Starting Issue

[Roscojim]

I went out to start my 2012 RT-L one day, and nothing. I would get lights flashing, speedometer and tach needles shooting back and forth, and weird noises. I put the battery charger on for a while, it started up, and I went to the dealer. The dealer replaced the battery, it started, but then died while it was running and wouldn't start - same thing. He jump-started it, and said the battery wasn't charging, so I left it there. Later, he called and said he had to replace a cable and it was now working fine.

Yesterday, I went out to start it. and same issue. I put the charger on and it started just fine. Rode it to Walmart and turned it off for about 10 minutes. Went to start it up, and it started to hesitate, but then started (whew). Today, it started right up. I'm nervous because it'll go a few days and start up, but if I turn it off for 10 minutes, it may not. I don't want to get stuck somewhere.

Any ideas? I'm thinking the switch, cable to the switch, or the starter. I'm not a motor guy, so I'm not sure what to try. You guys are the experts :-)

Thanks!!

Jim

[trikermutha]

Cables tight to the battery? Was the charging system checked?

[Roscojim]

The charging system was checked, which is why they replaced a cable. I'm assuming it was a cable from the battery to the alternator (or whatever the Spyder uses.) I've never checked the battery directly, but the posts under the seat to which I connect the charging cables are tight, plus it starts right up if I put the charger on those posts.

[bmccaffrey]

Put a voltmeter on it. A fully charged resting battery should be approx. 12.3-12.5 volts.

Start the machine while running and check with meter again. Should be high 13 to 14 volts .Shows that the charging system working

[JayBros]

How old is the battery? Have you had it load tested? Your Spyder does not have an alternator but an magneto generator that is rated at 650W, therefore it doesn't charge anywhere near like an alternator, so short trips on an older battery doesn't give the engine much time to charge a weaker battery.

[Highwayman2013]

I would check the charging with a voltmeter and load test the battery. I would also keep the bike on a battery tender when not using it. Keep the engine RPM’s around 5K when riding it.

[Roscojim]

The battery is brand new - just had it installed a couple of weeks ago.

[Roscojim]

I'll check that. I usually get 11.9 volts when standing. When it wouldn't start. it was at 11.7 volts.

[bmccaffrey]

I'll check that. I usually get 11.9 volts when standing. When it wouldn't start. it was at 11.7 volts.

To low.
Either your not riding long enough to charge or battery is bad or not fully charged. Magneto or not charging system still should read high 13"s close to 14 volts

[Peter Aawen]

Anything below 12 volts in your 'standing battery' means your battery is effectively FLAT!! Check out this chart:

https://www.google.com/search?client...toeCqfPSWqHdM:
(Sheesh, I hope that link works!! )

Anyhow, it's telling us that at 11.9 volts your battery is ALREADY down as low as below 40% capacity; which is so low that the load of turning the starter plus powering all the necessary electronics stands a very good chance of needing more juice than a battery that low can provide!! And on the 'pre-2014' RT's, the magneto type charging system needs to be regularly run at 'road going revs' (ie 4,000 rpm or so) for AT LEAST 30 mins or so in order to just replace the charge/power drain that each start puts on your battery.... and that's not even considering the power drain needed to supply all the 'extra accessories' you might have installed, either!! So unless you have the battery connected to tender/maintainer whenever your Spyder's not running, doing just a few short runs is very likely to really drain your battery & quite possibly deplete its charge below any 'easily recoverable' charge level, effectively destroying the battery completely!

Because it takes so long for the starting charge to be replaced by the 'limited output' charging system, starting out with anything less than 12 volts charge in the battery is a pretty sure fire recipe for disaster, cos even if you're lucky enough to start it the first time, by doing that you'll drag the charge level down very close to the 'destroyed' level with that first start! Then, if you only run it for 10 mins or so as you tootle down to the shops, you simply haven't recharged your battery much at all!! If you don't run it for AT LEAST 30 mins or so at or above 4,000 rpm, you haven't even put the charge you just used by starting it back in, so the battery is now most likely pretty much DEAD as a Doornail!!

If you're REALLY LUCKY Jim, you might be able to sloooowwwly recharge that battery and bring it back up to a usable level, but I don't think it's worth it really! You'll never really be able to trust it again..... With what you've told us already, it sounds very much to me that it's time to get a new battery, charge it fully over about 24 hours before installing it, and then getting your charge system checked & returned to full capacity!

Good Luck!

[Roscojim]

Ongoing --

I was going to ride today. Just for fun, I checked the voltage and it was 11.4 volts. I knew it wouldn't start, but I tried anyway. As I expected, it wouldn't start. I don't have any extra accessories installed, and I usually ride for an hour or more, unless running errands. I do run at the higher revs, as I discovered from this forum when I first got it. Right now, the only thing I can think of is that the dealer installed a bad battery, even though it was new.

I'm taking it back to the dealer and see what they will do for me. It seems a pain to have to hook it up to a tender all of the time. I didn't have to do that the first two years, and now with a new battery I shouldn't have to.

I'll see what the dealer says, or I'll try another shop..

[Woodaddict]

the new battery was not charged properly, take it back to dealer. like others have said, standing volts should be more than 12.5, like 13