Pretty much what the title says. I am about to replace the battery for the third time, not due to it being dead, but because the terminals are melted.

The first one I credited to the connections not being tight. My fault right? I should have checked them. On the second one I had not checked them for a month or so, so maybe... Especially on a daily rode bike in all weather conditions.

Now, it is the third one. The bike is now a garage bike I only get out once a month or so. As such I give it a good check each time. So the connection on the positive started melting again and I loctited both. Then the ground side melted away in a 100mile ride!

I am beyond thinking this is a connection issue. When I brought the idea up to the local mech shops they said they would look at it for $$$/hour and no promises. I don't have the cash, plus I have worked on my own vehicles for decades.

I friend said his sport bike had a similar issue (but he didn't waste three batteries figuring it out) and it was the voltage regulator. He was certain of it as it had happened to his friend's Sporty as well, and had heard the regulators had issues that year.

How with limited electrical test equipment can I test this? I have a multimeter and that is about it. I know my way around electricity (industrial maintenance background, electrical maintenance Marine, and a shop chief now for a 2821/2823 shop), but have no way to test the current flow that could melt battery terminals.

I really would like to narrow this down before I spend another $100 on a battery. Thanks in advance.

 

first ,check the condition of both cables, especially terminal ends, check the ground cable , be sure it is good , and has a good frame connection.
with your multi-meter , you can check output of the stator/and regulator.
you should see 13+ to 15vdc when running motor(with battery installed .
If you have not burned out a headlight , it is prolly ok

burning of terminals/ battery posts in usually caused by arcing at the connection .
locktite?? not a conductor ?? flat clean tight connections are what is called for .
I suspect your cables are bad

 

I cleaned the contact areas each battery replacement and reattached the cables. I have seen the effects of poor grounds on million dollar servers so I did that. The cables test for resistance at 1 Ohm or so. I will check for broken strands when I get home (on duty until tomorrow) as I can see that being an issue especially with all the moving I did to them. I was thinking of replacing the ground link anyways for length as it is a bear to use as short as it is right now.

The terminal connections were cleaned weekly. The locktite was used on the threads of the nut/bolt that held the connector, not the contact surface. I did use dielectric on the contact surfaces of this last battery. It may have accelerated it as this battery only lasted 1/3 of the miles of the others.

I will check the voltage at different points. Off the battery terminals, before the most recent failure, I had 14V at 2k RPMs, 12V or so off just the battery.

I can still use the battery to jump other bikes. It holds a charge in my garage, but I can't get a connection for installation the way the terminals are now.

 

+1 what heybaylor said

 

I will check this.

I was told on another forum that it could be the starter as well. Input on that? Any rebuild kits available for them? Bike has about 25k miles on it.

 

It would be helpful to check your charging circuit, as that can cause problems. Go to the DIY Electrical section, where there are two helpful stickies. If everything checks out OK, we have to try harder!

 

i think I would replace both ground and positive cables. I read that auto stereo shops can make up some high strand and flexible replacements. Check you starter for corroded terminals as well. Is your battery well secured and the terminals are not touching the bike's frame? Sounds to me like the battery might be touching some metal and arcing itself to death.

Sometimes the cables can be corroded on the inside of the insulation to the point that the current flows get overheated. But you checked the resistance on those, correct?

Good luck, let us know what you discover.

John

 

[QUOTE=John Harper;.

Sometimes the cables can be corroded on the inside of the insulation to the point that the current flows get overheated. But you checked the resistance on those, correct?"



Plus one on replacing the cables, You do know that the current travels on the outside of a wire, not in the wire.?
So a nasty wire inside the covering can cause many problems

 

check the frame ground
mine did that because of a bad starter. the starter would back feed into the battery and get the ends fire hot, change the starter i got a aftermarket one and it works great, unless its under warranty , might want to use lil mini lock washers so it doesnt vibrate lose at the terminals and frame ground

 

Where's the eye and ear protection while shooting that .45?

John