bad battery or alternator

[TXSHOTGUN]

I have a 2013 rt se limited with 12500 miles. This morning on the way to work, 20 miles from work, orange screen with battery came on and the red battery icon on analog panel came on. Rode it 10 miles and i stopped to get gas and it died and wouldn't start. A friend jumped me off and let it charge about 5 min and rode the last ten miles to work. As I was pulling into my work warnings came on again. so I have hooked it up to a charger and charging it now. It was a damp, low clouds and patchy fog. Living in North Central Texas we don't have much of this damp fog stuff and I am wandering if my problem is due to moisture? I will check battery and charging system at lunch and i have it on a charger now. has anyone experienced this before. Have y'all had problems with batteries or alternators with this many miles on one of these spyders?
thanks.

 

[Bob Denman]

The 650 watt magneto did an... "okay" job of keeping things charged-up.
Are you running any extra lighting on your bike?
Do you have a shop where you can get the battery load-tested?
It seems early for the bzttery to die; you might want to have your dealer check on that magneto...
Good Luck! :thumbup:

 

[billybovine]

Lots of possibilities

By your description it sounds like the battery is OK. So the list of culprits is: Magneto, Voltage Regulator/Rectifier, main charging system fuse, loose connection between components, loose ground connection.

If it is the fuse is blown. The question it why did it blow.

Do you have any aftermarket electrical items added on?

 

[TXSHOTGUN]

Bob, thanks! I work at a tractor parts warehouse and will test these out on my lunch break. I don't have any extra electronics hooked up to this ride. Only thing i did different was turn on factory fog lamps. I am leaning towards the charging system due to the battery taking a jump charge, but also haven't ruled out the moisture issue yet. I ride it 80 miles round trip every day to work and I haven't had this issue before

 

[jthornton]

Check the torque on the battery terminals, they are often loose from the factory.

JT

 

[retread]

The magneto on the v-twin Spyders puts out around 50% of its rated output at 4000 rpm, yet another reason to keep the revs up.

john

 

[Chupaca]

Little checking..!!

best test is start the unit and check the charging. Output should be 13+ volts and should be 12 +/-at idle. Mostly seen battery problems, connections issues not so much the charging systems...:thumbup:

 

[TXSHOTGUN]

On my lunch break, I tightened terminals and rode it 30 miles after charging battery and no warning lights came on. I did check imput and it was 12.9 volts @ 2000rpm. I am leaning towards it being a combination of loose terminals and moisture. The local dealership said it would be two weeks before he could even check it out, so I'm gonna play with it this weekend and see if problem comes up again.
Thanks for every ones help and advice

 

[billybovine]

On my lunch break, I tightened terminals and rode it 30 miles after charging battery and no warning lights came on. I did check imput and it was 12.9 volts @ 2000rpm. I am leaning towards it being a combination of loose terminals and moisture. The local dealership said it would be two weeks before he could even check it out, so I'm gonna play with it this weekend and see if problem comes up again.
Thanks for every ones help and advice

12.9 volts @ 2000 rpm is just not enough it should be closer to 14V

 

[bruiser]

Bad cell in the battery will not allow it to charge correctly. 12.9 volts is not good. Did you vary the throttle to check voltage output? Should be minimum 13.9 volts at 4000 rpm.

 

[SPYD3R]

SHOTGUN

SHOTGUN....
DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL HELP.... BUT I WAS GETTING A "CHECK TRANSMISSION" LIGHT FOR 2 - 3 DAYS... CHECKED EVERYTHING I COULD THINK OF.... THEN, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, BLUE KNIGHT, TOLD ME TO CHECK AND SEE IF MY BATTERY TERMINALS WERE TIGHT.... CHECKED, AND SURE AS HECK, MY 'RED' + WIRE CONNECTION WAS LOOSE.... I TIGHTENED IT, AND HAVEN'T HAD AN ISSUE FOR MONTHS NOW..... CHECK YOURS, IT MAY NOT CLEAR YOUR PROBLEM, BUT IT'S WORTH A TRY.... GOOD LUCK....
DAN P
EASLEY, SC
SPYD3R

 

[Bfromla]

Curious as well, no prob on my st lmt, but hope to see u out there plz let us know what u find


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TXSHOTGUN]

UPDATE;

Ok, got Optimus Prime back from dealership. The stator did go out. BRP replaced the Stator and Regulator since it was under warranty. I did have another issue, one of the crimp clamps on a small oil feed line cut the line and I lost about a quart of oil, which covered the inside of the trike and was running down the outside panels below the seat. Dealership came and picked it up and fixed the leak, and gave Opti a thorough sponge and pressure bath inside and out.
I have put about nearly a hundred miles on him since i picked it up yesterda, all seems to be fine and I appreciate Sam and his mechanics at C&S Fun Center in Henrietta, Tx for their prompt and helpful service.
Thanks y'all for the help and advice on this here forum.

 

[Art Mann]

I doubt if dampness in the air has anything to do with it. Some Spyder owners live where it is damp most of the time but I haven't heard of any of those folks having an unusual number of charging problems. Maybe someone who lives in such an area will post one way or the other.