electrical problem.

[meat6895]

So i have a 99 X1 and have been super happy with my bike. its semi put up for winter here in oregon but heres my problem. Last time i rode my bike which was 2 weeks ago my battery was dead. no problem right? i jumped it with my car and it was fine until i put it back away. i shut it off many times and it fired right back up. The battery is less than a year old and is a harley batter which stole $100 out of my pocket. but yesterday i went through the same motions with my bike. It was dead, i went to start it, it fires right up. No problem until i went to take my jumper cables off from my car to my bike. once i did so my bike died. i thought it was strange so i did it again. This is my first street bike but certainly not my first vehicle. i wrenched on motors on trucks and cars all my life and i know they can run without a battery once the motor is running. so this makes me thing that its my alternator correct? or what?

 

[squiers007]

That would be my guess. I would take a volt meter to it and pinpoint the problem.

 

[Stevenc150]

I think maybe you need to deep (trickle) charge your battery a few days. Autozone does it for free. Or better yet, buy your own, Deltran makes a good one, and leave it plugged in all the time.

 

[aaronbuell]

I use a black&decker trickle charger when my s3 is parked for more then a few days and over the winter to keep the batt. topped off. I leave the little plug attatch to the batt. so all i have to do is plug it in. If it still does the same thing It's most likey is your stator/alternator. I was told by a guy that builds bike that if you run a bike with a weak battary that it will kill your alternator,he replaces his battery every 2 years even if they still test good to avoid cooking the alternator.

 

[ophawk]

One other thing to check is the regulator, they are finicky about low batteries, before attacking the stator, find a voltage regulator, I had to get one for mine, I got it from I believe 4 corner's harley, off the web for $47 plus 5 for shipping. they normally run near $100 new

 

[jimocasio]

I bet the regulator is non functioning. In the future I do not recommend jumping your bike from your car while the car is running, the current ratings are different and you can do damage. Trickle charging is the best thing for any battery to keep it fresh for your next ride. Also, it is important to fully charge a battery prior to using. You don't know how long it's been on the shelf, or if your adding the acid your self the initial charge requirements could over exert your charging system killing your regulator if it wasn't already.

Anyhow, good luck. I bought one at precision harley for $96, you can get one on Ebay for $45... I wanted to ride and couldn't wait