Bad battery ? ( brand new )

[exwinger]

Installed a new battery in my bike a couple of weeks ago and since then it has started having a problem when starting and it doesn't matter whether the bike is just ridden or been sitting. It doesn't happen all the time but way too often to be comfortable with. Hit the key and the bike gets a good turnover but doesn't start , screen goes gray. Turn off key and hit it again and it starts the way it should but screen goes thru color stages , startup screen and usually ends up with the black CanAm screen showing. Sometime have to hit the mode button to get normal riding screen.Thought I might have a loose connection so took everything apart this morning , cleaned all connectors , added electrolytic grease and hooked all back up. First time trying it started perfectly and I thought I had the problem solved but then on subsequent tries it went back to the problem screens.

Plan on taking the bike in and having the battery tested and hope they can do it while installed . The battery is the yuasa and the dealer ( Battery Giant ) charged it for 24 hours before me installing it. I know it's pretty rare to get a brand new battery and its bad but it does happen.

Any ideas other than the battery to look at ? I have had various electrical issues since day one and my warranty will be up the end of July and I'd like to get something started on it before then. The bike dealer is 1 1/2 hours away so it makes it a little hard to just run it in. I did contact the dealer and he said it points to the battery or connections from his experience but if the battery tests ok he will contact BRP and get advice from them.

 

[Jeriatric]

Not sure where you're going to have it tested but, if you're waiting to take it to the dealer who is an hour and a half away. You don't have to. Any one with a batt. load tester can do it. Check local resources. If, this was your plan in the first place.......blow this post off :roflblack:

 

[exwinger]

Battery situation worsens

Fired the bike up this evening to take to the battery dealer for testing . Same situation as before with the screen shows. Headed down and just before I got there I got a small yellow screen showing saying low voltage and and little red lights everywhere then it turned to a large screen saying low battery voltage. Got it to the dealer and as I pulled into the lot it died . Checked the voltage and showed 11.75 volts . Could not restart the bike by jumping with another vehicle or his jump package . Battery appears to have no cranking amps at all .Needless to say I couldn't take the battery out there to allow him to try and charge it overnight and see what happens and check to see if it is indeed shot. His opinion is that there is something drastically wrong in the system causing that bad of a drain to ruin a battery and I agree. I called the dealer I use for my bike servicing and they suggested I have the battery checked and if it is bad , to bring the bike in and they'll contact BRP and try and troubleshoot it for the problem. Battery dealer said that if the battery is for some reason bad they will warranty it for one time and no more because it's obvious there's a bike problem.

Had to get the bike hauled home which fortunately was covered under my Honda membership. Now to charge it overnight and see if it will take a charge . Next step will be to try and get it to the dealer for troubleshooting without the battery going dead in between. Not too confident on riding 80 miles knowing it might crap out again. The new battery is less than a month old and like stated before , the 3rd battery in less that two years.

I was hoping someone on the forum may have experienced the same problem or something close to it but so far have not received any hints. There has been nothing added to the electrical system other than the battery tender harness and a convenience plug and trailer harness installed by the dealer when purchased.

The last time this happened I wasn't able to charge it overnight even with the leads disconnected and hoping that's not the case this time . The charger wouldn't even register while trying to charge it before .

 

[MikeinGA]

Looks like you have a bad battery. What I do before installing a new battery is to do a load test.

Mike

 

[Chupaca]

Little checking..!!

If and when you get it started again check to make sure your charging system is working. Your engine should run even with a low battery if output is good may not start again if battery is not holding a charge. Could go on and on with possibilities but need to know this first...good luck..!! :dontknow:

 

[spyryder]

3 batteries in 2 years??? There's definitely something else going on.

 

[exwinger]

charging

If and when you get it started again check to make sure your charging system is working. Your engine should run even with a low battery if output is good may not start again if battery is not holding a charge. Could go on and on with possibilities but need to know this first...good luck..!! :dontknow:

Thats the problem , I've checked the voltage numerous times and it's good. It goes sour all at once . I don't know what voltage the low voltage warning comes on . The battery shows 11.75 volts when I checked it with the meter tonight.

 

[Chupaca]

More checking..!!

Thats the problem , I've checked the voltage numerous times and it's good. It goes sour all at once . I don't know what voltage the low voltage warning comes on . The battery shows 11.75 volts when I checked it with the meter tonight.

That is not enough to crank the beast..and it will come on about then..but what I am referring to is with the motor running you should have 14 volts going to the battery from your charging system. If the stator or rectifier is faulty you will never charge or keep charged the battery...

 

[pjweimer]

An hour and a half to your dealer?

Is there a reason you're not having the dealer in Lancaster check this problem out for you? If your experience with them has not been good I would recommend the one off Scarborough Drive in Columbus. The service manager, Ed, has been great to deal with. And it's closer to you than an hour and a half... I think.

