battery sensor; etc....

[barend]

Went by the shop today to get a new front tire and while there i inquired about battery prices, I was planning on ordering one online for $85 but since the shop was going to charge me the same thing, why bother?! Here's the point, the battery I bought did not have a probe, However!!! the probe cap from the old battery fit on the new one so I now have a new juice box with probe.

 

for whatever that is worth..... I should maybe fess up that I had not checked fluid levels on the old one :whistling:and two of the cells were about an inch low, two were at or just below the low mark and the remaining two (including the one with the sensor) were still OK. Kind of defeats the purpose, to have a sensor and it only reading one cell. Might explain why the battery seemed weak:doh:

 

Bike still was hard to start when leaving the shop and the mech said it sounded like one of the carbs "just kicked in". he said it was interesting, maybe one of these days i can get to a MD and have someone with more sense give me an opinion:scratchchin:

[Dano]

Might have been the new battery's a little low on charge, these bikes are a bear if you don't have full voltage with good CCA in them. Have you done the cable upgrade yet? Next step. Also pull the starter, take it apart and clean all the carbon dust in there out. There is also a mod for soldering an extra grounding wire inside the starter that will help out hard-start situations.

 

Good luck and let us know if we can help mess you up a little more!

[barend]

Could've been Dano. Already have the cable upgrade, but proly should look at the starter though turning over is not a problem per se, she's just not catching especially when she's cold. (leave it alone guys ) Plugs are good though.

[Venturous Randy]

Barend, to add a little Dano's comments, cleaning out the carbon dust is a big help and particularly checking the bearings. On two starters I have had apart, both bearings in the bottom were a very dry. I did not see any damage, but putting in some good lube was a good thing.

Probably one of the best things I did on a battery and I have had my 83 almost 14 years and have put an additional 108,000 miles on it, is to goet to the Oddesy battery. I have also heard there may be a better option in the Deka, but I already had the Oddesy and it is working great, hot or cold. In fact, the other day when it was about 22º and had not been above freezing for about ten days, it started very good. A lot of it has to do with starting technique and bikes do differ.

When starting mine after it has sat a little while, I will turn the ignition on and flip the kill switch about a half dozen times. This activates the fuel pump, and you will hear the clicks. Some people use the ignition switch to do this, but I feel using the kill switch may keep the contacts clean, and this is the only time I use the kill switch.

I will pull the choke lever, which is actually enriching valves, about 3/4. I DO NOT move the throttle. My bike does not like the throttle touched when starting, whether hot or cold. As the other day when it was so cold, it cranked over very good for a second or so and fired up, ran a couple of seconds and died. I again hit the starter and it fired and ran surprisingly well. I reduced the choke some to bring the idle down and after about 30 seconds or so, the throttle became responsive without hesitation.

RandyA