Electric Issue on New 2005 RSTD :(

[RSTardeD]

Was hoping I wouldn't have to post for advice in this section so soon after purchasing my 2005 RsTD last week. The bike has only 5400 miles. I picked it up last Friday. Rode it down to NYC where it sat in my parents garage till Tuesday. I drove over, topped off tires and air shock and rode about 400 miles. Left it parked till this morning. Today my dad went to start it to ride to work and get it inspected for me and no go, he said the battery was drained. Him and my brother push started it down my driveway and it fired up. He let it run for 15 minutes killed the engine and went to restart but the battery wasn't charging. The original owner replaced tthe battery last year and even gave me the old one. I am a complete layman when it comes to anything mechanical and really can't afford to take it to the stealership. Any advice? Only accessory iis a 12v adapter.

[Snaggletooth]

Best bet to chase the problem is to get the battery fully charged and let it sit disconnected from the bike for 24 hours to make sure it will hold a charge on its own. Could be that simple. Not unheard of at all.

 

Once the battery is topped off then take a reading with a multimeter or reliable voltage meter to see where the volts are at at idle and then again at 2,000 rpm or higher. You should be seeing a minimum of 13.8 volts or at best, 14.5 volts at the 2,000 rpm range.

 

At idle it should never be lower than the 12.6 volts that the battery puts out itself.

 

Then test the volt reading with the bike shut down to see if the battery is dropping.

 

If you are getting the good readings off the multimeter for these tests then you might want to start looking into anything that has been added to the bike for shorts in the wiring or possible drains on the battery. If the PO added extra lights or toys that is a good place to start. PO's can be very creative with their wiring. Go ahead... ask me how I know.

 

If you can not find an obvious problem you can start chasing the separete circuits by removing one fuse at a time to see if that circuit is involved with the drain on the battery. If the volts stay up on that one, move to the next fuse.

 

It's a PITA to chase some of this stuff but it's better to eliminate the smaller possible problems before jumping to the idea it might be be a stator or R/R.

 

If you are seeing big spikes in the voltage readings while running it is more than likely the R/R. Some failures there will show as high as 17 to 18 volts, Not cool.

 

If you're looking at a low volts reading while the bike is running you will need to get to the plug for the stator and take the needed reading there to make sure all three coils are putting out the proper current.

 

But that should keep ya busy for a bit. Let us know what you find.

 

Mike

[albyzee]

Does it take water? You might want to check the level?

[RSTardeD]

Does it take water? You might want to check the level?

 

What?? Sorry I feel like such an idiot when it comes to this.

[Snaggletooth]

He means if you have a lead/acid battery to make sure the water levels are topped off in each cell by either pulling the caps or looking at the side of the battery case to see where the level is. Some cases at translucent and you can see the fluid inside.

 

If it's a sealed battery, AGM or Gel, not to worry. You can't check those.

 

Mike

[arejay]

I had a similar problem couple a weeks ago with my 07 RSTD.... was as simple as dirty connections at the battery posts.

 

Cleaned them and made sure they were tight no problems since.

[k9cottage]

stopped to put wet weather gear on and no go when i tried to start it found the problem was battery terminal the bolt was tight as i couldn't wiggle the wire so i loosened the terminal bolt and re tightened it after a wiggle and all went back to normal again [ terminal was not dirty ] worth a look at.

[RSTardeD]

Thanks a bunch for all the advice! PO purchased the bike late summer 2007 so hopefully I can transfer the remainder of the warranty and let the stealership fix it.

 

I am completely retarded when it comes to all things mechanical /electric. Go figure I choose to be a nutritionist/PT instead of getting my:fingers-crossed-emo hands dirty. I actually had to have my brother help me change the oil on my GSXR 2x before attempting myself

 

*cower*

[09RSTD]

I once chased what I thought was an electrical problem and finally found it to be a bad battery. The battery was fairly new. Most auto parts stores have the ability to check batteries and the ones that I have gone to do it free of charge. Motorcycle batteries are fairly inexpensive. If the bike is still under warranty that would be the way to go. If you have more than one dealer in your area do your homework on the dealership. Have heard people on this forum that have had both really good and really bad experiences at dealerships. Good luck.

[RSTDdog]

The battery is under the seat if you didn't know. On the forward part of the riders seat there is an allen bolt on each side. Take those out and lift the front of the seat up and forward to remove the driver seat. Should be looking right down at the battery now.

