Thursday, October 10, 2013

Dead Battery on SV650

Dead Battery on SV650

I had a bit of a shock when I left work the other day. I walked to the SV650 and put my back in the trunk. When I tried to start it, the headlight was very dim and it didn’t start. It made that sad “whirr whirr” noise when it doesn’t quite have enough juice to start. I’m all too familiar with this noise thanks to the Ural and Super9. Dang!!

I took my tools out and started taking off the seat to get to the battery when a friend walked over to see what I was doing. I was hoping I could remove the fuse for the headlight and get the bike to start. The fuse is one of those really small ones, so I had to use a pair of pliers to get it loose. My fingers couldn’t get a solid grip on it because it was so small. With the fuse removed, I tried again. It didn’t start. My dream of getting home ahead of traffic were melting away just like I was beginning to melt in my Roadcrafter with all this messing around. Time to take it off.

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My friend asked if I needed a jump, and offered to go get his car. Awesome! He even had jumper cables. It took him a few minutes to walk to his car and drive it over which gave me think about why this happened. Yes, I used my electric coat on the way to work like I have been doing for several years, and just like I used it nearly every day on my trip to Alaska last year. The battery is almost five years old. I’ve also been lazy about putting the bike on the tender like I normally do each night. I hope it is just the battery and not the charging system.

My friend arrived and I pushed the bike over to where he parked. He got the jumper cables out, and I hooked them up with the car off. Red and then black on the car, and then red and black on the bike. I turned on the choke, pulled the clutch in, and pressed the starter button. Please work. It fired on the second try! Success! I left it running while I put my tools and gear away. The choke kept it at 3000 rpm which is in the charging range.

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I thanked my friend profusely for rescuing me, and then started the ride home. I made it home without trouble. I was even able to stop and restart the bike several times in the driveway. The battery charged to full on the tender over night; it seems fine now. I have a new battery on the way.

Do you carry tools to get to your fuses and battery? Have you used them to try it?

18 comments:

  1. Something similar happened to me a few months back. After 20+ years of thinking about it i took the MSF class and got a motorcycle this past June (TU 250). About a month in, i had taken it to work and had to take a quick call in the parking lot before shutting down. In the process i made the stupid mistake of leaving the key in and in the on position while i went in to work.

    Got my gear on at lunch time and found it dead, not even a bit of light from the headlight. Went back in and looked online about jumping it, but then read about bump starting. I went out, turned the ignition back on, put it in second gear and started pushing it across the parking lot till i got to about 10 miles per hour. Let out the clutch and it turned over and started right up!

    Nice to have a light bike!

    Thanks for the stories,
    CJ

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    1. Hi CJ, congrats on taking the MSF class. I hope you enjoyed it. The TU is a great little bike. One of my favorites in the class.

      A shame you left your light on, but awesome you were able to bump start it. I'm in a parking ramp on the first floor, so not a lot of room to bump start. Bumping from one of the upper levels would have been easy.

      Light bikes are fun. I love my Super9 and WR250R.

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  2. I'm glad it started with no problems. I carry the factory tool kits on all the bikes and have used them for other repairs, but I've never had a fail to start issue on the road. Maybe a couple of times over the years in the garage though. A new battery is probably a good idea.
    Do you have all your bikes wired with the leads for a battery tender? During the winter, I rotate 1 Battery Tender Jr. between the 3 bikes. Each garbage day, I swap the tender to the next bike.

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    1. Yes, all my bikes are wired with battery tender leads. I normally leave the bikes on the tender when not being ridden. I have two 4-way tenders mounted on the wall which covers my four bikes, my wife's two, and the little bonus heated gear battery. I got lazy this past few weeks with the SV and didn't plug it in. The battery was due to replace anyways though.

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  3. Sleepy batteries are a drag. I've had to push start my Triumph in the past due to a suddenly dead battery when I stopped at a grocery store on my way home.

    Here's hoping it's just the battery and not a charging problem!

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    1. Indeed. I hope it isn't a charging problem. I'd hate to take the rear cowling off to replace the rectifier.

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  4. Chris:

    I have battery tenders attached to each vehicle and I generally plug my bike in every day, all year around, except when on a trip. So far (fingers crossed) I've not had any problems.

    It was nice to have a friend who had jumper cables handy. I have heated gear but seldom use it. Even my grips I don't turn on unless I am over 3K rpms

    Glad you managed to get home without much hassle

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. I have tenders on all the bikes too. I use them for charging when not riding and for an easy way to hook up my heated coat.

      I was lucky to have a friend available.

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  5. Thankfully I never had a battery problem with my bikes. I wouldn't carry jumper cables, but I indeed have spare fuses under the seat. However, we have his lovely roadside assistance program in Germany where you can call for help and be served within the hour by a repair guy with all necessary tools, spares and skills.

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    1. I only carry jumper cables on the Ural. lol. the others are a tad more reliable. Your roadside sounds nice. I have some here too, but I'm guessing they would have been more than an hour given the time of day and being stuck in the middle of the city center.

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  6. Hi there ,

    Sounds like just the battery. Glad you had help at hand,

    How far is your daily commute?

    Kindest regards LEN

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    1. I'm hoping it is the battery. The new one should be here soon, and then I'll be able to find out.

      Commute is roughly 10-15 miles oneway depending on how scenic/curvy I make it.

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  7. Last winter, I carried one of those booster boxes used to jump start your car. When the temperature dropped, the engine would barely turn over. This is with the headlight off (I have a headlight switch) and nothing else plugged in. But when I used the jumper box, it started right up. This year, I'm not relying on the small motorcycle battery and wired in a group 24 car battery. I am using some 4 AWG cables but just picked up some 2 AWG arc welding cable from a friend and will be replacing the 4 AWG cables with that. I like the flexibility and the much lower resistance of the arc welding cables.

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    1. I still carry the booster box in the Ural. I've used it several times on myself and once on someone else. A larger car battery is maybe a good idea. It would make getting at it much easier. Maybe when the Odyssey I have in there dies, I'll put a car battery in the trunk.

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  8. Yep, I carry fuses and jumper cables, and have had occasion to use both on both my bikes, beemer and ural. Lately, I've had to give the ural a few kicks with the kickstart, ignition off, before using the electric starter to crank her over if she's been sitting outside overnight. Thinking of switching to 10w30 for the winter perhaps. Five years is pretty good for a battery, hopefully the tender will do the trick.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. when it gets cold I always kick mine to lube it up to make starting easier. last winter I put in 5w30 for winter and it was awesome! I am so doing it again. made starting very easy.

      I have a new battery arriving soon. The current one charged fine on the tender. I have other bikes to ride, so I can wait. The SV is my favorite though.

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  9. Hooray for friends with jumper cables. Luckily I've never had battery issue on the bike, but now that I think of it it is a 2009 with the original battery.......

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    1. indeed. hooray for friends! Most of my bikes have had the battery replaced at least once now. I'm kicking myself for not replacing the SV's sooner. I was looking to do preemptively replace it in the spring, but then I got lazy. bah. I should think about getting one for the WR though. Thats still on the stocker from '08 now...

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