I appreciate the input. I took voltage readings today. All readings were taken at the battery terminals. ( I just bought my VOM (Volt ohm meter). We recently moved to a home with a single car garage and I gave my tools to my son) I am disappointed, it uses only whole numbers, no decimals. Voltage with ignition off was 12 Volts on my meter and 12.7 volts using my battery charger. With ignition turned on the battery voltage drops to 11 volts on my digital VOM. When cranking the voltage drops to 9 volts. This is with the engine cold and the first crank attempt. Start was fully normal. With the engine running the battery voltage was 13 volts regardless of engine speed.
Took roughly a 30 minute ride at a probable average of 25 to 30 mph. Shut engine down and cranking was only slightly harder. Voltage at battery only dropped to 9 volts. Shut down and Restarted engine numerous times. Each time the starter had more difficulty turning over the engine. It finally heated the starter to the point it would no longer crank the engine. At this point the battery voltage dropped to 8 volts when cranking.
Ground and starter solenoid terminals were inspected and no looseness nor corrosion was found. In my mind this is sounding more like a charging or possibly battery problem. THe battery was bchanged less than two years ago when this problem began. It did not improve the problem.
This might be a bit longer than
you strictly need to get the idea, wanderingman, but in the interest of better explaining it to those who might not have much idea at all about this sorta stuff, I'll put it all out there - and I apologise in advance to those who may already know this, but I'm really not trying to bust your chops or teach anyone to suck eggs.
Anyhow,
that 'dropped to 8 volts when cranking' bit is
definitely a sign of a dead battery!! :shocked: . Could be because your alternator &/or charger/tender is not charging properly; or it could be cos you've only been doing relatively low revving &/or short runs.... Because even with the 2014 on alternators instead of the 2013 & earlier mag charging systems, running the engine at idle or 'fast idle' just doesn't generate
enough voltage to fully charge your Spyder battery quickly (even if it
might give you a reasonable looking 'cover charge'
) and if you've only been doing runs of less than saaay '
30 mins at highway speeds & revs' (ie, revs over about 2500-3000 rpm) then you
really won't have been re-charging the batttery
enough during those shorter runs to replace the drain each starting event/attempt takes out of it; and the cumulative effect of those short runs without a proper charge from longer run at good revs (ie, those highway speed type revs) in between is, eventually, a dead battery!!
So as you already realise wanderingman, your problem
could be as a result of poor charging, causing the battery to die over time,
OR it could just be that the battery has simply died! They
can die like that, even brand new batteries can die like that; and that is especially possible if they ever spend extended periods just sitting with a '
less than full charge' in them! They'll sit for ages if left fully charged & without any parasitic drain, but they won't last anywhere near as long if left sitting only they weren't fully charged when they started! :lecturef_smilie: Still, if you only ever left it sitting for saaay, more than a week
after you've been on a long run at highway speeds & revs, then that shouldn't be quite so likely..... but do you ever leave it sitting for more than a week or so after shorter/low rev running?!? :dontknow: If you do
ever do that, then that could be why it's got a dead battery now! :sour:
Btw, for those who don't already know, a VOM that only shows whole numbers isn't really of much use in this sort of battery/charging problem diagnosis, since 12.7 volts can be about 90% 'fully charged' while 12.0 volts is basically 'flat'; and anything less than about 11.5 volts
AT ANY TIME - static/resting charge; while charging; under load while starting; at
ANY time is considered waaay beyond
DEAD!! :shocked: . Dunno about in your neck of the woods, but here in Oz it costs maybe $10-$15 to get a basic Multi-meter that'll give you voltages to 2 decimal places as well as amps, ohms, continuity, et al - there's a pic below of a 'slightly more hi-tech' unit that cost maybe $20, it's the latest one that I use as my '
disposable battery/auto elec testing tool' and it takes a beating but does the job... and it's not a major loss if I break it or lose it!! Maybe you should check your local auto accessories outlets or discount parts stores to see if you can get one similar. It doesn't hafta be
absolutely accurate, just
consistently show you volts to 1 or 2 decimal places! Only without that info, you'll really only be guessing at what
might be wrong!! :gaah:
Regardless of all that, since your battery
DOES reportedly drop to 8 volts at times, (ie,
ANYTHING less than 12 volts is flat) then it
HAS been highly discharged and it's time for a replacement! :lecturef_smilie: . A load test should confirm that; and altho very careful & diligent battery maintenance & re-charging might
partially resurrect that battery, it's never going to be 'good' or reliable again, even if you do manage to get it back to starting the Spyder immediately after an good soaking re-charge!! And once you've got a new 'known good' battery in there, a multi-meter that shows volts to 2 decimal places in/around the 0-20 DCV range should help you confirm or identify/isolate any charging problems you might also have. So I'd suggest that a new battery is your first priority and an unavoidable step; with getting hold of a Multi-meter that shows 1-2 decimal places is your next priority! :thumbup:
Good Luck! :cheers:
Let us know the battery voltage before a crank and after a crank. Anything else you find or see would be very helpful. 
