Pulled a dope move.. No power now..

Shoe-Lace · 09-05-2007, 11:42 PM

When I say dope I really mean stupid. Story goes as follows and I'll try to keep it short. Maybe you guys could help me out. I have a 96 F3 600

Day before Labor day.
Backed bike out of garage. Had ignition on but did not start it. Went inside to grab gear. 20 mins later I come back out. (Corralled by GF) Bike does start up but I push start it and ride it to meet up with some folks. Drive a short distance and it doesn't start again. (Didn't have time to charge for sure) Push start it again and ride it a few miles and it dies on me. Keep trying to push start and it continues to die after a few blocks. Quick charge it and trailer it home.

Labor day

Flushed cooling system and bike started up fine. Ran for short spurts and it finally lost enough charge to start up. I trickle charge it (Still plugged into bike I didn't disconnect) Starts to rain in the middle of the night and I had left the bike outside. I wake up the next morning and its drenched. No seat or fairings for protection. I of course pull a really dope move and try to start it up. The lights come on but the minute I push the ignition everything goes dark. No power to anything. I used my multimeter and it shows the battery charge at 12.55.

So where do I go from here? Any help would be great.

Odd facts
While running the engine while I flushed the cooling system I noticed the regulator getting really hot.

bbr-streetgang · 09-06-2007, 3:12 AM

Hi,
Im not an expert on bike electrics but i can tell you that water doesnt help (u probably know that).
If u have a multimeter then u probably also know that voltage prescence doesnt necessarily relate to battery strength. if u disco the terminal and hold your probes on the bat terminals for at least 20 secs, u may see a drop in volts (ie its ****ed). A new healthy battery once every couple of years is generally a good idea anyway. good luck

chubster2003 · 09-09-2007, 11:52 AM

well,

, check your fuses, there is a main fuse behind the battery (there is on my f3 anyway) almost sounds like it could be your starter relay or something. maybe a bare wire from starter that grounds out when you try to start, could be a few thing. about the ony thing is to do some wire following, luckily bikes dont have too much wiring so wont take a week

Good luck

Shoe-Lace · 09-09-2007, 12:16 PM

Hey thanks for the response. I'm gonna run through the wires today and see if I can track this down. I'll keep you updated.

Shoe-Lace · 09-10-2007, 11:40 PM

Well I just changed the battery and it started right up. Must have blown it up. Any how it ran well that night then the next day the batter was close to dead. I'm thinking I have a short or lose connection somewhere grounding out on the frame. Gonna do some research about the best way to test each system.

Also anyone know why a regulator would get hot? Is it supposed to be that way? Could that be my prob. I'll have to test it out. I think the manual gives the lowdown on how to test that. If you have any tips just let me know

lanbrown · 09-10-2007, 11:49 PM

Sounds like the battery, how old is it? Usually a battery will start to die around year 2. I have had them last 5 years though, most of the time though, you are looking at two years.

dmack · 09-11-2007, 12:23 AM

Bad ground to the regulator. Make up a ground wire from one of the bolts that holds in the reg, and connect it to the neg battery terminal.

From the factory the reg grounds to the frame but after a number or years a oxidation film developes on the aluminum frame which causes the reg to not ground properly. That reference ground is how the reg knows the battery voltage. If it isn't working well the reg will over charge the battery and will burn out the reg and battery over time.

*slorider18* · 09-11-2007, 1:18 AM

the regulator should get hot, but if it can't disperse that heat it con burn out and stop charging the batter. then your bike will only run till the battery is out of juice or you keep the idle around 5K. anyway. here is a fault finding chart i have used and suggest to a bunch of members on here. it helped me diagnose my regulator. i have heard it's a weak point on the bikes. i have an F3 also. Motorcycle Electrical Parts (ElectroSport Industries). good luck keep us posted.

slickwill · 09-11-2007, 11:41 AM

That is some good stuff SLO. I don't have any need right now but who knows? I downloaded it anyway.

Shoe-Lace · 09-12-2007, 1:07 AM

Great advice guys I'm gonna give it a try tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't think I'm gonna be able to pull off the fairings all the way (Stripped bolts... never never let drunk people work on your bike) so I'll have to see how far into the electrical system I can get. Check all the connections, ground the stator and charge the battery. I Hope I'll find an easy answer. I'll keep you updated.

*slorider18* · 09-17-2007, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slickwill

That is some good stuff SLO. I don't have any need right now but who knows? I downloaded it anyway.

but no rep points. i see how it is.

macker · 09-18-2007, 4:44 PM

electrical problems can be a knightmare i know,just so you know reg/rec are suppose to get hot as they consist of diodes but if one of them goes pop it can go open circuit and draw from your battery even when switched off maybe you should put amp meter on the battery and see are you drawing current then check the reg/rec with your ohm meter i can give you details on how to if needed.best of luck