Starting issue. Battery/Starter/other?

[the_Journeyman]

Watch the vid.  Just to the battery off the charger showing a full charge.  Battery is of unknown age and has seen sub-freezing temps for two winters under my ownership.

0627112033.3g2

Where should I start checking?

JM

[Howie]

Charge and load test battery

Check connections at battery, solenoid, starter and ground.  Voltage drop is the best way.
         Starter Circuit Voltage Drop
Yes, it's a car.  Same thing.  The video does not mention specs.  Or maybe it does, I didn't watch the whole video.  Less than .2 volts at any connection.  Less than .5 volts for the circuit is a good any car spec.  0 volts is ideal, but don't expect that on most motorcycles.

If you need to disconnect the cable at the starter use caution.  The lug on the starter will break easily.

[the_Journeyman]

Ok, 1st group of tests

Measured across the battery terminals:
Switch off, 12.27 volts.
Switch on, 11.77 volts.
Hit starter, 9.89 volts.

Tested three different times, and the bike never did the thing it does in the video, so I didn't get a measure on what was going on when it didn't want to start.  I DID notice after the first start, battery dropped to 12.04 volts with everything off.

Back on charger now, more tests later.

JM

[DarkStaR]

...
Yes, it's a car.  Same thing.  The video does not mention specs.  Or maybe it does, I didn't watch the whole video.  Less than .2 volts at any connection.  Less than .5 volts for the circuit is a good any car spec.  0 volts is ideal, but don't expect that on most motorcycles.

If you need to disconnect the cable at the starter use caution.  The lug on the starter will break easily.

Thanks, I learned something today.

[the_Journeyman]

Rest of the tests in the video:

Ok, so I got a .9V drop on the negative side test.

Positive terminal to starter:
12.33 switch off
11.87 switch on
3.51 hitting starter switch

Clamp to post:
.00 switch off and on
.02 hitting starter switch

Now, I'm not sure how to understand what I got.

After starting the bike a 3 times battery reads 12.3 and it was reading 12.61 after taking if off the charger.

JM

[the_Journeyman]

Could the culprit be a weak battery?  I've not had it show the behavior in the video the entire time I've been testing stuff.  I've been charging the battery back to full (according to my charger) after every few tests.

JM

[Howie]

Rest of the tests in the video:

Ok, so I got a .9V drop on the negative side test.

Positive terminal to starter:
12.33 switch off
11.87 switch on
3.51 hitting starter switch

Clamp to post:
.00 switch off and on
.02 hitting starter switch

Now, I'm not sure how to understand what I got.

After starting the bike a 3 times battery reads 12.3 and it was reading 12.61 after taking if off the charger.

JM

.

OK, let's hope I understand your readings.

First, a simple definition of voltage drop.  Voltage drop is the voltage consumed by a conductor (wire), connection, switch or component.  Ideally a conductor or connection should not consume voltage.  A component, like a bulb or motor will consume voltage.

.9V on the negative side is excessive.  You have some pin point diagnosis and cleaning to do.  The same test you did on the post to clamp can be done at each connection and over every run of wire. 

Assuming you are going from positive on the battery to the positive lug on the starter there is a lot of resistance somewhere.  Get to work. The solenoid is a magnetic plunger switch.  Treat it as a switch, .2V or less.  .2V at the clamp to post is within limits, but clean it anyway.

Measuring voltage across the battery only indicates the state of charge, not the health of a battery.  That is what a load test is for.  There is a shade tree method.  With the meter across the battery, crank the engine (or attempt to).  Anycar spec would be the battery should stay over 9.6 V for 15 seconds.  Well, Ducati says not to run the starter that long.  Not much under 12V for a short crank seems to work.  The only problem is this test assumes all else is healthy, which is not the case on your bike.

Unless you know you have a good battery you are pissing up a rope.  Either get that battery load tested or substitute a known good battery.  If the battery is four years old or older, replacement is good preventative maintenance, but you would still want to test the old battery.  Many stores that sell batteries will load test them for free.

Oh, your Monster may be old enough to have a two piece ground cable.  That means four connections to test.

I hope this helps.  It would be sooo much easier to show you in person.

[the_Journeyman]

I understand what you're saying.  The age of the battery is completely unknown to me, but I've had the bike for 2 years and not replaced the battery.  I know my Monster is a 2-piece ground, I'll look for that on the SS.  I've got to head to the Auto Parts store today anyway, so I'll take that battery and have it tested. 

The Pos. battery to the starter is the worst, so I'll start tracing where that goes from the battery first.  The ground drop shouldn't be hard to find.

Thanks for your help!!!

JM

[the_Journeyman]

Ok, test at O'Reilly said good on load.  However, it was only showing 27% charged.  I was on the charger last night to a full charge, AND it was reading 12.3V across the poles this morning.  I went ahead and had them get me a battery, something isn't right with it.

JM

[Autostrada Pilot]

Did the new battery fix the problem?

[the_Journeyman]

Won't be here until Saturday morning.  I'll post a report then.  Since I had no starting trouble when I was charging the batter every few starting attempts, I'm betting it will be the ticket.

JM

[the_Journeyman]

AFter a full charge on the new battery, so far the starting issue hasn't surfaced.

We'll see again in a couple hours if it still starts as normal.

JM

[the_Journeyman]

After a couple days & several starts, the bike is still starting fine.  I'm blaming the old battery.

JM

[COP TZR]

Thanks, I learned something today.

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