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Posted by greenbarn
- September 08, 2013, 23:16:01 PMSame thing mine did as well. You either have a battery problem, starter problem or wiring problem. Most likely battery as others have said. Do you have a volt meter? The battery, when charged should have over 12 volts, nearly 13. When you put a load on it (i.e. try to start the bike), the voltage will drop a bit, but it should not drop very much. You need a load tester to do an exact test - the "motor cranking" test is pretty variable, but it probably shouldn't drop below 9-10V. If it drops way below that, the battery is bad. Also, if the charge doesn't come right back up to at least 11 1/2 or 12 volts, then it's bad.
Starter solenoids also act that way- click-click- then maybe they'll start. However, I've not heard a lot of problems with these Kaw starters so I'd tend to think the battery is more likely. Every battery eventually goes bad.
Wiring issues will not be nearly as common on these as on cars. Corrosion is the culprit, usually on the wiring going to the solenoid, and it's usually caused by road salt, which isn't nearly the issue as on cars.
I think any of the on-line bike stores should have a battery. I'm partial to Interstate, but the originals Japanese batteries are very good. I'm not nuts about Walmart or parts-store batteries. They're usually cheaper, but they are a cheaply made battery.
Posted by DC
- September 08, 2013, 20:26:22 PMQuote from: Troll on September 08, 2013, 16:29:54 PMWas it the 270 CCA battery? What's a good place to get it from online?Sounds EXACTLY like mine did when the original battery bit the dust. Sometimes it would start on the second try, sometimes on the third, and then it would turn over like there was nothing wrong. I got the next size up (amperage) battery, and everything has been fine all year.
Posted by dakuhosu
- September 08, 2013, 18:05:44 PMQuote from: Drifter1500 on September 08, 2013, 16:45:30 PMA battery tender will not charge a low battery, it is meant to maintain a good charge. I would put the battery on a trickle charge at 2 amps for 24 hours and do a load test on it. Sounds like you have a dead cell or two. Clean all the connections and check your grounds. How old is the battery?
A dead cell would show up as 1.2 volts down and two cells would be 2.4 volts down , etc... So it's not a dead cell, if the solenoid clicks but there is no current draw it would have to be something like a dirty connection somewhere. It starts sometimes so that eliminates any battery problems... I'm reasonably sure it's a starter/solenoid issue, I'd rapp on the starter a few times the next time it acts up.
Posted by chief
- September 08, 2013, 17:07:09 PMQuote from: Drifter1500 on September 08, 2013, 16:45:30 PMDepends upon the tender... both mine will bring a low battery to full charge and maintain it there.A battery tender will not charge a low battery, it is meant to maintain a good charge. I would put the battery on a trickle charge at 2 amps for 24 hours and do a load test on it. Sounds like you have a dead cell or two. Clean all the connections and check your grounds. How old is the battery?
Posted by Drifter1500
- September 08, 2013, 16:45:30 PMA battery tender will not charge a low battery, it is meant to maintain a good charge. I would put the battery on a trickle charge at 2 amps for 24 hours and do a load test on it. Sounds like you have a dead cell or two. Clean all the connections and check your grounds. How old is the battery?
Posted by Troll
- September 08, 2013, 16:29:54 PMSounds EXACTLY like mine did when the original battery bit the dust. Sometimes it would start on the second try, sometimes on the third, and then it would turn over like there was nothing wrong. I got the next size up (amperage) battery, and everything has been fine all year.
Posted by DC
- September 08, 2013, 16:12:37 PMSo I rode in to work on Friday. I came out to ride home, turned the key, pushed the starter button, and click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click.
So I'm wondering what's going on. . . . . bad battery, short, loose connection? I checked the battery terminals and everything was tight. But I pulled on the Battery Tender line and the cap was off the end, exposing the metal contact. So then I think maybe this either shorted to ground or a battery terminal. So I put the cap on, let the bike sit for a while, then tried starting it every few minutes. After waiting about 15 minutes altogether, one of those click-click-click-click sessions turned into a turnover and it started. So I figured that's all it was. The bike was running, but the battery was weak. I had to keep the revs higher than normal to keep it from dying. I rode home on the back roads and figured it would be fully charged by the time I got home. When I got home, I put it on the battery tender over night.
The next day, Saturday, I took it off the tender, and got ready to start it, hoping to go to a bike meet that afternoon/night. I went to turn it over and click-click-click-click-click-click-click. I tried a minute later and it turned over. Again, I checked the bat leads and tender leads. . nothing out of the ordinary. I let it run a while at higher idle in the garage trying to decide whether or not to take it to the meet. I decided not to, not wanting get stranded and have a three ring circus trying to get my bike home. I left it on the tender again last night.
This morning I tried starting it and it fired right up. So I figured again, maybe all it needs is lots of riding to charge it. So I ran around doing errands and such. Toward the end though. . . click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click, and then it finally turned over.
So I'm at a loss as to what the problem could be. Any ideas?