Starter problem.. M620

[mr.freezer]

Hi guys.. last month I had couple of time problem with starter... sometimes when I want to start it I just hear starter clicking but it does not move... I changed brushes.. it was good for a week and now it is back... do not know what to do... how to diagnose it??

[oldndumb]

The first thing to do is to check your battery. Remember, KISS. 

[Howie]

The first thing to do is to check your battery. Remember, KISS. 

A big yes on that.  Fully charge and load test the battery, if it fails, replace it.  Your symptoms are classic low/week battery.  Further diagnosis with a bad battery is like pissing up a rope. 

[kokis]

Similar problem on M696.
Have new Li-Ion battery(2-3month of use). Starter clicks and does not turns. It happens when weather is cold.
Battery on dash shows ~13V at key turn. May drop to 12.7V after several attempts. At 3k+ rpm it shows about 14V.
I thought it was dirty connection on starter(the very bottom of the bike). I unpluged it yesterday, made it shiny. And after start attempt and few clicks bike shuted down! Dafuq!? Like battery died completely. No Check engine light, 12.7V on dash.  After bike restarted I started bike with out problems..

[rule62]

The more I hear about Li-Ion batteries, the more I don't want one. For the weight savings, I'd rather just skip a few quarts of ice-cream.

[Howie]

Similar problem on M696.
Have new Li-Ion battery(2-3month of use). Starter clicks and does not turns. It happens when weather is cold.
Battery on dash shows ~13V at key turn. May drop to 12.7V after several attempts. At 3k+ rpm it shows about 14V.
I thought it was dirty connection on starter(the very bottom of the bike). I unpluged it yesterday, made it shiny. And after start attempt and few clicks bike shuted down! Dafuq!? Like battery died completely. No Check engine light, 12.7V on dash.  After bike restarted I started bike with out problems..

An Li-Ion battery is less than half charge at 13 volts.

[kokis]

An Li-Ion battery is less than half charge at 13 volts.

Please explain.

[SpikeC]

 So Kokis, what are you using for a charger on your battery?

[kokis]

SpikeC ,
R/R as I know.

[SpikeC]

The more I hear about Li-Ion batteries, the more I don't want one. For the weight savings, I'd rather just skip a few quarts of ice-cream.

The thing is these batteries are different than lead acid ones, they charge differently and need to be handled differently. If you don't use them as intended they will not give satisfactory performance.

[Howie]

Please explain.

Different chemistry, different characteristics.  The Shorai, which is actually a lithium iron phosphate battery and the Ballistic lithium batteries are fully charged at 13.4ish volts, not the usual 12.6-12.8 for a lead acid and voltage decrease as the charge is used is also at a different scale.  Not knowing exactly what you have in your bike this might not be exact for your bike since some many lithium bike batteries are hand built from who knows what, but

The thing is these batteries are different than lead acid ones, they charge differently and need to be handled differently. If you don't use them as intended they will not give satisfactory performance.

still applies.