Electrical Anomolies (With Videos!)

[Half-Click-Up]

Greetings All,

A few weeks ago, my 2014 Roadie (10k miles and the original battery) started having starting issues. This began with it acting like the clutch wasn't being pulled in to actuate the switch. I could overcome this by sitting there with the clutch pulled in and simply holding the starter button until suddenly it would randomly recognize contact and it would crank. I have a voltmeter plugged into the Hella socket and it's been reading 12.5 to 12.7 in the mornings. Turning the key on results in that voltage dropping to the 11.5 range, but when it finds contact, it turns over and cranks just fine.

Today she seemingly lost her mind in a parking lot. After the gauge sweep, I hit the starter button and the entire system just went dead with an audible "thud" from under the seat; no power. The voltmeter was dead too. I carry a lithium jump pack in a pannier, so I hooked it onto the battery and everything came back to life. She jumped off immediately and then started doing this:

Please reference this video:

After the end of that video, I got it cranked again and the gauge cluster eventually stabilized, and the voltmeter indicated 14 to 14.5 the entire way home.

I got home and put her on the trickle charger. I just went out there to check the voltage, and it's pulsing with a strange high-pitched electronic "ping" sound coming from what I guess is the R/R?

You can hear it in this video:

Is it at all possible that the factory original battery from 2014 is what is causing all of this headache?

Thanks for your time, gents.

[Half-Click-Up]

Quick update:

I disconnected it from the trickle charger earlier and just went back out there to check on it. The "pinging" sound and voltmeter pulsing has finally stopped, and now the voltmeter indicates 8.5V 
Except for all the nutty events described in my original post, you would think it's obvious that she needs a new battery, right?

[chico]

It's surprising to me that there have been several postings of circumstances where an old battery has been causing issues and the owners are reluctant to replace the batteries.
This is a consumable item that has an unknown expiration date. Just get a new battery and stop trying to revive it, it's past it's usable life.

[awjdthumper]

I would check the condition of the main fuse under the battery - if the contacts are corroded, it could well produce some of the symptoms seen. The initial description seemed to show the battery was ok at that stage but, from my own experience, a battery can be good at the start of a ride and then fail by the time you get back

[T800XC]

I don't like the look of that 20V reading on your voltmeter in the first video. That's usually a pretty good sign that R/R is overcharging.

There are two power supply connections to the dash (instruments) - one permanent and one switched by the ECU. The constant resetting of the dash suggests that at least one of these supplies keeps dropping out.

I'd be inclined to replace the battery, given its age, and check that everything lights up again. Then monitor the charging voltage when the engine is running and if high switch off immediately and consider replacing the R/R.

[awjdthumper]

Having now watched the 1st video: if the voltage monitor is correctly showing 20V then your R/R regulator has failed. It's a pain to get to but I would disconnect the R/R output connector and put a voltmeter across the two pins to confirm what it is putting out. You will be able to run the bike without the R/R output connected without doing any damage.

[Stevie.P]

Originally Posted by chico

It's surprising to me that there have been several postings of circumstances where an old battery has been causing issues and the owners are reluctant to replace the batteries.
This is a consumable item that has an unknown expiration date. Just get a new battery and stop trying to revive it, it's past it's usable life.

 

When any battery starts to show any signs of starting to play up in the winter season I don't think twice about renewing it.

Also my experience is that with all todays electronics a lot of strange apparently non-connected faults can often eventually be traced to a bad battery (or related R/R system). Have a look at my postings (you need both links to tie together the perceived fault and actual fault), I had symptoms and fault lights I never thought to associate to the battery or charging. A separate comment from another member about bright headlights put me in the right direction and I found I had 19v at idle.

https://www.tiger800.co.uk/index.php/topic,22590.10.html

https://www.tiger800.co.uk/index.php/topic,24031.0.html

[awjdthumper]

If the R/R regulator has failed or is failing it can do a lot of damage to the bike'e electronics and it is not worth running the bike until the source of the problem has been established. One of my intelligent chargers went on the brink a few months ago and was putting out closer to 20 V instead of 14.5 V and that killed the battery. In this case, if the voltage monitor was indicating correctly at 20 V, it is difficult to see electrically how a battery issue could cause this. It may be that the current battery has been damaged but, if not, I would recommend testing the R/R output voltage in the way suggested before running the bike with it connected again

[Half-Click-Up]

Thank you guys for all of your input. Battery voltage indicated 10.4 this morning, so I think it's safe to say that this battery is no longer performing. I am going to pick up a new battery on Saturday and report back with my findings.

I might also add that the instance of 20v in that video is the only time to date that the bike has ever displayed such high voltage levels.
Whether or not the battery's apparent poor condition had anything to do with that, time will tell.

Oh, and I'm surprised no one had any comments with regards to the second video.
What do you guys make of that surging and audible pinging?

[Stevie.P]

Originally Posted by Half-Click-Up

... I am going to pick up a new battery on Saturday and report back with my findings.

I might also add that the instance of 20v in that video is the only time to date that the bike has ever displayed such high voltage levels.
Whether or not the battery's apparent poor condition had anything to do with that, time will tell.

New battery.

As for the voltage .... if you did scan over my previous links on my fault you will see it was also intermittent, starting a few times in the November, going away then permanently reappearing in the April permanently which clearly proved to be a failing R/R. I would seriously keep an eye on the charging rate, the R/R should control DC output to around 14.5v (max) regardless of the battery condition, the battery doesn't control the R/ R. I  also wouldn't be too trusting of those cheap plug in USB/charge indicators in a fault situation and feel better using a multimeter.