That damned Beelzebub

Just had to mention that the ST4s wasn't a great investment.

Came out of work this evening, put the keys in the ignition and there
was nothing, nada, instruments completely dead.

Measured the voltage on the battery and it was sitting at 5v.

Jumped it from a car and the voltage came up to 12.7v, bike started
first time.

Rode the bike home which took about half an hour.

Checked the voltage when I got home and it's sitting at 12.74v.

The bike is starting okay and at 1000rpm the voltage is sitting at
13.4v, with lights on 12.9v.
At 2000 rpm 14v and with lights on 13.9.

At first I thought it was the battery but now I'm not so sure.

 

Battery.

If it is charging at 1000rpm at 13.4V then there ain't
owt wrong with the altenator/generator, reg/rec.

You, Sir, have a fucked battery.

 

In your position, I'd be very sure it as the battery. If it's charging (and
it obviously is) then it's not the alternator and if it's losing charge it's
more likely to be the battery than anything else.

There *could* be an issue with the reg/rec, but slotting another battery on
for a few days would give you a better idea.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

reg/rect for me.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Nige

Why? It's giving 13.4v at 1000RPM. That sounds OK to me.

Given Bee's note on how easy it is to leave the parking light on, that's
where my money goes.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

I'd blame Italian assembled electrics.

 

Thats what i mean, it's a funny old affair & not exactly the same symptoms.

 

Artistic license.

Heh.
The previous owner has wired a nice red coloured lead up at the seat for
easy jump starts ...

Have been riding to work in crystal clear blue sky and sunshine,
definitely no lights. Lock was definitely in off position because I left
it on the sidestand and made sure the steering lock was on.

 

Yebbut if its the same as my ST3 it is only a small movement of the key past
the "lock" position and the parking lights are on. Easy to do and easy not
to notice.

 

Throw the farker away... ;op
and get a Harley! It just works!! )

--
Greybeard

FLHR -03 UK (95 cu-in Stg 2. Big Boy 2!)

Garmin Zumo 550, To get me home!

ukrm@foxtails[dot]co[dot]uk

 

That was my first thought, which cable has come loose or worn through.

It's definitely odd to read 5v and then recover back to 12v, I would
have thought when a battery is that low it's irretrievable. Which is why
I'm wondering if it is a charging circuit problem.

I've plugged the optimate in whilst it's still on the bike but I'll
probably replace the battery tomorrow if I can.

Getting the battery out is a fairing removal job which takes me about 30
minutes. Unfortunately putting it back together takes me about an hour.

 

Just checked and yes it does. I think it's *very* likely that's what I
did because I remember faffing about with the lock to make sure the
steering lock was on. Wouldn't have noticed the lights as it was lovely
and sunny.

I'll see if security have any video of it on Monday just to confirm.

 

I think there may be a time factor. If it self-discharges
to 5V (say over 6months or a year) it will likely be dead.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, bod43

Ooh-err!

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Heh, it's starting to look like the owner is too stupid to work a piece
of top Italian craftsmanship.

I'm fascinated how it is that Italians have produced such an amazing
piece of engineering. They've not really maintained a reputation for
advanced technology since the fall of the Roman empire. The Desmoquattro
just seems a total flight of fancy, but a lot of effort went into
modelling it with modern CAD tools.

I guess it's more to do with market identity these days, similar to why
Harley Davidson designs are constrained by the need to have their
distinctive sound [1].

I like the look and the noise of Harleys, just find the feet forward
thing takes some getting used to.

[1] I'm sure Harley-Davidson have been taking advantage of all the
latest advanced modelling tools for their designs too.

 

Are you some kind of ****?

 

I would say so too, though it was replaced in 2007. The electrics on these
are rather reliable. If you change the battery it would be worth putting in
an Odyssey
www.odysseybatteriesonline.co.uk if you can find a size which can be
squeezed in.

It probably sat a while unused in Brizzle which may have done for it.

For what it cost you I wouldn't complain.

Any doubts, phone Ducati John, tell him which bike it is and who the owner
was and he will advise you. He is about to make loads of wonga out of me on
the yellow one, turning it into Senna colours with my Showa race forks and
monoblock radial brembos fitted.

 

LOL!

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S (for sale)
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike (for sale)
Honda ST1100 Pan European

 

I'll give you a tenner for it and, that way, you can keep your nice,
reliable Honda.

 

Hang on - one is a flat battery that almost certainly happened because the
parking lights were left on and the other is nothing more than a bit of
non-essential fettling. Neither sounds like evidence of the bike's
unreliability to me.