07 990 ADV battery issues

[Buggles]

Hi Guys,

I'm having some issues with my battery and I'm hoping someone can provide some advice before I go mental...

I charge the battery on the optimate. I have to take the battery out of the bike for this, as I have no power in the garage.

When I put the battery back in the bike, and measure the voltage, it's at 12.60V. When I run the bike at idle (around 1400 rpm) that goes up to 12.97V. At 3,000 rpm, it goes up to 13.24 / 13.26. This is without any additional electrics running (like heated grips or GPS).

I left the bike for a week (alarmed) and over that period regularly measured the voltage, it went down to 12.34 from Sunday to Sunday.

When I tried to start the bike this morning (at 12.34V) it couldn't turn the engine over and refused to start.

It's now back on the Optimate.

What can be happening here? Is the battery drain experienced over a single week normal (due to alarm). Could it be because the power lead for my GPS (without the GPS unit attached to it) is wired to the "Always On" position? Is my battery done?

Any advice would be appreciated!

JB

[nomad]

Hi Guys,

I'm having some issues with my battery and I'm hoping someone can provide some advice before I go mental...

I charge the battery on the optimate. I have to take the battery out of the bike for this, as I have no power in the garage.

When I put the battery back in the bike, and measure the voltage, it's at 12.60V. When I run the bike at idle (around 1400 rpm) that goes up to 12.97V. At 3,000 rpm, it goes up to 13.24 / 13.26. This is without any additional electrics running (like heated grips or GPS).

I left the bike for a week (alarmed) and over that period regularly measured the voltage, it went down to 12.34 from Sunday to Sunday.

When I tried to start the bike this morning (at 12.34V) it couldn't turn the engine over and refused to start.

It's now back on the Optimate.

What can be happening here? Is the battery drain experienced over a single week normal (due to alarm). Could it be because the power lead for my GPS (without the GPS unit attached to it) is wired to the "Always On" position? Is my battery done?

Any advice would be appreciated!

JB

sounds like it's the battery at fault
can't see your gps lead causing the problem unless it's attached to something that requires power ?
my 950 adv would go flat after about 3 weeks with an alarm fitted

[outrunner]

How old is the battery? My mate Dogfart has just replaced the battery on his 950 because of similar problems.


Andy.

[Buggles]

How old is the battery? My mate Dogfart has just replaced the battery on his 950 because of similar problems.


Andy.

Battery is from August '07, and before I bought the bike, had always been on optimate when not in use.

JB

[Lutin]

Do you have a multimeter to hand?

If so, have a go at checking what current is taken whilst the battery is just sat in the bike - it should be just the alarm if I've read your post correctly.

An excessive current drain would cause the symptoms you describe - as would a knackered battery.

[Buggles]

Do you have a multimeter to hand?

If so, have a go at checking what current is taken whilst the battery is just sat in the bike - it should be just the alarm if I've read your post correctly.

An excessive current drain would cause the symptoms you describe - as would a knackered battery.

Hi Lutin,

Yes I have, as I used the meter to check the voltage on the battery.

How do I measure the consumption though?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I've wired my own house, but somehow a bike seems more daunting (possibly because I can't tear the problem parts out and disguise it with plasterboard).

JB

[Chad]

Hi Guys,

I'm having some issues with my battery and I'm hoping someone can provide some advice before I go mental...

I charge the battery on the optimate. I have to take the battery out of the bike for this, as I have no power in the garage.

When I put the battery back in the bike, and measure the voltage, it's at 12.60V. When I run the bike at idle (around 1400 rpm) that goes up to 12.97V. At 3,000 rpm, it goes up to 13.24 / 13.26. This is without any additional electrics running (like heated grips or GPS).

I left the bike for a week (alarmed) and over that period regularly measured the voltage, it went down to 12.34 from Sunday to Sunday.

When I tried to start the bike this morning (at 12.34V) it couldn't turn the engine over and refused to start.

It's now back on the Optimate.

What can be happening here? Is the battery drain experienced over a single week normal (due to alarm). Could it be because the power lead for my GPS (without the GPS unit attached to it) is wired to the "Always On" position? Is my battery done?

Any advice would be appreciated!

JB

drop the sump guard and take a butchers at the little cluster of electrics on the left hand side of the battery box (as you look at the bike from the front)

check all the connections for corrosion and also check the relays etc as well...its worth a look as when i had battery issues with mine the problem was caused by this.

check out this post by moi to show you

http://www.ktmforum.co.uk/showthread...ght=posts+chad

[Lutin]

Hi Lutin,

Yes I have, as I used the meter to check the voltage on the battery.

How do I measure the consumption though?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I've wired my own house, but somehow a bike seems more daunting (possibly because I can't tear the problem parts out and disguise it with plasterboard).

JB

He he, I like that last bit.

What you need to do is to put your multimeter in series with the battery. Connect the battery earth terminal, on the bike, as normal. Don't connect the live directly to the bike though - this is where you want to put the multimeter. To make the description easier, here's a multimeter -



On this meter you want to plug the leads to the "COM" socket and the "10ADC" socket - oh, and set the meter to the "10A" range.

Now connect one test-lead to the battery "Live" (Probably +ve) and the other test-lead to the lead that would connect to the battery - if that makes sense? The meter is now in series between the battery and your bike's electrics. I would expect only a small reading - assuming that there's only the alarm in-circuit - of less than 100mA (or 0.1 Amps).

Assuming that (for this meter at least) the reading is less than 0.2 Amps, you can get a more accurate reading by moving the test-lead from the "10ADC" socket to the Volts / mA scoket (the middle one on my meter) and changing the dial to the "200m" position. This will now give a mximum reading of 200mA or 0.2 Amps.

Does that make any sense at all?

[Buggles]

Thanks for the tip Lutin,

I'll give it a try once I put the battery back in... It looks like the battery is fine, as the Optimate is indicating there's nothing wrong with the battery.

Chad, I've tried getting at the white plug in your post, unfortunately, it's wedged so hard in between the wiring, I can't get at it without prising all the wiring apart

I'll use Lutin's check first when I fit the battery back tomorrow, failing that, I'll have no choice but to start fiddling with the connectors. I did check the connector for the regulator on the left hand side of the bike (or right if you stand in front of it) and that seemed fine.

We'll see,

JB

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Battery is from August '07, and before I bought the bike, had always been on optimate when not in use.

JB

Thats the problem!
Constant use of chargers knackers batteries.

Or like Chad says, check all electrical connections inc main fuse & relay.

Phil