Drained battery anyone know why?

londoncabby

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Any help appreciated
Today I had the first decent run out on my 1978 e model the bikes got a fairly new battery and was fully charged before I set off on a nice 70-80mile run to the coast the bike run like a dream and after a bit of lunch and a walk around the town we set off home about two miles down the road the bike started popping and backfiring and wouldn't tick over and eventually cut out completely and it turns out the battery was completely flat and I had to get the bike recovered,so any idea where I should start looking first? I should add that the lights are permanently on when the engine's running, any ideas?
 
Should have added.... in my rotor thread, I copied that troubleshooting guide and added a few videos and such to it. It's here.
 
Thanks for the link Jim some good info there, everything you need to know about these bikes is here somewhere it's just finding it
 
bike started popping and backfiring and wouldn't tick over and eventually cut out completely and it turns out the battery was completely flat and I had to get the bike recovered,so any idea where I should start looking first?
I had a stock 78E suffer the same symptoms a few years back as the rotor & rectifier were later found to have died, maybe together?
By chance did your main fuse blow ? Check it please
;)
20170509_120055_IMG_0178.JPG

Hey nice green 78E btw..
 
My battery was dead too. It apparently ran out of charge too before I rolled down hill from about 80 mph back to town.
Then silently and powerless more down hill gliding through 2 stop signs right to my own short street..
Kept blowing fuses after recharge and start up attempts later. Till I just took it all apart.
;)
 
Any help appreciated
Today I had the first decent run out on my 1978 e model the bikes got a fairly new battery and was fully charged before I set off on a nice 70-80mile run to the coast the bike run like a dream and after a bit of lunch and a walk around the town we set off home about two miles down the road the bike started popping and backfiring and wouldn't tick over and eventually cut out completely and it turns out the battery was completely flat and I had to get the bike recovered,so any idea where I should start looking first? I should add that the lights are permanently on when the engine's running, any ideas?

Hi 'cabby,
what happens on startup (on North American XS650s, anyway) is that when the key is turned on the ignition and tail light are powered.
When the engine starts the alternator starts charging which powers a latching relay which in turn switches the headlight on.
The latching relay leaves the headlight on if the engine stalls. The relay will do this until you tunn the key off. This is to keep you safely lit up if your engine stalls in traffic.
 
It didn't pass the high speed mountain highway durability test that day but it did run fast until.
It was fun :lmao:
 
I still haven’t resolved my charging issues, today I changed the alternator brushes (thought I would start cheapest first) but when I started it it still wasn’t charging and was still running rough it wasn’t firing on the left cylinder could this be related to the charging issue as it started at the same time.
 
I still haven’t resolved my charging issues, today I changed the alternator brushes (thought I would start cheapest first) but when I started it it still wasn’t charging and was still running rough it wasn’t firing on the left cylinder could this be related to the charging issue as it started at the same time.
Give us a couple close up pics of the brushes installed. It's pretty easy to install 'em incorrectly.
 
0FBA2104-D4CF-45D1-9F0B-F5B6552B2B08.jpeg So it looks like I made a classic school boy error when the brushes arrived yesterday I looked at them and thought the wires are on the wrong way round so I un soldered them and re soldered them on the other side of the bracket I now know that the wire and spring should be wrapped around the bracket do you think it will make any difference?? Also I can’t work out since I broke down with the flat battery the left cylinder isn’t firing if I pull the plug lead off I can hear it arcing across so power is getting to the plug but its not firing is this a coincidence or would it be related to my charging issues?3F495AC4-D870-4411-8758-D2C9D2F74803.jpeg567548DD-4336-457B-879B-AB3927568C0C.jpeg
 
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It wouldn't matter which side they're soldered on. On my '81, I drilled a little hole in the brackets to push the brush wires through from the inside and soldered them on the outside.
 
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