Battery Issue???
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 356
Likes: 36
From: Oklahoma
If you have a volt meter that can read millivolts, I would disconnect the negative wire and place the volt meter between the negative terminal and the negative wire to see what you're reading. Do it with rubber under the kickstand then again with it directly on the concrete to see if that's actually the problem.
If you're reading more than about 0.5 mV you probably have a chaffed wire somewhere that's making contact with the frame and grounding through the kickstand when it's placed on the concrete. The wires under the gas tank would be a good place to start looking.
If you're reading more than about 0.5 mV you probably have a chaffed wire somewhere that's making contact with the frame and grounding through the kickstand when it's placed on the concrete. The wires under the gas tank would be a good place to start looking.
I don't know if the 2001 bikes had anything that the battery is used to keep alive (clock, trip meter). This will also cause a voltage reading in the described procedure, and is normal. If you read a voltage doing this you will probably have to find the current flow to identify where it is coming from.
Where ever this current flow is, it may be small enough that it's REALLY hard to find. There are tools to make it easier but they are REALLY expensive.
Last edited by bhaxton; Dec 7, 2013 at 08:42 PM.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 191
Likes: 11
From: Northern Utah
HDF Community Team
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,893
Likes: 552
From: NH
I think you will find that you either have a "high resistance" short (not a dead short which would blow a fuse) across the battery "+" to "-", so some component causing current leakage out of the pos to the neg terminal, is draining the battery down...this would happen no matter what the kickstand is sitting on...
Or you have a weak battery that needs to be replaced...
Like someone else said, insulate the kickstand from the concrete with rubber or wood & keep everything else the same...see if the battery drains in the same amount of time, approx.
Or you have a weak battery that needs to be replaced...
Like someone else said, insulate the kickstand from the concrete with rubber or wood & keep everything else the same...see if the battery drains in the same amount of time, approx.
Supporter
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 15,788
Likes: 5,625
From: along the shore of Mishigami
If the bike is driven on short rides then the battery is only getting a "surface". May want to also do charging system check to verify the rectifier/regulator isn't going bad. The two phase charging systems are pretty anemic on that generation of Dynas.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,864
Likes: 127
From: Aussie lost in Switzerland
My battery has recently started draining overnight, might put a puck under the kickstand to see what happens.
Then again, bike street parked overnight in below freezing temps could have something to do with it.....
Then again, bike street parked overnight in below freezing temps could have something to do with it.....
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,280
Likes: 2
From: SC
I have heard of this years ago and we all know concrete will drain a battery pretty quick, so, what i am thinking is take the battery out, replace the plastic tray underneath the battery. See if that will insulate the batter from the frame of the bike.
Just my .02
Just my .02