 

As has been said, check the connections first, they may simply be loose. Next check the battery. I would be curious to know what brand it is. I am personally not a fan of the majority of batteries available at auto parts stores, Sam's, etc. If its the type with removable caps thats needs water added, I would get rid of it. Higher probability of leaking and corrosion issues, particularly if they didn't run a vent line. The bike was designed for a Maintenance free sealed battery.

 

The best battery for this bike in my opinion is the Original Yuasa Maintnenance free battery that came with it. My original battery is 6 years old and still in the bike. That battery is not cheap, but if you only have to buy one every 6 years, it ends up cheaper in the long run than most of the aftermarkets.

 

RSTDdog

[V7Goose]

Was hoping I wouldn't have to post for advice in this section so soon after purchasing my 2005 RsTD last week. The bike has only 5400 miles. I picked it up last Friday. Rode it down to NYC where it sat in my parents garage till Tuesday. I drove over, topped off tires and air shock and rode about 400 miles. Left it parked till this morning. Today my dad went to start it to ride to work and get it inspected for me and no go, he said the battery was drained. Him and my brother push started it down my driveway and it fired up. He let it run for 15 minutes killed the engine and went to restart but the battery wasn't charging. The original owner replaced tthe battery last year and even gave me the old one. I am a complete layman when it comes to anything mechanical and really can't afford to take it to the stealership. Any advice? Only accessory iis a 12v adapter.

There is not enough information provided to accurately help you pinpoint the cause, and it also sounds like y'all have a misunderstanding of what to expect from a charging system.

 

First, your symptoms fit the classic problem of loose or dirty connections. Often the battery terminals and cable ends on a vehicle can develop an invisible hard coating that will block good connection (not the typical battery corrosion of years past, but a clear layer on the metal surface). The only way to fix that is to scrape the surface to see shiny metal. But if your battery is actually drained, then you may have a real charging problem. Pull the regulator/rectifier (under the oil filter) and make sure the wires in the connecting plug are not burned - this is a relatively common problem.

 

More importantly, the only way you will be able to actually tell where the problem might be is to measure the battery voltage with an accurate meter directly on the battery terminals (NOT touching the screws or cable ends, but touching to top of the lead posts). There is lots of other information already provided in this thread and lots of others about what voltages you should expect to see and what the readings mean.

 

Finally, even if everything is working perfectly on your bike, running it for 15 minutes will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the charge level of a dead battery, even if you held the RPM up to 5,000 for the whole time. Even if your battery was new and fully charged, running the engine for 15 minutes of normal riding will not even fully replace the current you expended starting the engine, and if the bike was just idling, you are not charging anything.

Goose

[RSTardeD]

Thanks for taking the time to help guys! Spoke with my dad a few minutes ago. He.cleaned the terminals, the ground wire terminal and put everything together. The engine continues to turn over slowly but will not fire up. He seems to think the battery is holding a charge but the starter isn't getting enough electricity. The battery is indeed a sealed battery, brand I am not sure about.

 

I will call yamaha tomorrow and see.if I can transfer the last few months of warrenty by phone. Horrible timing as I am leaving for Europe till end of July Wednesday afternoon and working till then. Hopefully he can get the issue resolved before I return.

[V7Goose]

Do not make any phone call for this - you do not want to raise any red flags with the central company if you have had the bike for more than 10 days (just going from memory here).

 

In the real world, you almost never have to do anything other than take the bike in and request warranty service. The "transfer" is not actually anything that has to be done other than maybe the shop changing the name in the computer.

 

But the technical words in the printed warranty is where you could get screwed. They give you a limited amount of time to take the bike to a dealer to have it inspected and do the transfer, and the dealer is free to charge whatever horrible sum they think they can get away with. Any good dealer will never charge - the crooks stop at nothing to steal from you.

 

So no matter how long you have owned the bike, you want to take it in to a shop and request some specific warranty repair. Even if there is nothing to be fixed, just make up something, such as poor battery charging or poor MPG so that they will have to document your request and then tell you there is nothing wrong. The only possible downside to this approach is that you might have to pay a checkout fee after they do not find anything wrong (that is only fair). But if you do this when also paying for something like regularly scheduled service, a decent shop will rarely charge extra if the checkout didn't require disassembly.

