cold starting

[barend]

Since I had the brilliant idea to change jobs and am now working nights, it sure would be nice to have a reliable starting bike in the mornings when it gets cold out there. When it gets cold she acts like a car with a dead battery, makes a half hearted attempt to turn over and stops, it'll do that again when I hit the starter button again. Then if i hook up the charger to jump it it'll turn just fine, still hard to start though. It has done this since I've owned it.

• battery is good
  
• upgraded battery cables
  
• starter contact was clean and dry but I pulled it loose and sanded the cable, washer and nut.
  
• 12.67V with ignition off
  
• 11.7V with ignition on
  
• 10.6V with starter engaged
  
• 13.37V with 2000RPM
  

 

 

Like I said, don't want to be sitting in the parking lot at 0630 when I'm dead tired and not be able to start the bike when it's 30 degrees out there.

 

I do have a set of louvered inserts I can slip into the side panels if anyone thinks that'll help.

 

Thanks in advance

[tz89]

On my previous bike I started giving a little twist to open the throttle before hitting start. It was a maxim 750 and with this change to my starting drill it always started. I do the same from habit with my VR but haven't owned it in cold weather yet.

 

I know this is not the recommended drill, and I don't know why this should make such a dramatic improvement to starting reliably. It worked for me.

 

I have been reading with interest the suggestion to replace the 2 brush stock starter with a 4-brush from a vmax. Others can report more on that.

[utadventure]

It still has the symptoms of a bad battery. In addition to the numbers you posted, batteries have cold cranking amps. You can have 12+ volts but have diminished ability to crank. Pull your battery and most auto parts stores can test it with a load on it.

 

Dave

[van avery]

I bought the DEKA AGM battery. Been happy ever since.

I fought with my 83 venture not starting unless it wanted too. I had to keep the charger on it all the time to make sure it would start. I had replaced the battery cables, cleaned the connections replaced the voltage regulator, etc. .

I had bought a Bike Master last year when I bought the bike just did not have the CCA to keep the bike starting w/o keeping the charger on it.

After I installed the DELKA it has been great starts everytime and have not had to charge it. It was well worth the extra bucks.

[mmaleney]

You may want to take the battery to a repair shop and have it checked for amp output, some times a battery can read good volts but still be shot, how old is the battery ?. Also you may want to check the starter switch, kill switch, and starter solenoid, You maybe also want to jump the solenoid just to see if that makes any difference or try one from a different bike. The switch to a v max starter will help in hot weather not so much in the cold.

[muffinman]

If the battery load tests good then I would suggest that you take the starter brushes out and clean the armature and brushes.I had one that was hard to turn over and that fixed the problem.Ricks motorsports electrics has a 4 brush plate that looks like it will work in the Venture starter motor I was looking at the catalog friday if mine acts up again I am going to get one for the blonde.

 

 

Jeff

[Flyinfool]

• battery is good
  
• How did you determine this? It needs to be load tested.
  
  

 

 

• upgraded battery cables
  
• This is good
  

 

 

• starter contact was clean and dry but I pulled it loose and sanded the cable, washer and nut.
  
• This is good
  

 

 

• 12.67V with ignition off
  
• A tad low but not bad.
  
  

 

 

• 11.7V with ignition on
  
• way to low. Should still be over 12V.
  
  

 

 

• 10.6V with starter engaged
  
• this is good
  

 

 

• 13.37V with 2000RPM
  
• this is way low, should be between 13.8 and 14.5.
  

 

 

I do have a set of louvered inserts I can slip into the side panels if anyone thinks that'll help.

This will have no bearing on turning the engine over.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Check the cranking voltage at the starter terminal. If it is lower than when checked at the battery, you have a bad connection or a bad solenoid. Dont forget the connections on the ground side. Both ends of each wire. Also look at the crimp, the terminals faces can be clean but still have a corroded connection between the wire and the terminal.

You can use your volt meter to find the bad connection.

 

Your charging voltage is low, this would be any one or all of, bad connection, bad stator, bad regulator.

 

All said, my first guess is a bad ground.

[barend]

I'll pull the battery and have it load tested.

 

I do have a new R/R from the group buy

 

I pulled the cable off while lying under the bike, couldn't see any other cable, where is it at?

[myminpins]

Our old bike used to act like that. The battery was bad. The stator was, too, but hopefully that's not an issue with your bike.

 

The numbers you gave for your battery are much too low. You most likely need a new battery. You also must charge your battery a minimum of once per month with a trickle charger that will not overcharge your battery.

 

If your bike sits during the winter, the battery should be pulled, put in the house or somewhere above freezing, put on a shelf (NOT concrete) and charged once per month.

 

If you have the new type of battery, this may be completely different but all battery "experts" seem to think this is the way to go to keep your battery in tip top shape.

 

When we got numbers like you got, we took the battery to a shop where they load tested it and said it was toast. Got a new battery and no issues whatsoever.

 

[darthandy]

Better yet, get a battery tender of some type. It will keep the battery charged at all times and avoid overcharging it. That way you just plug it in when you park the bike and unplug when it's time to go. Oh yeah...many tenders require that you unplug from the wall outlet before unplugging from the bike, otherwise the tender can be damaged. I've been using a couple for my bikes for years now and I always have a fully charged battery...nice when the temps drop down near freezing! The batteries seem to last longer as well.

 

Andy

[mmaleney]

The ground cable is right side of motor next to the exhaust pipe

[Condor]

The ground cable is right side of motor next to the exhaust pipe

 

Just above the waterpump on the frame....

I had a battery that checked out just fine. 12.9vdc at rest. Put a load on that sucker and it croaked. Ditto on the DEKA.

[barend]

load test checks OK, but needed recharging. Interesting as I just rode over an hour yesterday. Battery was slightly low on fluid and now I can't find the nut on the negative post and after filing another nut down I can't get the bolt to catch

 

I'll still check on the rest, may have to wait till my next day off

 

I'll add that the voltmeter shows 13.6 to 13.9 at idle (1000RPM) and a steady 14V at 3000RPM+

Edited September 13, 2011 by barend

[dray]

Since I had the brilliant idea to change jobs and am now working nights, it sure would be nice to have a reliable starting bike in the mornings when it gets cold out there. When it gets cold she acts like a car with a dead battery, makes a half hearted attempt to turn over and stops, it'll do that again when I hit the starter button again. Then if i hook up the charger to jump it it'll turn just fine, still hard to start though. It has done this since I've owned it.

• battery is good
  
• upgraded battery cables
  
• starter contact was clean and dry but I pulled it loose and sanded the cable, washer and nut.
  
• 12.67V with ignition off
  
• 11.7V with ignition on
  
• 10.6V with starter engaged
  
• 13.37V with 2000RPM
  

 

Like I said, don't want to be sitting in the parking lot at 0630 when I'm dead tired and not be able to start the bike when it's 30 degrees out there.

 

I do have a set of louvered inserts I can slip into the side panels if anyone thinks that'll help.

 

Thanks in advance

 

this battery fits the 83 Royale http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/shorai-lithium-lfx36l3-bs12.html

 

check out the Cold Cranking AMP'S

 

that should get ya fired up when the temps drop below 88 F.

 

Dray

[bobcat]

It could be a combination of a weak battery and using a higher viscosity oil

 

Eg...If you use a 20/50 oil, on cold mornings the higher viscosity can make any vehicle harder to start...

 

BTW: did you check your battery with a hydrometer? I've experienced a slow starting bike where one almost dead battery cell was the culprit..

[Galapagos]

Since I had the brilliant idea to change jobs and am now working nights, it sure would be nice to have a reliable starting bike in the mornings when it gets cold out there. When it gets cold she acts like a car with a dead battery, makes a half hearted attempt to turn over and stops, it'll do that again when I hit the starter button again. Then if i hook up the charger to jump it it'll turn just fine, still hard to start though. It has done this since I've owned it.

• battery is good
  
• upgraded battery cables
  
• starter contact was clean and dry but I pulled it loose and sanded the cable, washer and nut.
  
• 12.67V with ignition off
  
• 11.7V with ignition on
  
• 10.6V with starter engaged
  
• 13.37V with 2000RPM
  

 

 

Like I said, don't want to be sitting in the parking lot at 0630 when I'm dead tired and not be able to start the bike when it's 30 degrees out there.

 

I do have a set of louvered inserts I can slip into the side panels if anyone thinks that'll help.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Just my two cents. I am a service manager at a Mack truck dealership. @2000RPM you should be at 14v or better. The 11.7v is really a worry. I would replace the battery with the best one I could afford. Nothing like a reliable battery to make you smile. Also, if you continue to run a weak battery it will do bad things to your charging system. A battery can kill an alternator quickly. It has to work too hard to charge the battery. This applies to anything automotive.