I'm taking care of my friends scoot while he's serving overseas. He's had an ongoing problem with battery drain.

Things we know:
-Power Commander installed
-Previous owner "disconnected" the alarm system after losing the keyfob
-Has some minor corrosion from time in FL
-Frequent rides do not help the problem!
-Cold not a factor where it's stored

Just recharged the battery and plan to throw a multimeter on it tonite to see what I get when the ignition is off and on, but not sure what readings I should get.

Any ideas folks?

 

Heres what you do to narrow it down a bit. You will need an amp-meter, not sure if they are cheap, the one I have was expensive, maybe you can rent or borrow one?

Disconnect the negative cable, hook one lead from amp meter to negative post, one to negative cable and set meter in appropriate range if applicable. From there, you start pulling fuses until the reading on the meter goes back to almost zero. When you pull the fuse for the memory on the radio, you will get a slight drop. This does not find the problem, rather it narrows it down to which circuit the problem is on. Hope it helps.

 

Is the original battery still in the bike? If so, its just might be time to change that sucker! My battery lasted right at 5 years before it started to act funky.

 

Amp Clamp even easier. You don't have to disconnect any wires. Just put the clamp around the negative cable and start pulling fuses one at a time.

Good point it may actually be the battery pooched. Get it checked out first.

 

Clean and check connections. Apply dielectric grease. Check battery voltage directly at the battery. Sometimes bad connections seem like something else.

 

you will need to use multi meter set up to check for amp draw usually milliamp setting disconnect positive lead at battery one lead goes to battery other goes to positive cable ignition off see if there is a amp draw reading if so start disconnecting things one at a time until meter reads zero and you have found your problem thou could be as simple as needing new battery brake light stuck on also most cycle charging systems are minimal meaning if you start bike go for very short ride you never replace current used to start bike resulting in slow death of battery also check charging system 14 volts on meter above idle 1000-1500 rpm good luck

 

stock stereo was killing the battery on my 07.

 

How long is it sitting without being run?
Are you putting an insulator under the kickstand(rubber, wood)?
You could disconnect the battery if it's sitting for long periods. Or a battery tender.
If it's draining daily even when getting rode often then you either need a battery, have a grounding issue, or it isn't getting charged(with it running you should be getting pretty close to 14 volts).
If there has been mods done then I would suspect a wire is skinned and grounding somewhere. Maybe under the tank or around the neck area, if internal wiring for the bars has been done this is a good area for a skinned wire also.
Good luck

 

As mentioned, a digital volt meter connected to the battery, and note the slow drop in voltage (At least two digits to the right of the decimal point). Pull fuses one at a time slowly, look for change in voltage drop. If the battery is in good condition, don't be surprised to see the volts go up a little when you find the drain issue.
This has worked for me on classic cars and such over the years, and should work for you.
I would start with the main (Maxi) fuse to show if the problem is "Upstream" or "Downstream" of it. This procedure should get you in the game.

 

Curious, Im geting a reading from my fuse panel on the radio memory fuse, registering 12.89 voltage with fuse in and around 5 with fuse out.