 

Another option that will usually get the job done just fine is to give the shop the serial number and ask them to check the computer for outstanding TSBs - and while they are at it, please update the owner information and address if necessary.

 

But my main point is that even the "official" warranty transfer requires the bike to be taken to the shop, so there is nothing to be gained from calling someone, and possibly something to loose if you are past the official deadline.

 

BTW - if the engine is turning over slowly, either the battery voltage is low (we told you how to check it), there is a cable problem (poor contacts, corrosion, or burnt near one end), or the starter/relay is bad (absolutely rare on the 2nd gens). If it is either the starter or relay, it is certainly a warranty issue, but anything else would generally not be covered (except a charging problem). Since you implied that there was no starting issue when you picked up the bike, that almost totally rules out the starter, relay or cables.

Goose

Edited June 3, 2012 by V7Goose

[RSTardeD]

I spoke with two dealerships regarding the warrenty! Turns out that on the RSTD the warranty stays with the bike! ! Mine is good till July 24th and there is no need to pay or fill out any paperwork

 

I'm leaving the country for 6 weeks Wednesday so my pops will take it in and have them check the electrical system.

 

*sigh of relief*

[RSTardeD]

Dad called me a few hours ago, finally got his hands on a voltimeter.

 

Looks like battery is putting out 10 volts with bike off and 13.7-14v after he and my brother push started it down the driveway again.

 

So its looking like a bad battery!

 

Where do you guys recommend looking for a battery? Someone mentioned the original Yuasa as being.the best option. Any other suitable batteries you guys recommend?

 

I am not certain where to find these batteries besides the dealership.

[RSTardeD]

http://www.jcwhitney.com/1996-2010-yamaha-royal-star/bikemaster-battery/p3047130d17361y1996-2010j1.jcwx found these online as well.

[Snaggletooth]

Thiis thread is only the few of the comments on the DEKA AGM batteries. Check into them for sure. Stronger, more CCA's than most and Amercan made. Not to mention the cost is very reasonable for a battery that gives this kind of performance and life expectancy.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=70334

 

Mike

[V7Goose]

Dad called me a few hours ago, finally got his hands on a voltimeter.

 

Looks like battery is putting out 10 volts with bike off and 13.7-14v after he and my brother push started it down the driveway again.

 

So its looking like a bad battery!

 

Where do you guys recommend looking for a battery? Someone mentioned the original Yuasa as being.the best option. Any other suitable batteries you guys recommend?

 

I am not certain where to find these batteries besides the dealership.

If you do not have a good charger, get one first - you are going to need it. And make sure it has a 2A output option.

 

Now take the battery out and get it up to full charge, then let it sit for a few ours before checking the voltage. If it is not 12.9 minimum, you have found the issue. If it is 12.9, then drag it down to an auto parts store and have them load test it (CCA is 96 - you will need to know that for them to properly test it). If it load tests good, go back home and double check the voltage - even after the load test it should still be 12.9 or 12.8; if it is lower than that, start doubting the knowledge of the kid who tested it!

 

OK, so now we assume you have a fully charged battery that passed the load test - I'd just let it sit on the bench for a week or two if I didn't need to ride the bike - just to verify that the voltage doesn't drop. Assuming it passes all those test, you just saved yourself about $80.

 

If it fails and you do need to buy a new battery, I'd personally just buy the lowest price one you can find at either Sam's, Walmart, or the local auto parts store. Other folks often disagree with me, but I think any "fancy" battery is a complete waste of money. If the bike is in good working order and you understand how to make sure you battery is reaching full charge during normal use, that stock battery or standard replacement will last at least 5 years, and probably 7 or 8.

 

And now the most important part - DO NOT PUT THE NEW BATTERY INTO USE UNTIL YOU HAVE PROPERLY CHARGED IT!!!! Lots of people think that a new battery comes fully charged and can be put right in the vehicle, but they are dead wrong. If you do that, the battery will never reach it's full capacity, nor will it last as long as it could have. The instructions that come with your battery, or the sticker on top of it, will tell you what the proper charging rate it. But in general, you can just use any modern quality charger with low output and an automatic cut off/maintenance function and just leave it on the charger overnight.

[RSTardeD]

Replaced the Walmart battery PO had with OEM Yuasa

 

Charged up 100% first and after a night on battery tender she's holding 13.3v bike off and 13.8-13.9 bike idling.

 

Fires up in a split second.

 

Thanks for all the great advice!