 

[NancysToy]

I'd suggest you also check for over-charging. That will kill a battery in short order. As the battery voltage rises, the charging voltage should drop off. On a low battery the charging system may charge at 14.0 volts (at 4000 rpm), but on a fully charged battery it will drop off to about 13.0. If it continues to charge at the higher voltage, the battery will eventually fail...usually suddenly. A dead short can also cause sudden failure. Most circuits are protected by fuses, but the starter is not. If the starter draws excessive amperage it can also kill a battery over time.

 

[exwinger]

Not the battery

Pulled the battery from the bike last night and put on charge . On the 2amp scale it pulled 5 ams so it seems pretty well sucked dry . Took it to the battery dealer today and had him do his checks and all checked out fine with the load tester. Brought it home and connected to the bike temporarily ( using bolted connections ) ......no start. Just about a half revolution it seems and then crazy screen .Not going to try anything else at this point other than taking it to the dealer to troubleshoot. It appears that whatever the problem is , it's there for good ( hopefully ) and I want it to stay broken for the dealer.

 

[Jeriatric]

At this point unless you have the knowledge and tools to go farther it's dealer time. Your choice for sure but, probably best.

 

[exwinger]

I quit

At this point unless you have the knowledge and tools to go farther it's dealer time. Your choice for sure but, probably best.

I'm not doing anything else. From this point on it's warranty and the dealers problem to repair. I am getting pretty good at taking out and reinstalling the battery....even invented a few new words around 11 last night..LOL It does appear that whatever has slowly been going wrong finally did .

 

[Jeriatric]

I'm not doing anything else. From this point on it's warranty and the dealers problem to repair. I am getting pretty good at taking out and reinstalling the battery....even invented a few new words around 11 last night..LOL It does appear that whatever has slowly been going wrong finally did .

Hope your dealer treats you right, finds the problem, and has you back in the twisties soon.

Keep us posted.

 

[NancysToy]

Pulled the battery from the bike last night and put on charge . On the 2amp scale it pulled 5 ams so it seems pretty well sucked dry . Took it to the battery dealer today and had him do his checks and all checked out fine with the load tester. Brought it home and connected to the bike temporarily ( using bolted connections ) ......no start. Just about a half revolution it seems and then crazy screen .Not going to try anything else at this point other than taking it to the dealer to troubleshoot. It appears that whatever the problem is , it's there for good ( hopefully ) and I want it to stay broken for the dealer.

Sounds like you may have a bad starter. Something is drastically sucking the battery dry. A good tech should be able to resolve this. Have them contact BRP dealer tech support if they need advice.

 

[dave01]

If all else fails, have the dealer check the main harness for any shorts to the frame. I have a lot of experience with these issues. Lol

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

 

[exwinger]

Not good news

Finally found a trailer and got my bike to the dealers this morning. Bad news is , is that he won't even be able to look at it until next Tuesday ( he squeezed me in ) .His shop is full to the max with bikes and ATVs and his main mechanic has a kidney stone.His plan is to troubleshoot and hopefully find the problem and get parts ordered . Normal delivery is 2 days but if I want I can pay for overnight shipping .Not a problem on my part. Told him I needed the bike running by 6-11 because of Maggie Valley and he said he would do his utmost. I have faith that he can and will have the bike ready if the problem is still there and can be identified. If the problem has gone away for some reason I'll be back to square one again for a temporary fix until it happens again. Can miss the owners event if I have to but def don't want to miss the BBQ !!!!!! I asked the owner about a loaner but when I told him I might need it for the TN trip he looked at me and asked.....You are just kidding , right ? Assured him I was but just thought it might be worth a try.

 

[exwinger]

Still looking.....drats

Well whatever is ( was ) wrong with it is no longer broken. Hauled it to the dealer and he spent all day troubleshooting and nothing shows up . Bike started right up for him ,all voltages current and resistance readings appear fine. He has a new one sitting right beside mine and he's taking comparison reading between the two but so far ,,,nothing. He took the bike home with him last night to see if it would act up but it started fine this morning. I told him he has my permission to ride as much as he wants and hope it breaks down so he can see firsthand. Contacting BRP first thing this morning for input and hope he talks to someone that might have a hint. He did say he would be checking the main wiring harnesses this morning since it's an intermittent problem. He's def. doing his best and I have faith in him .Asks lots of questions and don't mind me asking him questions . Not looking good for the Event ride and the BBQ. One thing he did find was that after a 24 hour charge and doing a battery analysis test he says the battery shows 50% usable life.He agrees that that shouldn't be the case on a battery less than 1 month old and just a few hours riding time .It is holding a charge though.

Frustration is really getting bad at this point . Love the bike when it's working but can't feel comfortable going on a ride at this point. I asked the tech if at this point he'd jump on it and ride to Tenn and his response was absolutely not.Got an honest quality about him which I admire.

 

[soaring hawk]

Is your bike a rt? If so check radio module

went almost 6 mo with the same problem 3 batteries later finally the 3 rd dealer did check the radio module and it was bad. Replaced problem solved. Good luck.

 

[Bob Denman]

That always seems to be the way things go; The tooth stops hurting just about the time you pull into the Dentist's parking lot... :shocked:
This may sound odd, but I hope that they find something wrong soon! That way they can start getting the repairs done... Good Luck! :thumbup: