Total Loss of Electrical, Happy Ending!
The wife and I rode a little over 100 miles Sunday, no issues. Today, I had to run some errands. About 40 miles into it I stopped at the local hardware store. Got on, turned the key on and she woke up like normal. Hit the start button and all electrical died. Two friends of mine were parked next to me and helped. Started checking fuses all were good. Turned the key on and one friend noticed the fender markers were flashing. Turned the brights off and with the key on everything started blinking, and the speed and RPM needles started going from 0 to full scale. Battery connections were tight. Borrowed a volt meter and checked the battery. With switch off, there was about 12 volts, turned the switch on and it dropped significantly. There was an Auto Zone about 300 yards away. Took the battery out and got a new one from Auto Zone. They tested it and it only had 9.5 volts. Installed the battery and everything woke up and started!
I was surprised that it died without any hint of a problem. When I rode off, it ran smoother. There seemed to be a slight miss before, I thought maybe a fuel issue, that was now gone.
Blessed for several reasons: 1. Died at a local hardware store. 2. Died right next to two friends who gave me a hand, and drove me over to Auto Zone. 3. Auto Zone was so close and gave me a 10% discount. Although the battery cost me $100, everything worked out wonderfully.
