Weird start issue...

[Howie]

My bike's a year older than his and I have three wires, or is it different from his 750 to my 900?

Nope.  I didn't remember the year of Memper's bike or when Monsters went to 3 phase.  Memper's would have 3 wires.

[memper]

I just looked and total wires coming out of the RR are: 3 yellow, 2 green, 2 red.

This is besides the point though.

I will get the battery checked. If the battery IS messed up I will be surprised. Its an Odyssey which in my experience with other bikes are bulletproof batteries. if it does happen to be toast it gives me an excuse to buy a LifePo4.

[ducpainter]

I just looked and total wires coming out of the RR are: 3 yellow, 2 green, 2 red.

This is besides the point though.

I will get the battery checked. If the battery IS messed up I will be surprised. Its an Odyssey which in my experience with other bikes are bulletproof batteries. if it does happen to be toast it gives me an excuse to buy a LifePo4.

...and if your bike is overcharging it will most likely cook another new battery.

[memper]

...and if your bike is overcharging it will most likely cook another new battery.

Whats the possible causes for over charging?
I think I found the looping starter issue...I had the start button housing too tight on the bars. I knew all three buttons felt funny.
Still gonna get the battery checked for good measure.
Probably doesn't help that my plugs are soaked with 93+ fuel...

[ducpainter]

Regulator/Rectifier

[Howie]

...and if your bike is overcharging it will most likely cook another new battery.

Yes it will.  I don't know if this holds true for our waste type regulators, but on a regulator that controls field, like those on cars and Gold Wings a battery that lacks internal resistance can cause overcharging, rare, but it happens.  Maybe Suzyj can comment.  Either way, the battery should be tested.

[ducpainter]

Yes it will.  I don't know if this holds true for our waste type regulators, but on a regulator that controls field, like those on cars and Gold Wings a battery that lacks internal resistance can cause overcharging, rare, but it happens.  Maybe Suzyj can comment.  Either way, the battery should be tested.

My original R/R failed and was overcharging.

I had, and still do, a standard lead acid battery, so it was OK as long as I kept the level up.

Doesn't work so well on a sealed unit.

[memper]

Welp, it seems like I have my hands full of testing when I get back from vacation.

So I understand the dominos, could the scenario have gone down like this?:
-ungrounded RR gets toasted.
-resulting in poor battery performance
-resulting in sticking solenoid function

[Howie]

Welp, it seems like I have my hands full of testing when I get back from vacation.

So I understand the dominos, could the scenario have gone down like this?:
-ungrounded RR gets toasted.
-resulting in poor battery performance
-resulting in sticking solenoid function

Yes, a likely scenario.

[memper]

Ah, and back to the meter understanding, my meter could show 14 volts but that could very well be 14 volts but only at 50% capacity, right?

[Speeddog]

Ah, and back to the meter understanding, my meter could show 14 volts but that could very well be 14 volts but only at 50% capacity, right?

The voltage reading on the battery with the engine off is like checking to see how full the glass is.

Load testing a battery tells you whether it's a shot glass or a pint glass.

[suzyj]

The 14.7v while charging is an indicator of a stuffed battery.

A good battery holds close to the nominal 13.8 both while charging and while starting. A bad one goes way over while charging and way under when loaded.

[koko64]

The voltage reading on the battery with the engine off is like checking to see how full the glass is.

Load testing a battery tells you whether it's a shot glass or a pint glass.

An excellent analogy!

[Howie]

The 14.7v while charging is an indicator of a stuffed battery.

A good battery holds close to the nominal 13.8 both while charging and while starting. A bad one goes way over while charging and way under when loaded.

Thank you, I wasn't sure if this applied to our waste type regulators since I really don't know what is in them besides transistors and diodes.  On cars, back in the old days, when regulators were adjustable we used to use a .25 ohm resistor to simulate a good battery.  Solid state regulators put an end to that.

Why is it so hard to convince people the first step to charging/starting diagnosis is to confirm the battery is good?

[suzyj]

The stator, rectifier/regulator and battery are designed as a system. The stator needs the rectifier load to keep things from arcing. The rectifier/regulator needs a battery to keep the output voltage within spec. If the battery is stuffed, it doesn't take current from the rectifier/regulator, which then has to shunt that current itself. In an ideal world that would be fine, and the regulator would hold the voltage within spec itself. But these things are built to a price, and without a load the voltage rises significantly.

You're right that the rectifier/regulator may be stuffed also. If it spends too much time shunting all that excess current, those components will fail, and it will no longer be able to regulate properly. Conversely it can fail all by itself and damage the battery in turn.

So for the OP: replace the battery, then carefully monitor the voltage with the bike off, with it running at idle, and with it running at a few thousand rpm. If it goes over about 14.2v with a fresh battery, your rectifier/regulator is damaged, and will cook your new battery if you leave it on.

There's a scenario that I seem to read way too often. Someone has trouble starting their bike. It's a damaged rectifier/regulator, which in turn has damaged the battery. They replace the battery blindly, and the bike works, so they think they've fixed it. A few weeks later, the bike won't start, so they replace the rectifier/regulator. They ignore advice that their battery might be stuffed, because its only a few weeks old. They stagger on for months with their starting problems, not really understanding how the different parts can actually damage one another.