Starting Relay....Redux

[dmoff1698]

Here we go again...

Around two years ago I started having a strange indication when first turning on the ignition switch, usually after the bike had set for a few days. Turn on the switch and it would take a full 5-10 seconds before ANYTHING came on, no radio, lights, dash, nothing. Cycling the switch off and back on had no effect. I thought at first that I was loosing the switch or my mind (the most likely). After the electrics finally came on, I was good to go until she set for a few days again, no problems.

 

Finally dug in and looked at the starting relay and found it completely encased in corosion!! Where did that cr*p come from??

 

Long and short of it is I cleaned everything up as best I could, pasivated the area with soda water, rinsed and replaced the relay. All is well...

 

Until this weekend. Bike has set for several days and when I went to move it, nothing. Same indication as two years ago. No lights, no radio, no dash, all kayput! :depressed:Checked the battery voltage, good, shurly not the relay again!!! Yep, again completely covered in that white/green cr*p I have come to hate. Here we go again.

 

Here are some pics of the relay after I knocked off most of the gunk getting it out. Notice that things were stuck together so bad that the relay came appart taking it out. The relay pins broke off inside the connector plug and the connector is toast. Might as well replace the battery cable while I'm there.

 

Also note the paint pealing from a few areas on the swing arm just below the relay. How does all this happen with a sealed battery? This is not in an area you get to with normal cleaning, but still......

[dingy]

What is the condition of the battery?

 

Do you often need to add water if it is a lead acid type.

 

Could it be overcharging?

 

This looks like a reaction between the sulfuric gas that is produced when the battery is charging and the metal.

 

 

Gary

[dingy]

I reread your post and see you have a sealed battery, so adding water question is invalid,

 

Still looks like sulphuric gas reaction though.

[RandyR]

Could have been a previous battery, is my guess. Assuming the current sealed battery isn't leaking somewhere...

 

I'd make a solution with some baking soda and spray & wipe everything down in the area good.

[1BigDog]

Wow, I never saw corrosion like that on a relay! Are you using a Battery Tender on your battery to upkeep it? They are supposed to be anti-sulfating chargers. Definitely replace that cable too and once you get it back together use some dialectric grease on those connections.

[Eddie Fulmer]

I had trouble with corrosion on the battery terminals on my golf cart for a long time. I was replacing 1 about every 2 weeks. A friend told me to paint them with never seize. It's stuff that is usually used on bolts and such so that they won't rust up on the inside and you can get them apart easily later. I bought a small can and used an acid brush to coat the connections with. It worked like crazy. I don't know what caused that corrosion but that will stop it dead! It's possible that some of the sulfuric acid/vapor that came from a previous owner/battery seeped up into the cable and that's what caused the "new" corrosion. You just can't clean up inside the cable. Good luck.

[footsie]

The back tire throws water and what ever is on the road in the area of the silenoid, if you live where they salt the roads that is more than likely the culprit.

I had the same problem with my 2004, the were actual salt crystals around the silenoid.

I bought my bike out of north ga.

I modified mine where the fuse holder is relocated behind the side cover, and I sealed over the silenoid, covered the plug with dielectric grease.

 

Gregg