1999 M600 starting issues (battery?)

Grug · December 14, 2009, 03:50:45 PM

Hey guys,

Well after a lot of back and forth over the past year with my bike never sure if it wants to turn over in the morning or not (basically if it wouldn't start on the first attempt, it wouldn't start at all), it's now got to the point that the bike won't start without a run-up.

However, once the engine is up to running temperature and idling comfortably, I can turn it off and turn it back on - and it turns over immediately.

I'm assuming this means my problem is most likely battery-related, since apart from the intial cranking over, everything else seems to be fine.

Any thoughts? Has anyone else with an older Monster had these sorts of issues with the bike turning over at first?

When I had the bike in for its major service 6,000km ago, my mechanic said the battery was okay, but the starting issues has been pretty constant regardless. Might a new one fix the issue? Or one of those new lithium-ion(?) ones?

Any help would be much appreciated.

erkishhorde · December 15, 2009, 06:15:30 AM

Check the grounds. I found that upgrading the the ground on the battery and the solenoid to the starter motor helped.

victor441 · December 15, 2009, 11:12:30 AM

FWIW had similar problems w/ my M800 and it was the off brand battery, no problems since I installed a new Yuasa....was pretty sure the battery wasn't holding a charge well as my bike would fire right up when cold if I hooked the charger for a bit...not a definitive test but helps narrow the problem down.

Grug · December 15, 2009, 01:01:25 PM

Thanks guys, I'll check the grounds and if that doesn't help, I'll look at getting a new battery.

erkishhorde · December 15, 2009, 03:19:58 PM

Quote from: Grug on December 15, 2009, 01:01:25 PM
Thanks guys, I'll check the grounds and if that doesn't help, I'll look at getting a new battery.

The most common culprit is the starter motor cable since it's out there at the front of the bike. Then again I guess that doesn't count as a ground. But yeah, check the connection to the starter motor too.

Howie · December 15, 2009, 05:45:53 PM

Step 1 is to fully charge and load test the battery. If the battery tests good you can move forward. Since the bike does not start after sitting you are probably looking at a parasitic draw, in other words, something is draining your battery while the bike is sitting. Remove the negative cable from the battery and place an ammeter with a milliamp scale between the battery and the cable. If you are reading over 50 milliamps your battery is being drained. to find the drain pull the fuses, one at a time until the reading on the meter drops. You have now located the circuit that is giving you the problem. Now unplug each component on that circuit until you find the drain.

ducpainter · December 15, 2009, 05:47:30 PM

Quote from: howie on December 15, 2009, 05:45:53 PM
Step 1 is to fully charge and load test the battery. If the battery tests good you can move forward. Since the bike does not start after sitting you are probably looking at a parasitic draw, in other words, something is draining your battery while the bike is sitting. Remove the negative cable from the battery and place an ammeter with a milliamp scale between the battery and the cable. If you are reading over 50 milliamps your battery is being drained. to find the drain pull the fuses, one at a time until the reading on the meter drops. You have now located the circuit that is giving you the problem. Now unplug each component on that circuit until you find the drain.

You should teach...

when you grow up.

Howie · December 15, 2009, 06:20:08 PM

Quote from: ducpainter on December 15, 2009, 05:47:30 PM
You should teach...

when you grow up.

Bin dere, did dat, now retired

ducpainter · December 15, 2009, 06:21:12 PM

Quote from: howie on December 15, 2009, 06:20:08 PM
Bin dere, did dat, now retired

Yeah...

Howie · December 15, 2009, 11:58:50 PM

No threadjacking...

Grug · December 16, 2009, 02:57:32 AM

Thanks for the advice fellas, turned out the battery was pretty much dead. Replaced it with a new one this arvo and she started up perfectly. Though it's 39 degrees out today, so I'd expect that.

Assuming she starts up fine tomorrow morning, i think she'll be alright.

erkishhorde · December 16, 2009, 09:25:38 AM

Out of curiosity, which battery did you go with? Did you get one of the new smaller, Yuasa batteries, stick with the giant stock Yuasa clunker, or go with something else?

Grug · December 21, 2009, 04:41:48 AM

I just went for the standard replacement, YB16AL-A2 (I think).

I was quite keen on changing it up for a lightweight alternative, but decided to go for the straight swap as it's cheaper, didn't require any fiddling to ensure the battery would fit and because I expect to replace the bike with something newer and more powerful once I'm off restrictions next year.

I was also a tad hesitant to switch up the battery as I couldn't find any clear explanation of the pros and cons of the alternatives.

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1999 M600 starting issues (battery?)