas it sounded like it was skipping, bogging down, or like it was not getting enough gas, or like there was a timing issue if there is such a thing on the gz. After I turned off the bike and tried to start it again it was completely dead. Started it again with a jump and still had same problem. Decided to put the battery on a trickle charger overnight.

24 hours later charger said the battery was charged and I checked it with a volt meter and said it had 13volts. Turned the key praying for a green neutral light but got nothing, totally dead, but how can this be when my meter said it had 13v?

Jumped it again and it started with no problem. I noticed that the lights would get dimmer when I gave it a little gas which I thought was weird. Tried riding it again with same problem. Took a meter reading while it was idling and it said 11v and when i took a reading with a little throttle it went down to 6v. Turned it off got reading of 12v but acted as if it was deader than a doornail.

Now this is really weird....

I decided to take a meter reading after turning the key on. Meter read 0 volts! turned the key off 12 volts. WTF?

I am far from knowledgeable about motorbikes and a friend of mine said he had a similar problem although it was a truck. He said it was an alternator issue, the alternator was draining the battery. Do these even have alternators? I assume they've got to have some sort of electrical charging system but as I said I am pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff. BTW I have cleaned and tightened the terminals, looked for any loose wiring connections but everything seems to be alright

Any help, insight, suggestions would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks in advance.

[raul10141964]

before yo change anything test the battery and the battery connections

[GZrider21]

Taking the battery somewhere to get it tested will be my next step.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by GZrider21

He said it was an alternator issue, the alternator was draining the battery. Do these even have alternators?

Yes, it has an alternator. However, it's much more likely the battery is bad and it is drawing the alternator down, and not the other way around. Have the battery load tested; I suspect it will test bad. You cannot let them sit for a year and expect them to survive, especially if you have cold winters. A lead acid battery will self discharge and a discharged battery will freeze. Freezing destroys the battery.

[Water Warrior 2]

Hope you didn't boost the bike from a running car. A car at idle with a modern alternator will snuff the life out of electrical components in a bike. Likely your battery died from lack of use. After a year sitting idle the battery has probably lost it's ability to hold a charge. It may accept a charge but never hold a charge. Get a new battery and fully charge it at a slow rate.
Fresh gas and some SeaFoam will help with running issues due to gunk in the fuel system and carb. While you are at it you might as well install an inline fuel filter between the tank and carb.

[jonathan180iq]

Yeah, don't worry so much about the bogging and stuff. She sat for a year and has some old varnish and carb crud that she'll have to work through her system, unless you want to strip the carb and clean her up right. As mentioned, run some seafoam, Berryman's, or Marvel Mystery Oil through your next few tanks. (Probably Seafoam or Berryman's first. MMO is more of a maintainer and not so much a hard core cleaner like the other two.)

And, your battery is dead. The GZ needs a good solid charge to not only crank but to also run properly.

Again, to reiterate, always jump these things from a non-running automobile.

You may want to change your oil too, after 12 months of non-use. It gets pretty acidic in there.

[GZrider21]

Thank you all for your advice. It has been sitting for awhile and we do have pretty cold winters, going to go get a new battery today and will update later. Thanks.

[k1w1t1m]

Definitely a dead battery.

Be prepared to pull the carb and give it a cleanout.

[GZrider21]

Just hooked up my new battery, and as you all guessed that was the problem. I thought it might of been something else because of all the weird voltage readings I was getting. Changed out the gas mixed it with some sea foam and she sounds just as good as she used to. Thanks for all your help.

[Water Warrior 2]

:2tup: :2tup: