No Power

[eds]

2nd generation 2005 RSV Trike, I parked trike a week ago in the garage and placed tender on battery. Tried starting tonight and have NO power. No radio,lights, satallite radio, dash or horn. Battery seems to check good, local Autozone confirmed it should be good. The alarm still activates but one thing I did notice is alarm has very week chirping when tripped. Checked main fuse it is good. I have no idea where to go next. Battery is original.

[Guest]

Eds, check your battery connections for loose/dirty connections. Your battery cable ground point too. You said the load test came up good? Sometimes the starter solenoid has a dirty connection. Its located behind the left side passenger floorboard cover.

[wes0778]

Ignition Switch has gone south, or the plastic connector has melted.....

[Guest]

What Wes said could also be the culprit. I went through months of search and destroy missions before I found the culprit. In my case the regulator/rectifier plug had a burned pin. Wreaked havoc with my charging system. But, as you can see it could be one of many things going wrong in the system. Wish I could give you one positive location to look.

[darthandy]

Well, if it's not a corroded connection, as mentioned, it may be the ignition wire connector or the ignition switch. Here are some links to the ignition wire connector fix and ignition switch repair:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32359

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=34969

 

It's not too bad a job. The two biggest problems are 1) Getting the $%%^^&& tamper proof bolts off to remove the ignition switch, and 2) Getting a powerful enough soldering iron to add wiring to the ignition wires (10 Ga. required).

 

I would start by wiggling the ignition switch a bit to see if power goes on and off. That would be a pretty good sign that the problem is in the switch. Then I would check the connector. You would also want to add relays to the lights and ignition to avoid a recurrence of the problems. Actually, that would be good preventative maintenance at this point.

 

Good luck.

 

Andy

[steamer]

Eds,you said the battery is original. That makes it around 7 years old, even though it load tests ok, it is probably toast. At the dealership I work at we see a lot of batterys that load test ok but still prove to be bad. I would replace your battery. most batterys have a working life of around 5 years and much shorter for motorcycles because they get less use then a car battery. Letting a battery sit will shorten its life span.

[Cougar]

[eds]

I stopped and picked up a battery today , while it's charging in pulled tank and checked continuity as descriped in one of Freebirds posting and all checked ok. Figured while everythonng is off I may as well change plugs. I will put new battery in tomorrow and hope for the best. Thanks guys. Let you know tomorrow what happens.

[eds]

OK, I put new battery in and all is fine GOT POWER,

Now do I install a Ignition switch bypass or not??

[BuddyRich]

I have an 05 and no problems with the switch. Be sure to use some graphite in the tumblers and NOT WD40.

[eds]

I appreciate the input Buddyrich, Thanks. San Antonio is on my radar for next years trip. If I make it I'll be sure to look you up.

[ragtop69gs]

OK, I put new battery in and all is fine GOT POWER,

Now do I install a Ignition switch bypass or not??

 

It never hurts to be prepared The bypass is a quick and easy mod. The thing that takes longest is figuring out where you want the switch.

[Cougar]

Mine is a 2000 and I have never had a problem with my switch. however

I keep a spare in my trunk and the bolts to my switch have been changed

if I ever have to change it out on the road one day. have relays on all my

lights so the switch won't have to handle all that power as well.