Very Low Battery and electrical noise

[sockeye342]

So ever since I put the speaker system on the spyder, if I forget to put it on the trickle charger, the battery will be dead in a few days...today it was so low the trickle charger gave a fault error, so after a bit of reading, I put it on the regular charger instead.

Almost immediately, the gremlins started appearing and it has never done this before:

--static through the speakers
--dashboard lights came on
--all the idiot lights would light up
--electrical noise every 15-20 seconds from the gas tank area (the fuel pump trying to activate??? not sure???)

I pulled some fuses and the main relay to try to take care of the gremlins, but the electrical noise 15-20 seconds keeps going.

After charging for 20 minutes, the trickle charger has been able to take over and the "electrical noise" is still there every 15-20...I don't think it was there before when I remember to put it on the trickle charger.

What do you guys think?

Did I screw by not keeping the Spyder the trickle charger?

Thanks for your input
Jeff

[Docster]

So ever since I put the speaker system on the spyder, if I forget to put it on the trickle charger, the battery will be dead in a few days...today it was so low the trickle charger gave a fault error, so after a bit of reading, I put it on the regular charger instead.

Almost immediately, the gremlins started appearing and it has never done this before:

--static through the speakers
--dashboard lights came on
--all the idiot lights would light up
--electrical noise every 15-20 seconds from the gas tank area (the fuel pump trying to activate??? not sure???)

I pulled some fuses and the main relay to try to take care of the gremlins, but the electrical noise 15-20 seconds keeps going.

After charging for 20 minutes, the trickle charger has been able to take over and the "electrical noise" is still there every 15-20...I don't think it was there before when I remember to put it on the trickle charger.

What do you guys think?

Did I screw by not keeping the Spyder the trickle charger?

Thanks for your input
Jeff

Not keeping on a trickle charger means nothing, many owners bever use them.. You've screwed up something in the electrical system.

Everything fine---->put in speaker system----->multiple problems with battery, lights, electrical noise, idiot lights ----->sort of diagnoses itself.

[Little Blue]

Just curious on your Spyder why a speaker system is draining the battery. Is it to big of a voltage draw? Charging issue? Maybe the problem is the speakers.

[trikermutha]

disconnect the speakers and then see what happens.

What kind of speakers did you use?

What else did you take apart or disconnect?

[youngers]

you didn`t go this far into speaker replacement did you ? ( sorry , just kidding you a bit ! unless you really did go all out ! )

[youngers]

I was wondering about the hook-ups also , the speakers I do believe are not electrical connected per-say , they do have wires but just to carry the sound , { mill-amps in the sceme of things } could you have accidentally , put a screw into a wire jacket ,and exposed some wires to shorting out against the frame ? ... the battery going dead ? that is a puzzler , did you also install a radio with the speakers ? ( something is on the "always live " wire from the battery area , ( as in the nannie ) as I looked at other photos in another site , --------> did you also install 1 --- amplifier to boost sound or bass ?

[Mikey]

As much of a pita it will be, I would go back in and retrack my steps to the install, check behind every screw you have to take out and check any pinch points for a short to the frame. You have something going to ground, or a battery going south on you. you should not have to put your bike on charge every time you put it up. If you didn't have this problem before the speakers that is what I would do. Good luck!!

[Easy Rider]

. You've screwed up something in the electrical system.

Check what you did last is excellent advice.
But then there is Murphy's Law.
(The testing you did during the install might have drained an already weak battery.)

You need to disconnect the battery, fully charge it and have it tested.
If it is over 4 years old, it should be replaced......and charged before use.

Then the charging voltage needs to be checked while the engine is running.

A multi-meter is an essential tool for electrical troubles.

If you can't do the above yourself, take it to a Spyder shop.

[AMTJIM]

How did you wire the speaker system for power and ground? The relays that power the bike may not have great contact and could be why your fuel pump was chattering and lights came on. Mine needed slight twists to the relay leg contacs recently, the power steering was out. You may be getting noise from that, or like many cars you may need to add a capacitor circuit to absorb electrical noise. Have you ever heard a cars acceleration over the speakers, you may have similar.

[Chupaca]

best test for any problem originating from some work having been done is to back track....Getting your battery charged and tested is a great first step.....