I'm having an odd issue and was wondering if anybody could help.
So yesterday like an idiot I forgot my keys in my ignition and the bike at ON when I went to work. I was happy to find the bike still there when I got back to it 🙂 So anyways I was able to get boosted with a booster pack from work. Bike started easily but was running at 12.5 as per my permanent voltmeter connected directly on the battery. This is obviously quite low as it is always at 14.3-14.4 when the bike is running. Voltage slowly dropped after a few minutes and the bike died. Ok so this would point to an issue with the charging system that just happened to happen at the same time as the battery being drained? Odd but ok, maybe.
So I charged the battery overnight on the lowest setting on the work charger which was 2A. Higher then the recommended 1A but that should not be an issue. Battery was fully charged this morning (about 13.5) so I popped it back in. Drops to 12.5 with the key at ON, normal, try to start it, it cranks but will not start. The fuel pump does not prime. Main fuses (30a and both 20a near the battery as I have the vfrness) are all good. Now I'm confused 😕
I got the battery tested just to be sure and it is good (holds charge and load).
I also tried putting it in neutral and in gear with the clutch in. I tried with the side stand up to eliminate the switch there. I also tried turning the kill switch off and on a bunch of times to see if anything was loose in there. Nothing helps.
Hi. Do you have a voltmeter? And can you access the Fuel Cut Relay?
At the base of the Relay make sure you have 12v at both BL/W (black/white) wires with Ignition ON. Have your black meter lead to the Negative battery terminal, red lead to the black/ white wires.
At switch ON, do you hear the Fuel Cut Relay click ON for two seconds then click OFF? If not, place your voltmeter positive probe on any of the two BL/W wires and your negative lead on the BR/BL (brown/black) wire. At switch ON you should see 12v appear for two seconds.
The bike is still at work but I will check tomorrow. I do have a voltmeter and I'll brings a few tools with me. The service manual states I need to remove the upper cowl (front cowl) but they are usually incredibly excessive as to what needs to be removed. Can I reach the relay without removing it?
I'll also pull the tank and check the voltage at the connection on the pump as well.
I'm just not seeing how simply draining the battery could have caused the inability to charge the battery (system voltage at 12.5 whole running) and now the fuel pump not working. Could the battery pack have fried something? I mean it's just a battery pack and not a running car for example. It can only give so much juice.
If you've verified your battery is OK by a proper load check then it should be ok. If your bike cranks over nicely that generally means your battery is healthy. Also you can forget the Kill Switch because if that was faulty your bike wouldn't crank over.
Can't see how adding the booster battery would have damaged anything Provided you connected it with Ignition OFF.
First thing is to work out why the fuel pump is not priming. Get your bike running then check what your charging system is up to.
So yesterday like an idiot I forgot my keys in my ignition and the bike at ON when I went to work
Just a side issue! When you stop your bike do you use the Kill Switch? I know a lot of riders that do and its a bad habit to get in to. The reason - you may get distracted, or as you did accidentally walk away from your bike, your headlights will still be ON and before too long you have a dead battery. Switching your bike OFF via the Ignition Switch also lessons the chance of leaving keys in the Ignition as well as killing your headlights.
Technically the Kill Switch is there for emergency use.
Good luck with the Fuel Pump Prime issues, lets know how it goes.
Well now I feel stupid. I had checked the fuses but was looking for burnt (as I have always seen with electrical issues with this bike) and not broken. I went through them again and the two 20a fuses were indeed broken.
So the booster pack blew the fuses and thus disabled the fuel pump but the bike was still able to run (badly) on what was in the lines. No charging or starting issue after all 🙂
Glad it was a simple fix. Don't know why both fuses would blow. Perhaps initially it was only fuse B gone which kills your ECU, fuel pump etc. Then after much cranking fuse A went which would inhibit any further cranking.
Good observation Auspanglish, checked my 6gen diagram, you are absolutely right 30amp they should be. Having 20's would certainly reduce the fuse reliability.