Start Up Problem

[jonathan180iq]

Awesome!
Now that she's running, get some carb cleaner and take her for a nice long jaunt to stretch the legs.
Nothing better for engines that to run.

Keep us posted.

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by longumd

A sunny and warm day today [...] Performed an oil changed and cleaned the chain in the afternoon.

Today (Sunday) was nice in MD too, so I went on a ride and put up a new tag in the tag-o-rama thread.

Also cleaned the chain and changed oil & filter today. I'll do the rest of the 9,000 miles service later.

[lenkf]

Example of old battery: Original battery in 2003 Explorer. Turned on the key switch to listen to a couple tracks of a CD this cold morning. When trying to start the car 15 minutes later, battery would not turn engine over - click, click, click... Battery was working fine until now but just a few minutes of playing a CD was enough to use up the remaining power in the old battery. Something similar has happened with an old battery in a motorcycle when I left the lights on. Even recharging overnight could not overcome the internal loss of power capability. At least this is a good time to get a new battery just before the cold winter begins when you need reliable battery power. We ride year-round in Cali (not meant to brag).

[Gz Rider]

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[blaine]

Originally Posted by Gz Rider

The strange thing with the problem this guy was having is when he jumped it from a vehicle he said it still didn't work.

I would chalk that up to a bad connection on one of the booster cables.Some types of booster cables are near imposable to get on the posts properly of a motorcycle battery.
:cool:

[Gz Rider]

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[longumd]

Some updates of today's ride

Weather: sunny, warm, 50 F

I can hear combustion happen when I press the starter switch and the bike was turning over. However, if I release the starter switch soon (1-2 sec), the bike won't turn over. What I did this morning is exactly as Saturday night--hold the starter switch for a while to keep the combustion then the bike starts.

P.S. I used choke and bike is on neutral.

I'm thinking of use charger to charge my new battery every weekend in winter, does it hurt the battery?

[jonathan180iq]

So she's not starting, again?

You need to start checking for shorts.
It could be that you have a short somewhere that is not enough to drain the battery completely but it is enough to keep the system for sparking properly and running. I mean, you have enough juice to turn the starter over and you know from riding the other day that you have a good fuel delivery system.

What's your voltage now?

Someone with more electrical experience needs to guide you through resistance testing or whatever it's called to look for shorts.

When you pull the battery terminal, and put it back on, does it arc? If it is, you have a draw somewhere that shouldn't exist. (Do this with the key out and all switches off.)

[longumd]

It starts, but I need to hold the starter switch for about 5 seconds.

Sorry for the confusion in my last post, just to be clear:
Pressing the starter switch for 1-2 seconds only, the bike trying to turn over, heard occasional hit of combustion, release the starter switch, bike didn't start.
Pressing the starter switch for ~5 seconds, the bike trying to turn over, heard occasional hit of combustion, then felt the bike turned over, release the starter switch, bike started.

I will try to record the voice starting process on my bike and upload it.

Didn't get a chance to measure the voltage this morning, will do that when I get back today.

--"When you pull the battery terminal, and put it back on, does it arc? If it is, you have a draw somewhere that shouldn't exist. (Do this with the key out and all switches off.)"

No arc.

[Gz Rider]

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