Electrical problem?
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 706
Likes: 28
From: Alaska
If you are not using a multimeter, get one. Set the multimeter to read amps, take off the negative cable from the battery and connect the positive lead of the meter to the cable and the negative lead to the negative terminal of the battery. You should read very little amps to nothing with everything turned off. If your system is draining due to parasitic leaking when it is shut down you will see it. If you are reading anything above say around 100 miliamps, look for a leak, possibly in your voltage regulator.
If you read nothing or very little, then your system is not draining your battery when it is turned off, this indicates that your battery or charging system is AFU.
If you read nothing or very little, then your system is not draining your battery when it is turned off, this indicates that your battery or charging system is AFU.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 235
From: Texas
Oh, yeah, this is important...don't turn on the system with the amp meter connected. It probably wasn't designed to handle that kind of load and something will give. I have popped more than one fuse in my Fluke because I forgot to take it out of the circuit before flipping the switch. 
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Novice
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Dacula, GA.
Forgot to update this.
Problem turned out to be installed LED's. Switch was not completely turning those off. Metered .004A draw. Switch is kind of a bitch to change so I installed a "master" kill switch for power to those in the hole under the seat where the ign switch went.
Thanks for advice and help.
Problem turned out to be installed LED's. Switch was not completely turning those off. Metered .004A draw. Switch is kind of a bitch to change so I installed a "master" kill switch for power to those in the hole under the seat where the ign switch went.
Thanks for advice and help.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 235
From: Texas
Forgot to update this.
Problem turned out to be installed LED's. Switch was not completely turning those off. Metered .004A draw. Switch is kind of a bitch to change so I installed a "master" kill switch for power to those in the hole under the seat where the ign switch went.
Thanks for advice and help.
Problem turned out to be installed LED's. Switch was not completely turning those off. Metered .004A draw. Switch is kind of a bitch to change so I installed a "master" kill switch for power to those in the hole under the seat where the ign switch went.
Thanks for advice and help.
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Novice
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Dacula, GA.
4 micro-amps is not a significant drain, that is most likely the tolerance of the meter and residual stray voltage you are reading. In any case, it would take a very long time to drain a good fully charged roughly 400 cranking amp battery with that load...I don't think that was your problem, most likely you missed the real problem and cleared it up while you were troubleshooting. Don't be surprised if it returns...Murphy's Law of Intermittent Electrical Problems.
Though bike is being ridden more frequently as time and weather has allowed, it has sat for 10 days without being started and with no trickle charge.
Problem has not returned and starts fine. Well....you know...
Only remaining problem is the 25 mile trip for milk 2 miles down the road.
I can live with this one.
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Dan28
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Oct 15, 2010 04:33 PM
