Battery / Starting

[freebird6]

on my 2013 I have noticed something hinky over the last several thousand miles. The last couple of days it is worse.

Trouble starting started months and hundreds of miles ago.
-charging normally while riding but varies ....has always shown 14.4 V on the dash. It began varying from 13.7 while sitting at a light to 14.6 when decel or accelerating
-Sluggish starts in the AM over the last couple of thousand miles
-recent stops for drink or gas results in really hard starts with KAct light staying on or Immobilizer Error flashing on dash
-This morning after 155 miles last night it turned over but did not start with a weak battery

Battery is the 2nd one installed in the last 1500 miles. This one is a couple months old.
Big gets ridden 5 days a week. Tody needed the jump starter

This has been getting progressively worse over time and was the same with the Fuzeblock and accessory lights and radar detector disconnected from the Battery or with it on. Noted slow crank and weak Batt symptoms over the last 8 months.

Kept on a Battery Tender at night and does not seem to matter whether it is connected or not.

I can't figure it out. New Batt, Fuzeblock connected or disconnected, Battery Tender on. All the same. Are these things weird about rectifiers or charging?

Cleaned and checked all grounds. Looked for any loose wiring or potential drains.....

Any Ideas? 94K miles. Engine pulls strong. Valves done most recently at 75 K . Runs like a champ....just does not instill confidence in starting.

 

[Bud]

I had a KAct light on before I replaced my battery earlier this year. Check the output of the alternator. If that's good, you might have a run into some defective batteries. Do a load test.

 

[cuda]

Electrical wiring is always guesswork. My pickup just had a light come on my dash. The auto electric shop owner told me it was the airflow sensor, so I ordered one. Then, while checking the connections, I found that the positive cable connecting the two batteries (Cummins diesel) was loose. I tightened all connections, and the dash light went off. I'm a fan of always checking all connections.
I replaced my bike battery with Lithium, and it seems more powerful

 

[freebird6]

Pulled the batt after coming home from Piqua OH today. Had to use my little jump start pack at the ball park. Started right up once I attached it. Drove the 77 miles home with the dash reading 14.6 to 13.7 all the way. Turned it off in the barn and it would not turn back on ....volts reading 11.8 at the time.

May need to just order the new batt and touch base with Dennis Kirk to see if a 4 month old battery has a warranty.

 

[Bud]

Pulled the batt after coming home from Piqua OH today. Had to use my little jump start pack at the ball park. Started right up once I attached it. Drove the 77 miles home with the dash reading 14.6 to 13.7 all the way. Turned it off in the barn and it would not turn back on ....volts reading 11.8 at the time.

May need to just order the new batt and touch base with Dennis Kirk to see if a 4 month old battery has a warranty.

I would think they would cover it for 6 months at least. Some will go up to a year. Good luck.

 

[Bernie1]

I've been having the same issue, parasitic draw. I dont think the problem is solved. I'll be watching this thread with intrest

 

[ron203]

Had a similar experience last summer on my Goldwing. Each day the start up spin took longer and longer, until finally it failed at a gas pump in Oregon. Jumped it off and rode straight to a dealer for a new battery. Fixed. It stays on a battery tender year round in my garage.

 

[Murph]

Have the battery load tested..

 

[Jorge]

Tom,
It sounds like low system voltage when starting.
If you're reading between 13.7V and 14.6V, it appears that the alternator is working OK.
Do you have little cables to allow you to check the voltage at the battery terminals during cranking? This might help pinpoint whether the low voltage is because the battery doesn't have the capacity, or if there is a voltage drop between the battery and the starter and other items on the bike.
I've never tried the tests below, but they should work as described
Ideally you would set the voltmeter on "peak reading" then connect the battery (+) to the positive side of a voltmeter, and then the negative side of the voltmeter to the starters (+) terminal; then do the opposite set-up between the (-) batt terminal and somewhere on the frame.
I would expect less than 0.2V of voltage drop between the battery terminals and where they are connected.
You could do a "load test" on the battery by connecting a voltmeter with Max/Min reading capability between the (+) and (-) battery terminals (the actual lead terminals of the battery). Set the voltmeter to "Min", and try to start. The meter should display the lowest the battery voltage reached when trying to start. guessing here that the value should be above 10.5V or so. If it drops below that, the battery may not have enough power capacity to start the bike.

(BTW... forgot about the 2 hour time difference between here and there)

 

[Color-me-GONE]

Look for a parasitic draw / Drain in your system.

You can do it on either side of the battery, BUT utilizing the negative post is a little safer!

Disconnect the negative lead from the battery
Turn your multimeter to DC amps ( High setting ) remember to move your positive lead on the multimeter to Amps
and connect your multimeter positive lead to the negative post, the negative lead goes to your negative battery cable
Hopefully should see 0.002 milliamps or under on a non-butchered Concourse, the OEM electronics that run in the background will draw and show.
In reality, anything under 0.005 is alright, anything over your bike has a draw and will have to start pulling fuses until it drops.
Pull a fuse it drops you know that the circuit has issues and investigate.

Had to edit it since I posted this in the morning using my phone, never works out for me!

If all that checks out with no change pulling fuses or disconnecting any non-OEM electronics, it's more than likely you have an armature issue inside the starter causing your draw, the end cap of the starter houses a bronze bushing that leaves the factory with a dot of grease over time the bushing wears out and the armature drops and starts dragging.

Electrical can be a pain but it is all about flow and not that scary!

 

[freebird6]

So far

-sent for a new batt on Saturday came TUesday. Installed and took a short ride 28 miles then came back and hooked up the fuzeblock and then went a little over a hundred miles. Voltage stayed at 14.4 the entire time then again today 150 miles and 14.4 the entire time.

- sent an email to Rocky Mountain ATV on Sat and sent the required answers to their questions hoping to get a response on Warranty.
Hello,
Thank you for your email. We apologize for the issue you have had with this, but we can assure you we will get it taken care of. To get this started, can you please reply with the following information:
Have you tried to charge the battery?
How many bars are on the charge reading?
What make, model, and year of the machine is this for?
What is the Serial number off the battery?
Can you please send us a picture of the front and back of the battery?
Also, if this claim is decided in your favor, would you prefer a replacement or a refund? Once we have this information, we will be happy to assist you further.

Sent them pics /charge 12.4 /Serial # . They kicked it up to another level.

Thanks for the answers. I will start running diagnostics . It is supposed to rain tomorrow ......perfect to spend time out in the barn