What did I F*&$ Up Now? (02 S4 Starting Issues)

[Howie]

8 or 9 volts is no where good.  As DP said, test all connections and grounds.  This video should help and ave me typing  http://video.answers.com/how-to-voltage-drop-test-your-car-158075314

I would also suggest trying a known good battery.  I can't tell you anything about testing a Shorai, but perhaps they can help  http://www.shoraipower.com/contact.html

While you are at it, check the connector on your headlight.  Dp is onto something about a bad ground.  It is possible the headlight may be trying to ground through the high beam indicator.

[He Man]

lithium batts have huge output with minimal voltage drop. At 8 to 9 volts that battery is dead i think. Below 9 volts and the ecu begins shutting down.

[TitanMonsterS4R]

So these are my next steps.  Check connections and grounds, check the headlight connection and if tose all check out replace battery and then check voltage at rest (without bike started).  Start and check with idle voltage reads.  If low check for grounds, etc....

[Howie]

lithium batts have huge output with minimal voltage drop. At 8 to 9 volts that battery is dead i think. Below 9 volts and the ecu begins shutting down.

The results do indicate a bad battery.  Excessive voltage drop, bad ground, bad starter or mechanical engine problems can give that result too.  On a conventional battery a load test would determine if the battery is good a lithium...well...dunno.  New technology, new learning curve.

[ducpainter]

Don't be too hung up on idle voltage.

You want to know what it reads at 2500 rpm.

[koko64]

My Shorai doesnt seem to drop below 11.4V on start up. After a good long ride it sits on 14.3V. It doesnt fall below 13.5 after frequent short rides with headlight on.

I found that my car charger wasnt topping it up fully. Some forum members suspect that your bike's charging system is doing the same. I invested in a Shorai charger which was worth it because I have two bikes with them, as do customers. It would hurt to have to buy a special charger for a single expensive battery.

There's a port on the charger/diagnostic gizmo that downloads data to the right program which the distributor should have . If that Shorai is under warranty you can send it to the distributor who can test it, balance charge it, or replace it.


Good luck with that voltage reading at fast idle/low rpm. You want to see 14V going into those batteries at +3000. My old bikes 350W single phase system struggles to do that at low revs.

[He Man]

I believe i read the specs to be, you must maintain 3000+rpms for it to actually be charging.

A load test can be done on any battery i think.  i was skeptical with the lithium battery if you could do it. I was going to ask autozone to do it on the Ballisitc battery (they are asking i return it and since its beign scrapped i might as well see if they can right?)

[koko64]

He Man, is your Ballistic being replaced under warranty?

[He Man]

nope. the money is being replaced. they are offering full refund. which si pretty damn sweet of them. ive alraedy gone back to an AGM

[TitanMonsterS4R]

Took her out and fired her up.  Voltage reading at a steady 2K RPM stayed at 14.7 or so but every now and then voltage bounced down to 10, 12 or 13.  When i blipped the throttle to 2K or higher it dropped down to anywhere between 9 and 13V. 

[ducpainter]

The bike is charging.

It seems the battery is not holding that charge.

[TitanMonsterS4R]

The bike is charging.

It seems the battery is not holding that charge.

Should normal behavior be that when the bike starts, the battery voltage should drop a bit and then bounce back at idle.  And then when revved it battery voltage should increase and never decrease as the system should be charging while riding, etc...Just wanna make sure I've diagnosed correctly before pulling the trigger on a new battery. 

Now for that constantly lit HB light.....

[ducpainter]

That pretty much sums it up.

[Howie]

Took her out and fired her up.  Voltage reading at a steady 2K RPM stayed at 14.7 or so but every now and then voltage bounced down to 10, 12 or 13.  When i blipped the throttle to 2K or higher it dropped down to anywhere between 9 and 13V. 

Not good.  Charging should be steady at speed.  First, make sure your volt meter connections are good.  You may be getting erroneous readings.  Then go to the Electrex trouble shooting link I posted.  Check voltage from the stator windings.  Within range and steady?  Stator is good.  Regulator (or more likely) loose connection.  Do look for signs of excessive heat where the stator connects to the alternator.  To eliminate the battery variable substitute a known good battery, preferably lead acid.

<snip>

A load test can be done on any battery i think.  i was skeptical with the lithium battery if you could do it. I was going to ask autozone to do it on the Ballisitc battery (they are asking i return it and since its beign scrapped i might as well see if they can right?)

Correct, but the value are a mystery.  The standard of 9.6 volts at 3X the ampere rating won't work since the Shorai is stone dead at...well...  http://www.shoraipower.com/s.nl/it.I/id.5/.f  scroll down to chart.  Also note that letting a LiFePO4 battery run low greatly endangers it. 

[ducpainter]

Listen to howie.

I need to stop reading at 5:30 am.