Battery drain still

[labill]

I read the post on checking for battery drain but I am not sure what I have. Every few days my battery is down. So I disconnected the negative wires. Attached test light to negative cable and battery negative. Test light lit.

 

Went and disconnected all extra hot lines to the battery, except the main cable, still lit up. I then disconnected the main hot cable and light still is lit.

 

I reconnected all hot lines, left negative side alone with a test light. Checked fuses and still nothing.

 

Am I looking at a bad battery? I am not an electrician wiz so I am lost.

 

Thanks,

labill

[djh3]

Couple different ways to go about this. If only using a test light hook it up inline with either battery lead. IE clip to battery negative and the point tight with cable end so light is in line. Turn key on and see if light is on, turn key off and light should go out. Bad part about this way is the entire draw has to run thru the poor test light and if its a large one it will fry the light. Amp meter is best way, but still need to remove fuse for carb heat as it is a mother of a electrical hog at times. Shouldnt be on as hot as it is, but ya never know. I dont know i maybe a burned up/failed voltage regulator could cause a battery drain like this. I know we use to have problems with internal regulators on cars with a regulator go bad and drain battery.

[labill]

When I disconnect negative cable and attach test light clip to cable and tip to the battery the light is on even with ignition off. I just pulled the main fuse and the test light still stays on. The light is not dim but bright. Like I said before if I disconnect all wires, including hot cable and connect to negative with test light it still stays lit.

 

I had just purchased a new battery to replace the old one so I put that in and the same problem exists. I have pulled the faring and can find not frayed wires but having pulled the main it should not have made a difference, right?

 

When I go for rides no problem starting, just when it sits for about 2 to 3 days.

 

 

I am lost.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

labill

[frankd]

When you take the negative lead off the battery and touch one test light lead to the battery and to the negative battery cable and the light comes on, you DO have a current drain. Next disconnect whatever cables you have connected to the positive battery terminal and the test light (still on the negative terminal and cable) will go out. Then touch the leads you removed from the positive terminal to the positive terminal one at a time to find out which wire is drawing current. Let us know what you see and we'll go from there.

[djh3]

OK just incase I'm reading this wrong or something. You are connecting to negative cable discon from battery and then test light to negative terminal on battery rite?

[labill]

Have done all of what you said but test light stays on. When the positive side cable is disconnected the test light still stays on even with nothing connected

[Flyinfool]

Are you sure that you do not have a continuity tester?

Does your tester have a battery in it?

Connect the lest light clip to the test light tip, does it light?

 

With everything disconnected from the positive battery terminal and the test light connected between the neg cable and neg battery there is no possible way the light can be lit by the bike. There is something wrong with what you are doing, or something is getting lost in the explanation.

 

Bad part about this way is the entire draw has to run thru the poor test light and if its a large one it will fry the light. Amp meter is best way, [/QUOTe]

 

It does not matter what the load is, it will not fry the bulb A bulb does not act like a fuse. The bulb has a specific resistance that will only allow a certain maximum current to flow.

The test light is the better option until the draw is low enough to make for a dim bulb, then switch to a amp meter.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Flyinfool

[djh3]

OK I'll pack that in the memory banks to forget later. LOL I should remember this kind of stuff. I expect my students too.

[MikeWa]

There could be a bit of a problem. These bikes use a keep alive voltage for the computer. That circuit can cause your light to be on. Even with the key off. Depending on the light. The best way to check for a drain is with a DVOM. Use the milliamp circuit. A draw under 25mA is ok. Over 75mA is bad. Just be careful. It is very easy to blow the DVOM milliamp fuse. When in the milliamp function do not use the meter like a volt or ohm mater. When in any amp function the meter is a dead short. So only test pos to pos or neg to neg parts of the circuit. That is called 'in line' testing. I recommend the negative lead to the battery negative and the positive lead to the disconnected negative cable. Start on the 10 amp scale and work your way down to the milliamp scale. There are a few other issues that could crop up but try this first.

 

Mike

[Flyinfool]

Normally the "keep alive" does not draw enough to light an incandescent bulb. Pulling the fuse for the "keep alive" circuit will also remove that from the equation.

[labill]

I have tried everything and still nothing changes. The test light is not battery operated. Like I said I have removes faring, all good, pulled all hot lines from added accessories and pulled the main fuse.

 

I will have to live with this and hope it is just a small drain. I will keep a battery tender on when not using.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

 

labill

[mm482]

With nothing hooked to the positive post, there is no path for current to complete the flow from negative to positive. I have seen batteries that were wet or dirty conduct enough current from post to post to drain a battery, but I think you said it did the same thing with a new battery.I would sure love to see a video of your test. When you get it figured out let us know?

Earl

Edited July 26, 2017 by mm482

[frankd]

Actually a video of what you are doing would be helpful. Or if it'd be easier, hook up the test light and take a picture and post it. If you have an incandescent (regular light bulb) test light, you probably are doing something slightly wrong. With all the cables off of the positive battery post, there is no path for any current at all.